By Melissa KreitnerContributing Writer
Rachel Bitman was devastated when all of her pictures disappeared after her computer crashed.
After studying abroad, the SESP senior decided it was time to find an alternative method for preserving her pictures.
But in a digital world, where memory cards are replacing rolls of film, how do you print and display your photos?
Saving digital pictures on the computer has advantages. It makes sharing pictures with friends easier via e-mail, Facebook.com and various other Web sites. It’s easy to share pictures through e-mail attachments, and on Facebook, students can tell the background behind the picture, tag friends and add comments to photos in albums their friends have posted.
But what happened to the days of going to the store to develop film – or in this case, printing digital pictures?
Northwestern students can buy their own printers and produce photo-quality pictures in the comfort of their own room.
But a little bit of knowledge is needed when printing photos from a home computer. To ensure high-quality pictures background research is necessary to ensure finding the most effective printer and camera.
“If (you are) into artistic photography, then the print is more important,” said Sarah Mayhan, a Communication junior.
While printing from home is more accessible, the task can be time consuming and expensive, said Richard Holic, a photo specialist at Wolf Camera, 616 Davis St.
Getting pictures developed at the store is half the price of printing it in on a personal ink jet printer, Holic said.
One-third of pictures processed by Wolf Camera are sent to the development location through the Internet, said Holic, whose company mostly serves Evanston residents.
Online processing is simple, and not just at Wolf Camera.
Sitting at home, with just a few clicks, the pictures are transported to film-processing companies by Internet. Pictures can be mailed or picked up at the nearest store location. Having pictures mailed from Kodak Easy Share – an online photo printing and editing service run by Kodak – can take up to seven business days after processing. Picking the pictures up at the store is a much quicker solution.
“Online (pictures) are our first priority. It automatically prints through our computer,” said Megan Demma, a CVS photo technician. Customers can place online picture orders at the store’s Web site.
With a price difference of only a few cents, personal preference is the deciding factor whether to take pictures to the store or to order online.
While the new trend in picture development continues to be storing pictures on the computer, don’t forget the other methods in backing up your cherished photos.
Otherwise a picture only lasts as long as your computer.
Reach Melissa Kreitner at [email protected].