In April, I tried out 10 steps towards printing on the forum, and received a wealth of specific suggestions (Forum members will recognize their contributions) and encouragement for which I have been grateful. This is an outline of the steps I actually followed. It was not "back to the print" for me, but printing for the first time as someone who is an "emerging" photographer. I hope my road to printing might be helpful for someone else trodding the same path. I won't review the steps I outlined in April, but go straight to the ten stages as they happened.
1. Taking photos. Taking photos is still my first priority and the passion that drives the rest.
2. Getting the hardware in place, Part 1. I realised that my old late 2009 iMac was not going to cut it. I wanted a quad core Mac, and the choices were a 15 inch Macbook Pro, a Mac Pro, or a late 2012 Mac Mini. Found a 2012 Mini, and added 16mbs of RAM. Bought a BenQ SW2700PT, and an i1 Display Pro calibrator. After a while, braved calibrating the monitor.
3. Improving my post-processing skills re printing. Still have a long way to go with respect to post processing, but focused on a slightly greater mastery of the conversion software I prefer - Capture One - and the three stage sharpening process. Added Focus Magic and Topaz Detail to the work flow. Decided on QImage Ultimate as the specialized printing software I planned to use.
4. Getting the hardware, Part 2. After rebelling a bit about the size and weight of 17 and 24 inch printers, I decided on an Epson P800. The Epson was slightly smaller , and considerably lighter that the Canon Pro1000 (but not light!). The November mail-in rebate helped. (It will help more when it arrives) Kristin Zeidler at Vistek in Toronto was very helpful.
5. Preparing the software, Part 2. To run QImage Ultimate which is a Windows programme on a Mac, I had to run Bootcamp on it, or Parallels. Decided to go the Parallels route. Found a copy of Windows 7 (which I prefer to 10) and installed Parallels, Windows 7, and QImage Ultimate.
6. Bringing myself up to speed with QImage Ultimate, or at least started to, using their videos.
7. Removing the blue tape on the printer, missing some at the beginning. Configured the printer, aligning the heads.
8. Preparing to print. Had bought a packet of 8 by 10 Epson "Ultra Premium Photo Paper Luster" when I bought the printer. Had trouble finding the paper's printer drivers on the Epson software, but members of the Forum came to the rescue once more. Did some worrying about whether I had inadvertently installed the dreaded Airprint driver by mistake. Ran the Digital Outback Photo test image, and looked to see what might be seen as per suggestions there. Things looked fine. Configured QImage Ultimate.
9. Printing the first photo, one that my daughter particularly wanted, praying that the printed photo would actually look something like it did on the monitor. It did. Hallelujah! Printed a couple more photos to be sure. Since I have not yet created a properly lit viewing station, this comparison is perhaps less precise than it could be.
10. Going back to the beginning - to take more photos.
Again, to thank everyone on the forum that made constructive comments during this process would fill the thread. Members have been of invaluable assistance. The cost of this system, including Canadian sales tax, came to about $4500 minus $400 rebate. When one converts this into US dollars, deducting sales tax and rebate, the cost was roughly $2500US.
Now I have another 10 steps to consider, including choosing paper, learning how printing will affect my photography, and other topics. But these will keep for another occasion.
Frank
