If you recently purchased a digital camera and have learned various photography skills such as how to get long exposure on a digital camera, you may be wondering about physical prints of images you intend to capture. How do you print pictures from a digital camera? Keep reading to find out.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Using your printer to print out photos taken by your best digital camera can be a great way to get your hands on physical copies of your favorite images.
- The best way to do this is to physically plug your camera into the printer via a USB or similar connection type.
- Wireless printing is also an option, but be aware that this will be a significant battery drain on the camera.
Why Would You Want to Print Pictures?
The reason here is obvious. Printing out photos from a digital camera allows you to hold a physical representation of the image in your hand. You can paste them to the refrigerator, place them in your favorite frame, or simply keep a copy in your wallet or purse. This can also be useful for making backups of useful documents no matter the image size, such as social security cards and the like.
Insider Tip
Printing out photos from a digital camera allows you to hold a physical representation of the image in your hand.
How to Print Pictures From a Digital Camera
Here are some ways you can easily print photos from a digital camera, though the actual steps may differ slightly depending on the make and model of your camera.
Use a Physical Cable
The easiest and fastest way to print photos from your camera is to simply connect the digicam to your printer via a standard USB cable. Most digital cameras and most printers will accept relatively common cable types, so you should already have access to the cords required to complete this operation. Once the camera has been plugged into the printer, follow the prompts to print the photos. This typically requires heading into your camera app, selecting a particular photo or group of photos, and pushing the print icon. Your camera may need proprietary software offered by the printer for maximum integration, so read the instructions that accompanied both devices.
Be aware, you may need to invest in some photo paper or buy one of those dedicated photo printers to ensure print quality and quality prints.
Wireless Printing
Another option is to shoot for wireless printing. If your camera features a wireless adapter and your printer accepts wireless print jobs, you should be good to go. You may need to download the printer’s proprietary app in order to send out print jobs wirelessly, so be on the lookout for that. Another thing to keep in mind is that printing wireless could be a significant battery drain on your camera, so be sure to plug it in for a while after you complete the prints.
To that end, if you have an AC adapter handy, you may want to keep the camera plugged into a wall outlet as you perform wireless printing tasks. This will ensure the camera does not accidentally power down while it prints, as battery life will suffer. However, if you are unable to carry out any of the steps discussed above, your camera may be having an issue that needs to be fixed. The best way to achieve this is by factory resetting your digital camera.
Insider Tip
Once the camera has been plugged into the printer, follow the prompts to print the photos.
F.A.Q.
Why buy an instant print camera?
Instant print cameras are digital cameras with printers physically attached to the unit itself. Think Polaroid and you will be getting in the ballpark. These instant print cameras can be extremely useful but are also limited by design.
How to get your digital photos to the printers?
If you are going with a professional printing service, you will have to give them all of your photos. We recommend saving the photos to a USB stick or a memory card.
Can all printers print out photos?
Technically, all printers can handle photos, as they are just images and printers excel with images. However, not all printers can handle color images. So your gorgeous color photos will be printed in black and white.
STAT: According to research from KeyPoint Intelligence/InfoTrends, an estimated 400 billion digital photos were taken globally in 2011 and this eventually rises to 1.2 trillion photos in 2017. (source)
