How to Print Your Dog Photos

By Kim Rodgers and Sarah Sypniewski from Dog Photography For Dummies

Despite the world being so digitally oriented, you may at some point want physical prints of your dog photography to share or display on your walls. With just as many printing options as online sharing options, it helps to have an idea of where to start.

The first thing you should determine is the size at which you want to display your photo. Is it a small print that will become part of an album or a mid-sized print that you can pop into a frame? Or maybe a wall-sized photo specially mounted to be prominently displayed in your home?

Traditional prints of your dog photographs

If you decide you want small or mid-sized prints, you have three printing options. You can

Print photos at home on a photo printer. The quickest and easiest way to make small or mid-sized photographic prints is to do it yourself! Photographic inkjet printers are pretty affordable these days and are a great investment if you plan on printing a lot of photos.

The quality of these prints may be slightly lower than that of a professional printer, but for most scenarios, you probably won’t even notice the difference.

Before diving head first into a printer purchase, be sure to check out the cost of the ink and paper that the printer uses. The prices for printer supplies vary widely, so it’s best to know what you’re getting into!
Head to the nearest photo lab. For a more professional and higher quality finished product, consider taking your image files to a professional photo lab. Labs have the ability to use traditional, light-sensitive photographic paper and create a digital C-type photographic print made on actual light-sensitive paper, just like the good ol’ days.

The lab then develops the exposed paper with darkroom chemicals, and the result is a crisp, high-quality print that rivals the quality of consumer-level inkjets any day. A print from a professional photo lab is going to cost more than an at-home print, but it might be worth the extra cost for your favorite shots!

Although convenient, those popular, do-it-yourself photo kiosk printers that you find in pharmacies and supermarkets don’t offer professional digital C-type prints.
Order from an online digital photo printing service. Another fantastic (and often cheaper) option is to use an online printing service. Simply upload your images, pay online, and then sit back and wait a few days. Your professional digital C-type prints are shipped right to you! It’s quick, easy, and provides fantastic results.

Modern prints of your dog photographs

If you really want to make a statement with your photos (perhaps something like, “Denver is the greatest dog on the face of this earth!”), give them the wall space and attention they deserve by printing your images in a special format.

You can go the traditional route and have a poster-sized print framed, or you can get a little more creative and go frameless with a stretched canvas print, or go modern with a photo mounted on bamboo!

When it comes to large-format specialty items, an online digital photo printing service is the printing option of choice. Sure, your local professional photo lab can probably sell you a canvas print, but it’s going to be way more expensive than the prices you find online. Try these favorite online printers: Mpix and ProDPI.