Printing colour photos

[Howard]

This is probably a very basic question which I admit is probably answered by googling but I thought I'd ask.

I have a Medion Windows 10 desktop and a basic HP Deskjet 2540 printer and run a Chrome browser.

I’ve bought a multi picture frame which holds four different sized photos. And I’d like to print some photos to fit into approximate but specific sizes, for example 15x9.5 cm and 9.5x9.5 cm.

Is there an easy way to do this? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Howard

[Alaric]

Is there an easy way to do this?

You get better results with dedicated photo quality paper, which can come in smaller sizes than regular A4. Assuming the printer and its software can cope, print with paper as close to the size you want and then trim with a guillotine or scissors.

[Watis]

The advice re printing on photo paper is great, as far as it goes, but I suspect Howard would also like to reduce the size of the image to suit the frame rather than print an image full sized and snip away the bits that don't fit.

So here's a review of some free image editors from a well known IT site.

https://www.techradar.com/best/free-photo-editor

I can't vouch for or recommend any of the products, not having used any of them, but hope it helps anyway.

Watis

[Infrasonic]

If it's a one off or very occasional print run then it might be better to use something like Jessops to do them. (Maybe use a basic editor on your PC to size them up first).
Generally you can take them in on USB flash drive, SD/x camera cards et al. and do it all on one of the in store kiosks with a pretty quick turnaround.

[Breelander]

I’d like to print some photos to fit into approximate but specific sizes, for example 15x9.5 cm and 9.5x9.5 cm.
Is there an easy way to do this? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The easiest way to do this (and one I've used myself on occasion) doesn't need any fancy photo editing software. Just insert the photo into a Word document and you can click and drag the corners of the image to resize and move it. Depending on the sizes you want, you can fit several on one A4 sheet. If you don't have Microsoft Office, then LibreOffice is a free alternative. If you need to crop the photo first, Microsoft Paint can do that.

Printing on glossy photo paper is essential for best results.

[Breelander]

...it might be better to use something like Jessops to do them. (Maybe use a basic editor on your PC to size them up first)...

You can crop and resize on most kiosks. I've done that on occasion too.

[Howard]

I’d like to print some photos to fit into approximate but specific sizes, for example 15x9.5 cm and 9.5x9.5 cm.
Is there an easy way to do this? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The easiest way to do this (and one I've used myself on occasion) doesn't need any fancy photo editing software. Just insert the photo into a Word document and you can click and drag the corners of the image to resize and move it. Depending on the sizes you want, you can fit several on one A4 sheet. If you don't have Microsoft Office, then LibreOffice is a free alternative. If you need to crop the photo first, Microsoft Paint can do that.

Printing on glossy photo paper is essential for best results.

Thank you, why didn't I think of that!? I'll use Word and, as you suggest, size the pictures and print several on one page. I do always use glossy Kodak paper but find it very wasteful to try and get the sizes by trial and error. A lot of expensive unprinted offcuts go into the bin, hence my question.

All replies appreciated. I'll let you know how I get on.

regards

Howard

[kiloran]

I do always use glossy Kodak paper but find it very wasteful to try and get the sizes by trial and error. A lot of expensive unprinted offcuts go into the bin, hence my question.

Howard

Print the trials on ordinary paper, in black and white mode to save ink. And your printer may have a draft mode to save even more ink. When you are happy, print in colour on your glossy paper

--kiloran

[bungeejumper]

Thank you, why didn't I think of that!? I'll use Word and, as you suggest, size the pictures and print several on one page.

I do this a lot, often using images that I've grabbed with the Microsoft snipping tool. (I've taken up painting in my semi-retirement, and I'm always on the lookout for arresting images to use for graphic ideas.) Being able to run off a dozen at one go is quite useful.

Don't forget to shrink your document margins down to zero (or as near as you can get), and use the landscape/portrait option to get the best out of your pics. You can, of course, rotate any image on the Word page with your mouse. But heck, you knew that already.

Generally, putting a succession of images into a Word doc is quite a good way of making them "portable", so that you can send them on to somebody else with their sequence already decided, and with your own selection of (hopefully) witty titles neatly incorporated into the layout.

BJ

[twotwo22]

Use proper ink so the pictures don't fade once printed. More expensive but...