Printing Photos Online

If you don't have your own photo-quality printer, you can use a professional photo-processing service to print your photos. There are a number of ways you can create prints from your digital photos:

• Copy your image files to disk and deliver the disk by hand to your local photo finisher.

• Go to the Web site of an online photo-finishing service and transfer your image files over the Internet.

• Use the Order Prints from the Internet option in Windows XP's My Pictures folder.

The first option is kind of old-fashioned and not always convenient. For many users, it's a lot less hassle to order photo prints from the comfort of their computer keyboards however you do it.

Ordering from a Photo-Processing Site

Dozens and dozens of Web sites offer photo-processing services. They all operate in pretty much the same fashion.

After you register with the site, you upload the pictures you want printed from your hard drive to the Web site. Most sites accomplish this by giving you a few buttons to click and forms to fill out; a handful of sites let you send them your picture files as email attachments. After you upload the photos, you choose what size prints and how many copies you want, along with how fast you want them shipped. Enter your name, address, and credit card number, and your order is complete.

If you're looking for online photo services, here are some of the most popular sites to consider:

• Club Photo (www.clubphoto.com)

• FotoTime (www.fototime.com)

• Ofoto (www.ofoto.com)

• PhotoAccess (www.photoaccess.com)

• PhotoFun.com (www.photofun.com)

• PhotoWorks (www.photoworks.com)

• Shutterfly (www.shutterfly.com)

• Snapfish (www.snapfish.com)

Ordering from Within Windows XP

If you're running Windows XP, you can order prints directly from the My Pictures folder. All you have to do is select the files you want to print and then click the Order Prints from the Internet option in the Picture Tasks panel.

tip

A lower-priced alternative to making a lot of photo prints is to create your own online photo album that your friends and family can view over the Internet. Check with your favorite online photo site to see what kind of online photo album options it offers.

This launches the Internet Print Ordering Wizard. The wizard lets you pick which service you want to use, as well as what type and how many prints to make. You have to fill in all the normal shipping and payment information, of course. You'll receive your prints in a few days, just as you would if you ordered directly from that site via your Web browser.

The Absolute Minimum

Here are the key points to remember from this chapter:

• By default, your digital pictures are stored in the My Pictures folder.

• You can use a photo editing program, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, to touch up or edit your photos.

• Some of the most popular "touch ups" include removing red eye, adjusting brightness and contrast, changing color and tint, cropping the edges of the photo, and sharpening or blurring the picture.

• You can print your photos to any four-color printer or sent them (via the Internet) to an online photo processor for printing.