Best quality printed-photo result from iPhone photos available in 2022...?

[Turnpike]

If money was no issue, what is the best option available in 2022 to print some iPhone photos to keep as photo-album photos and send to family who only seem to consider it a "photo" if they can hold it in their hand...?

Is taking an iPhone to the local drug store and having them print them out (something I heard about, but never seen the result first hand) the best option, or are there certain printers available that with the right paper do just as good of a job or better?

This is something I never attempted, and each time I looked into it over the years I realize how much more is available than the last time I explored this. I'm hoping some professionals here who work with digital photos that print them out at times know of the best result currently available.

Thanks in advance!

 

[mollyc]

i wouldn’t go to a drugstore. i don’t print too many phone photos but i do print with persnicketyprints.com and love their quality.

 

[Turnpike]

What I'm hoping for is a photo printer that does as nice a job as the online options... or at least close. But that's a website I haven't seen before, I'll check it out as an alternative. Thanks!

 

[mollyc]

Ohhhh....I'm sorry. I didn't realize you wanted to print at home.

I have a Canon Pro-100, but that's been discontinued. They now have the Pro 200; when I bought my 100 they used to do massive rebates on it a couple of times a year and I only paid around $120 for it, but with supply chain issues, those types of deals are probably non-existent.

 

[Turnpike]

Yep, I'm open to any level of printer- lazer, special inks... professional or commercial machine, but I'm sure there's some digital artists here who know of a good option that produces results like the film cameras did....

 

[r.harris1]

I print at home with an epson SureColor P800, which I really like. It is an 8-color pigment ink setup and when you choose a really good paper, the output is amazing. The paper you choose can be as important as the printer. Epson and Canon both have a variety of really good printers for home use. Mine can print 17 inches wide so I can easily make 16x24 prints, for example. I think you can print from an iPhone on my model but I know the newer P900 version can. Most of the home photo printers can these days. There are smaller ones of course or ones with fewer inks. When you start getting above 17 inches to 24 and beyond they get really large and very heavy.

 

[lcubed]

+1 for the canon pro-100. warning it's a very large printer which will print up to ~ 14" x 25"
produces superior prints that far exceed most commercial photo services.

if you're looking for something smaller, i'd look at the smaller epson photo printers.

 

[gwang73]

If money is no object, I would get the Canon imagePROGRAF series. My friend has the Prograf-1000 and it is just as good as a professional service when using the right paper. 11 colors and a special matte black ink cartridge. It's pricey af but damn the quality is awesome.

 

[citysnaps]

I also print from a Canon Pro-100 and have no complaints other than the ink tanks are on the small side. And expensive. Unlike my previous Epson 4800, I've had zero clogs. I finally gave up on the 4800 and gave it away.

 

[tizeye]

Depends upon your budget...and intent. Giving to family only who are not that critical? Archival quality? A lot of suggestions above for high end printers using 8 or more cartridges of pigmented in rather than dye based, which with the correct paper, set a standard in archival quality. Many professional photographers sell prints directly, 17" and smaller, from those competing Canon and Epson printers, where they control everything, using professional labs for larger sizes. Prices range from $500 for the 13" size up to $1200 for the 17" size. On a side note, while the cartridges are expensive, the quantity printed is greater, so the cost per same size print is roughly the same as an inexpensive printer...however...shelf life of cartridge is about 6 month (will work til empty, but presumed deterioration in output - probably not noticeable) and printhead cleaning from occasional use consumes a lot of ink. While I wish I had one, such is not the case - but perhaps in the future.

Budget recommendation - which is good enough that works against my "vanity" desire to upgrade to a 17" (or 13") noted above and would have to justify with enough sales using a local professional lab. First, no laser printer EVER! On the inkjet side, past two have been the "Photo" version with the additional "Photo cartridge" supplementing the standard CMYK(plus extra K) cartridge set, and prefer individual color cartridges rather than the single CMY cartridge. Currently use Canon TS8320 which replaced an early model when worn out. The second carrier remains loaded with 4x6 Canon Photo Plus Glossy II paper. (Epson photo paper if Epson). If I want larger, replace the standard paper in the primary tray with photo grade paper. As set up, can print 4x6 on demand from the iPhone, and larger if I manually replace the paper.

I should note that no professional work is done with this printer - primarily family/friend sharing 'snapshots', plus I don't even use Canon ink, purchasing full set generic for around $36. All professional work that people are paying me for - even the smaller sizes - is done with a professional lab that lucky to have locally which I find more convenient than some excellent mail order labs, particularly when services requiring my interaction - signature, cert of authenticity, etc are involved.

 

[lcubed]

Depends upon your budget...and intent. Giving to family only who are not that critical? Archival quality? A lot of suggestions above for high end printers using 8 or more cartridges of pigmented in rather than dye based, which with the correct paper, set a standard in archival quality. Many professional photographers sell prints directly, 17" and smaller, from those competing Canon and Epson printers, where they control everything, using professional labs for larger sizes. Prices range from $500 for the 13" size up to $1200 for the 17" size. On a side note, while the cartridges are expensive, the quantity printed is greater, so the cost per same size print is roughly the same as an inexpensive printer...however...shelf life of cartridge is about 6 month (will work til empty, but presumed deterioration in output - probably not noticeable) and printhead cleaning from occasional use consumes a lot of ink. While I wish I had one, such is not the case - but perhaps in the future.

Budget recommendation - which is good enough that works against my "vanity" desire to upgrade to a 17" (or 13") noted above and would have to justify with enough sales using a local professional lab. First, no laser printer EVER! On the inkjet side, past two have been the "Photo" version with the additional "Photo cartridge" supplementing the standard CMYK(plus extra K) cartridge set. Currently use Canon TS8320 which replaced an early model when worn out. The second carrier remains loaded with 4x6 Canon Photo Plus Glossy II paper. If I want larger, replace the standard paper in the primary tray with photo grade paper. As set up, can print 4x6 on demand from the iPhone, and larger if I manually replace the paper.

i'd be leery of the TS series of printers for post high sierra. Only the AirPrint drivers are available and that leads to color management issues when printing.
see this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/update-and-shortened-version-of-printing-woes.2345427/

also, i have the pro-100 and this particular dye printer (and it's successor, the pro-200) are known not to clog. in the eight years, i've had this printer, several cartridges have taken up to two years to consume, so the six month shelf life is a fallacy. that's assuming factory ink. YMMV when using non-factory refill kits.

 

[citysnaps]

If money was no issue, what is the best option available in 2022 to print some iPhone photos to keep as photo-album photos and send to family who only seem to consider it a "photo" if they can hold it in their hand...?

I've had consistently good results from nearby Costco warehouses - for both iPhone and dSLR/mirrorless photos.

Upload your files online. Pick them up later.

As aside you can get excellent quality 20x30 inch prints for $9.99 at Costco. From an Epson professional large format printer. B&W prints come out dead neutral.

 

[mackmgg]

I'll add another post saying it depends on the goal here. Do you just want to print 4x6 photos, do you want bigger? Almost any printer will do 8x10s of varying quality, and you can get plenty of good photo printers. Getting much above that will require large specialized equipment that if it's just an occasional thing it's probably worth just sending it out to one of the big online shops (Mpix, ProDPI, etc).

If you just want 4x6s, the cheapest will always be to just send it out since it's often only $0.25/print. But another fun option is to get a portable bluetooth printer. I've got a Canon Selphy QX10 which prints 2.7x2.7" but is battery powered and you can carry it anywhere. It's always nice to be able to just hand out tiny sticker prints! There are also plenty of slightly larger ones that do 4x6 where you can bring it with you and print out photos you took that day to give to people.

If you want a local store, I'm sure there's a camera store near you. But really there's no reason not to just try out even the drug store and see if you're happy with the results. I know CVS charges less than $0.50 for a 4x6, so really the next time you're near somewhere offering prints just pop in and print out anything as a test. That's the easiest way to figure out if they're any good!

 

[wilberforce]

If money was no issue, what is the best option available

Are you sure money is no issue? If so, then Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. Expect about $2000 for printer, an ink refill and some high quality paper.
The Epson P700 or P900 (which I have), is slightly cheaper but not quite as good.

I can tell (or link) you more if you want to know more.

There are even larger and (much) more expensive photo printers intended for high volume or larger printing.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

Keep in mind that if used only occasionally all ink jet printers will use as much or more ink cleaning the heads than will end up on prints.