My new enterprise, Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos, requires that I be able to print 4×6 pictures quickly, same-day, spur of the moment. They have to be the best quality imaginable.
My old Oki C5500 color laser printer is on its last legs, so I had been looking at a new printer and the requisite cost of printer consumables like the ink and toner cartridges, drum belt, etc. It’s funny how what looks like a great printer can be $99 but the cartridges can be $49 to $259 EACH! I’ve learned over the years that the cost of the printer should not be the deciding factor when buying because, if you print a lot, that $99 printer can cost $99 a week or more for those dastardly consumables.
While I was looking around at ways to accomplish my goals with ultra high quality printing but as inexpensive as ultra high quality would allow, I discovered Office Depot’s same day photo printing service. I gave it a test run yesterday, uploading two pictures to be printed at 4×6 at my requested resolution of 300 ppi. I’ll put the two pictures in this blog post since I can’t have a blog post without pictures. This is, after all, Russel Ray Photos!
When I picked up the two pictures just three hours after submitting them, I was floored by the quality. Totally unexpected. Far superior to anything I’ve ever seen come out of a portable printer for the home. They are of a quality that I could never have gotten regardless of the type of photographic paper or the printer. They were, in one word, stunning. Can you detect that I’m gushing over these pictures?
And the cost? A mere 29¢ each.
I’ll repeat that so you don’t think it’s a typo that I didn’t catch: 29¢ each. Yes! Twenty-nine cents each!
And remember that this is same-day service. Took all of three hours!
Check out Office Depot’s printing services at http://officedepot.com/photo.
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Russel Ray Photos 
Wow ~ that’s awesome! I hope you become their spokesperson! 🙂
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Thanks so much for sharing this info! One of my goals this year is to start offering prints of some of my photos, and I didn’t realize Office Depot could do them so well and at such a great price. Your photos are amazing!
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Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog.
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They are a quiet little secret. (Used to use them for business) Great work at reasonable price.
Yea for your new venture – your photographs are terrific
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wow…they are awesome…I’m actually in the same position right now…looking for a descent photo printer…we don’t have an office depot here so that is out…I’ll keep looking!
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It doesn’t have to be an Office Depot, though, as I discovered just an hour ago. There are dozens of other stores, as well, that use the system. Check out http://www.lifepics.com/ and enter your zip code to find other participating stores.
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thank you for the link Russel…I will check it out. We do have places to have prints done here but I’ve not heard good things which is why I was considering a photo printer.
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I also have heard great things about Costco’s printing, and since those great things were posted on a couple of photographer’s forums, I think they probably are good testimonials. I’ve never tried them, though. I might have tried them yesterday except that they weren’t open when I was over at Office Depot, which is just a few hundred feet from Costco. Costco’s hours leave a lot to be desired, so I’ll probably do my business at Office Depot, and since I’m happy with their quality, price, and turnaround time, I’ll probably not even try Costco.
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I’ll give it a try. Printer cartridges are expensive!!
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I am always torn between effect and purity. Knowing even that all art is representational and so already manipulated, I struggle nevertheless. Love what you did with the piece but love the original shot just as much.
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I feel for you because I have always thought the same thing until a friend asked me if I liked paintings of things that actually exist. I do. “Well, then, what’s wrong with you creating photographic art?”………..
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This photo is beautiful and amazing. 🙂
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The photos are amazingly crisp and clear. I should think some of that is due to the quality of camera, but I hope you’re getting paid for your post about Office Depot.
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Nope, Office Depot is not paying me. Now if they want to offer me a real nice, high-paying job…………….
The two photos above have been photoshopped. I don’t have the equipment to create excellent photos, so I have to rely on photoshop. Ergo, the moniker “Photographic Art: art based on photography.”
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Photoshopped or not, they are both stunning shots.
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I have an Office Depot 2 minutes from my house, but had no idea they offered this service. I’ll be rounding up some pictures to try out. Thanks very much for passing on the info.
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You beat me! Mine is 3 minutes away………lol
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very interesting for future references!
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Thank you, Russell Ray. That’s a really excellent tip and one that I shall be using. Your images look like brilliant quality. Puts my printer to shame.
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In the same neighborhood as Office Depot is a Staples and a Fry’s Electronics. All of them carry printers and often have samples of the printer’s printing near the printers. I’ve never seen a printer that could print like what I got yesterday at Office Depot, even with the most expensive photographic printing paper. I’m sold on Office Depot (specifically LifePics but at my preferred Office Depot location), which means, of course, that Office Depot will go out of business in a few months……… 😦
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Great pics Russel. 🙂
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It is a beautiful blog Comment form designs. Thank you very much to share this.
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