Digital Prints

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Mastering Digital Printing
For example, after Mac OS X came out, there was only limited driver support at first by
Epson for it. You either had to backtrack to an earlier OS or keep checking Epson’s website
to see if the OS X driver for your printer was available for downloading.
In general, most newer desktops come ready to play with all the usual OSs, both Windows
and Mac; only Dell is Windows only. Again, you can usually download the most recent
drivers from the printer manufacturer’s website.
Want to skip the computer altogether and go direct-to-print from digital camera memory
cards? Canon, Epson, HP, and Lexmark all allow this kind of direct-to-print capability.
But, realize that most serious photographer-artists are doing significant image-editing with
Photoshop or other software. They would rarely print raw captures right off a memory
card. However, while most of these printers are aimed primarily at hobbyists, they are perfectly
capable of acting like normal printers, too. Just check the specs first.
Connectivity (or Interface): This means how you physically connect the printer to your
computer. Since the printer OEMs want to connect as many printers to as many computers
as possible, they all offer the basic options: IEEE 1284 parallel (Windows) and USB
(Windows and Mac). The newest printers also support FireWire ports. If you have an older
printer like an Epson 3000, which only has parallel and Mac serial interfaces, you’ll need
to add an adapter card, cable, or box to get it to connect to the latest computers (plus upto-date
printer drivers).
Noise: All desktops make those characteristic back-and-forth, mechanical sounds when
they print (see Table 6.3). It’s a sound you get used to, and for some, it becomes the background
noise of their lives!
Photo-direct printers such as this HP
Photosmart can read—and print
from—digital camera memory cards.
They can also print from a computer.