Hi friends! This is possibly THE BEST TOPIC EVER!!! I am obsessed with displaying my photos, I have them everywhere, maybe I am a little cra-cra but ya’ll, why take them if you are never going to be able to enjoy them!!!  Ok, I hear you, they are on your phone.  What happens when you lose your phone or it dies? Maybe they are on your computer or safe and sound on your USB, that makes sense, right?

It would if photos were meant to be safe and sound and not enjoyed on the daily! A photographs happy place is being displayed, showed off and enjoyed!

Photos also connect us with our past, they show us and our children who we are and where we came from, they even hint to where we are going.  My kids love to look at our photos and seeing them on the daily connects them so beautifully to their past. The photos connect them to things they might have otherwise forgotten; their first bike, a lost tooth, their favorite pet or a grand parent they never met, but feel connected to.

 I am also the family historian and I admittedly geek out over words like, acid free, lignin free & archival quality.

Those sciency words are why it matters where you choose to print, it can be tempting to just go with the cheapest place, the easiest or the place running a sale, I get it. When you are looking at those photos and trying to choose where to print, ask yourself, why are you printing them?  What is your goal? How long do you want them to last?  Do you want your grandkids to have these to remind them where they came from?   For a few years back in the day, I sold Creative Memories albums and such and I loved it because I loved learning and teaching about what to use and why!  Acid and Lignen are the reasons that your photos turn yellow and fade while in albums, if your photo is printed on paper or with ink that contains either of those, it is going to fade, no matter where you display it.

If you want your photos to be around for awhile, to tell your story and to connect the future to the past, then where you print matters.

 

Ya’ll may not know this, but we homeschool, nuts right. Ya, I think so too!  One of the experiments that we did was to print photos from popular printers and then put them through a gamete of tests to see which would last longer. We left some in direct sunlight, in shade, in albums and in frames. We watched as some faded away. That is just not ok, I love picking up photos of my dad as a kid or my Grandma in her Navy uniform.  How in the world will our kids have that if we keep printing at the cheapest place possible?

 

 

 

 

My top choices for printing!

You know I love lists, right – so here we go!

Artsy Couture is right at the top of my list, I love the care that they take with their products. When a  mistake is made, they fix it and they fix it quickly and kindly. All of my photos from Artsy look exactly like they did the day I ordered them.  I also order custom USB’s, gallery wrap frames, photo boxes and albums from Artsy and man are they gorgeous.

Smallwood Home is my go to for HUGE photos printed on wood, these are hanging in my dining room and they are amazing.  If you are looking for a statement piece, something that makes the friends and family  go WHOA, this is it!

Mpix is one that I do not order from a ton, but I have never been disappointed in anything that I ordered from them. Great customer service and excellent products!

Persnickety Prints is such a fun printer. Their name is adorbs and their product is very trendy and fun.  I order the smaller prints for the kids baby books and I love their retro options.

 

There you go, a few of my favorite printers, enjoy!

Enjoy and know that every time you print from one of these printers you are getting prints to last a lifetime and preserving your past for those in the future to enjoy!

Amanda Star