Yes, You CAN Still Print Your Photos! Here are Some Favorite Ways!

Ever feel like the digital era has eclipsed your ability to actually look at your photos even though they’re supposedly more accessible than ever? Well, you’re not alone. We get a few “I hate technology – help me!” emails every week, so in this new blog post, I thought we’d tackle this feeling head on with a few tips and tricks on how you can bring prints back into your life! Yes, you can still print your photos!

Prints ARE Still a Thing!

Every so often, I’ll get an email that reads a little something like this: “I wish printing photos were still a thing…It was so much easier back then. I knew how to use them and I definitely wasn’t confused about where they were stored. It’s so different now! I hate digital! HELP!”

Well, I’m here to tell you – Printed photos ARE still a thing. Not as much as they used to be, sure, but you can still get your digital photos printed as regular good old-fashioned prints if you want to…and you don’t have to feel bad about it! It is tricker? Perhaps a bit. You have to be able to find them digitally, so if you don’t know where to look, we have a service to help you with that. We can also coach you on how and where to get prints, but that’s only after I can convince you that it’s a good idea…so let’s jump into just why it’s a great idea to get some of your photos printed!

Why You Should Print Your Photos…

Ok, ok, I hear ya! You don’t want more *stuff,* more clutter. But I’m sure you know that I won’t tell you to print ALL of your photos! I’m an organizer, after all. But I will tell you to print a few, and here’s why: There is a connection you get with printed photos that you don’t get with digital photos. It’s the same connection you get when you write something down by hand instead of typing it. You remember it better. You can visualize it. Your brain somehow registers it in a different way. I’m not going to pretend I have a clue about how my brain works, but I can tell you that I connect better to photos that I have held in my hand. So does my daughter, as you’ll be able to tell from her guest post here. There’s something way more enjoyable about touching a print versus looking at a screen, and I think that’s worth it. If you’re selective with your printing, they won’t take up THAT much space after all.

You can also consider your printed photos a backup of sorts, especially if you don’t feel technologically savvy. If you store your printed photos in a safe, climate-controlled place and treat them well, you have an actual backup that you can see, touch, and feel. To some, that’s a big comfort, so if this resonates with you, go for it! I officially give you permission to print away! 😉

Here are a few of my own favorite ways to print, and my favorite sets:

1. Artifact Uprising’s Square Print Set

It’s no secret that I love this set by Artifact Uprising. Why? Because they don’t just ask you which photos you want to print – you have a limited number that you can print in each set, either 10, 25, or 50 (it used to be 22). The reason I like this is because it forces you to choose which photos are worthy. It forces you to curate the selection a bit because to print more, you’d have to order a second set. It’s a subtle thing, but it’s brilliant. Now, when I come home from vacation, I choose the 25 best photos and order those instead of clicking an “upload all” button somewhere. It’s much more controlled and I only print the photos I really like, which helps me have a better (i.e. junk-free) collection overall.

The quality of these prints is great! They come as squares, so if you like the Instagram feel, you’ll love them. The colors turn out vibrant, but not too harsh, and they are printed on high quality, matte Eggshell paper, which honestly feels a lot more like card stock than photo paper in terms of texture. I LOVE that because they hold captions really well (when using an archival pen, of course), and nothing smudges. There’s nothing better than writing someone an unexpected note on a beautiful print.

2. Artifact Uprising’s Ultra-Thick Signature Prints

Yes, we’re showing the good folks over at Artifact Uprising some extra love today! But it’s well deserved because besides having a really good square set, they also have really cool thick signature print that come in four sizes and packages:

• Four 5x7s
• Two 8x8s
• Two 8x10s
• One 8×11

If you’re a fan of art galleries and museum-quality stuff, you’ll love this print. There is texture to it (similar to the square print set, but thicker), and it has a matte eggshell finish. Beautiful! These make excellent wedding photo gifts!

3. Nation’s Photo Lab Lustre Prints

I’m usually not a big fan of glossier-type prints, but these are pretty subtle and very nice… AND they are archival, guys! They have an archival life of 100+ years, which I think is really cool! No more faded photos – at least not in my lifetime. These are printed on Kodak Endura paper, so suitable for regular prints as well as gifts!

4. White Wall’s Hahnemühle Fine Art Prints

White Wall, which is a UK-based company, sells amazing fine art prints using this type of paper, and they ship pretty much anywhere at a decent price. You can print in sizes ranging from small (9×9 cm) all the way up to extra-large (270×105 cm), and if you want a custom format, or something framed, they can do that too. The prints comes in a wide variety of textures, including Watercolor, Cotton, and Pearl. Absolutely gorgeous!

5. AdoramaPix’s Metal Prints

The first time I saw metal prints, I was unimpressed. I felt like they were a sharp, harsh, and a little impersonal. After I tried them out, however, I changed my mind. I still don’t feel as cozy about them as I do with the above-mentioned art prints, but they made the list because I feel like they definitely have potential in many situations.

Something that I like about them is that they’re waterproof, and the surface makes them dry-erasable. That leads me to think that you can use them in places where there’s high humidity, or in places where you might want to decorate, but there’s a chance of flooding, for example basements. Not that they’re completely immune to damage, but I don’t imagine they’ll degrade at the same rate as a regular prints.

There are a lot of places where you can order metal prints, but I like the ones you get from AdoramaPix. They have great quality, decent prices, and good customer service. These particular metal prints come in a glossy, satin, or silver satin, and they have a metallic sheen to the finish.

Yes, You CAN Still Print Your Photos!

So, what do you think? Have I convinced you to try printing a few of your photos? If I could leave with one thing while you ponder your response to my query, it’s that digital and print doesn’t have to be a mutually exclusive choice. You can mix and match. You don’t have to save everything because it’s digital, and you also don’t have to give you printing your photos just because they’re not processed the same way anymore. Change is inevitable, and we should adapt and evolve, but I see no harm in being nostalgic every once in a while! Right?

What say you, readers? Are you still printing your photos? If yes, let us know what your type of print is, and where we can try it out! If not, which of the five options above would you consider trying?

Featured Photo Courtesy of Juliana Malta