Digital photo printing comes of age

As anyone with a digital camera knows, printing photos isn't always quick and easy.

You've basically got three options: use your own color printer, bring your disk or camera to a local photo finisher, or transfer your photos to an online photo-printing site, such as Shutterfly or Snapfish.

None of these is perfect. Printing can be a costly endeavor, given the price of ink cartridges and paper. Local photo shops don't always like dealing with the hassles of digital files. And with the photo-printing sites, you've got to upload the files -- a hassle without a high-speed connection -- and wait for the prints.

For my own purposes, I'm not too worried about any of this, mainly because I rarely want to print digital photos. In fact, I'm more than happy to have them stored for posterity on my notebook computer, where I'm able to send them to friends via email or arrange slide shows of images for display on the computer screen. If I do want prints, I don't mind waiting for them to arrive from Shutterfly or one of its competitors.

Others, I know, don't feel this way. When I wrote about the topic a year ago, predicting "the end of the printed snapshot" (OK, some hyperbole was involved), I got angry emails from feisty "scrapbookers" -- hobbyists devoted to assembling scrapbooks -- telling me I needed to get outside more often and stop thinking about the Internet. The snapshot, in other words, is sacrosanct -- something to preserve, rather than dismiss like it's yesterday's fad.

As it happens, photography companies, consumer electronics firms, and others involved in the world of digital photography generally agree with the scrapbookers, or anyone else who wants to print their photos. The end of the printed snapshot is the last thing they want to see. If people stop printing snapshots, that's lost revenue for scores of companies, from paper manufacturers to photo finishers.

With that in mind, an industry group, the International Imaging Industry Association (I3A), is directing an initiative to establish a standard, the Common Picture eXchange Environment (CPXe), to streamline the process of printing high-quality snapshots, photo books, and other photo paraphernalia. Under the CPXe initiative, consumers would have an easier time printing digital images at local photo finishing shops, just as they do now with traditional photos from negatives. You would be able to do that from your home, or even from a photo kiosk in another country, where you could transfer photos for pickup, weeks later, in your hometown.

According to a recent report from Gartner Dataquest, a market research firm, digital camera shipments in the U.S. should reach 8.3 million units in 2002, a 30 percent increase over 2001. The firm predicts 17 percent of U.S. households will have digital cameras by the end of this year, while half will own them by 2006.

The companies invested in the future of the printed snapshot have a relatively short window to convince digital photographers to print their images. Already, millions of people, myself included, have gotten used to the idea of photos being displayed via email, Web sites, and on-screen slide shows. Soon, you'll start noticing people showing off photos on their cell phones and handheld computers. With those options available, typically at no cost, it's unclear whether consumers will want to pay to print their snapshots as a regular part of the photography experience.

In any case, we're certain to see more options for printing digital photos in coming years. Whether that's something you'll want to do -- well, that's another question.

By Allan Hoffman
Last updated: Monday, July 1, 2002, 7:03 pm