Are photo kiosks worth it?
You know those do-it-yourself photo kiosks at major shopping centers? The ones where you stick in your own memory card and choose your options, and it spits out your photos for you?
My question is whether or not you think they’re worth it. They are much less expensive than going to an actual professional photo processing/printing company, but does the color last as long? Are they of lesser quality, or is it "good enough" to use these as a method for a beginning photographer to print clients’ photo packages?
The only one I know much about is the Kodak Picturemaker, and that’s because I used to work one when I worked at a camera store. It gives excellent quality when you have a good quality image to begin with. The paper is photo quality. I can’t remember the name of the process it uses, but if you buy a printer using the same process, it will be very expensive, I do remember that much.
I have seen pros use it for their clients, and they never complained about the quality. At the prices we charged, it was more expensive than pro printing, though. It was more a convenience than a money saver.
I remember now what they called the process. It was a dye sub process.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye-sublimation_printer
Honestly, I haven’t been to a real photo developer in quite some time. The good thing about the kiosks is that you can reprint the photos again if they fade. I haven’t had any problems with the quality of the photos myself. They are still printed using the same ink and photo paper as traditional prints.
It’s not important what I think the question is are the photos out of the kiosk of good enough quality you can hand them to your client and know you have given them the best work you could produce at a fair price. Thermal dye transfer shows little inclination to fade so dont let that concern you. How good are you at adjusting colors and density? Better or worse than your lab? Work at it you will be as good or better than they are. The way to judge is make a set of prints at the local kiosk and send the card off for a set of "pro" prints then decide which set you would like representing your work. If the pro work is significantly better isnt it worth paying a little more to put the best face on your work?If it’s not better you need to know that too.