1. Buy a specialized printer
Let’s start with the simplest method: printing out your snaps on photo paper. You can stick them to the fridge, give them to relatives, or frame them to hang on your wall or prop on your desk. And of course, you can easily make multiple copies and create reprints. We’ve assembled a few ways to transform your favorite photo into a more lasting form, one you can display with pride. Try these five suggestions.
2. Print from a general-purpose machine
General-purpose inkjet printers will accept a wide variety of sheets, but if you want nice-looking images, you should print on photo paper. Review the printer’s help files and manual to see if its manufacturers recommend any particular paper brands or types. Otherwise, simply look for a pack with the term “photo paper” in the description. These sheets are typically thicker than the plain variety, and they have a glossy finish. You can print directly on smaller, photo-size pieces of paper, or use 8.5-by-11-inch sheets and trim them with scissors or a paper cutter. When you’re ready to produce your high-quality images, first adjust the settings to print in photo mode. The exact configuration you’ll need will vary from printer to printer and even application to application, so make sure to consult your printer’s help files. In general, you’ll want to find the Print Settings or Print Preferences button and, once you open the settings dialog, double-check the selected mode. Many printers will offer a “photo” or “fine” mode, but if you don’t see these terms, try ramping up the resolution, as measured in dots-per-inch (DPI), to the highest possible setting. While you’re adjusting the settings, some machines will let you set the paper type. Depending on the available options, you should choose either “thick paper” or “photo paper.” Those who keep their photos on a macOS device might give Apple’s service a try. To get started, open the Photos app and choose File, Create, and then Book. Apple will offer you a selection of third-party apps that can help you turn your images into albums, calendars, and more—for varying fees. If you keep more of your memories in Google Photos, you can go that route just as easily. Head to the Photo Books website, click Make a photo book, and begin adding images from your collection. In this case, prices start at $15 for a paperback book and $30 for a hardcover one. The cost goes up as you add more pages. Apple and Google offer the easiest photo albums, especially if you already store your pictures with the companies’ apps. That said, some photo-printing services offer a similar deal. Shutterfly, for example, assembles albums for prices that start at $23 for an 8-by-8-inch 20-page paperback photo book. However, image-publishing companies like Shutterfly will turn your photos into a lot more than just albums: They also offer posters, calendars, phone cases, and more. Most printing services work in similar ways. You visit the website, choose the product you want, upload your favorite photos from your computer’s hard drive, and then add finishing touches like color filters and text overlays before paying the company. Some services will even connect to Instagram or Facebook so you can pick an image you’ve already posted online. Just make sure to double-check the website’s notes about the minimum resolutions your images need. Obeying these guidelines will ensure your final print-out looks sharp and high-quality. Perhaps the hardest part of the process will be choosing the right service. If you prefer to preview your options in person or ask a human being for help, consider visiting the local branch of a major retail chain—such as Walmart, Staples, or Walgreens—that offers printing. These companies don’t always print on as many objects as their web-based competitors, but they do create posters, calendars, and albums at very reasonable costs. Take Walmart—they’ll turn your digital snap into wall art for prices that start at $6 for an 11-by-14-inch poster, increasing for larger sizes, higher paper quality, and additional framing. For any of the companies with physical locations, you can order online and have your poster delivered or pick it up at a local branch. However, they do differ in price and in the process that you have to go through to get your images ready to print. Walmart is the cheapest, Staples has one of the simplest and fastest check-out processes, and Walgreens is slightly harder to use but offers more control and customization: various products, multiple potential layouts, and extra modifications like those text overlays.
5. Set up a digital photo frame
Digital photo frames display a carousel of your favorite pictures. They have a few advantages over print, including the ability to update the featured images at any time, so you won’t be stuck with the first photos you picked. This provides variety without the hassle of constantly printing out fresh images. Instead, you load up photos from a USB stick or memory card that slots into the back of the frame. Traditional or new, all of these services have good interfaces that make it easy to play around with your printing options from within your web browser. In general, Shutterfly and Snapfish offer the widest range of designs and options, while Staples and Vistaprint have the easiest check-out processes. However, they’re all very similar. Try opening a couple options in different tabs to compare their templates and prices.
