Which Way to Make Prints

[landryrk]

Newby question here.

When I first got my M3 in the 1970's, I shot mostly slides for display on a screen and I occasionally had prints made from my slides. Now that I'm dusting off the M3, I'm wondering just how to proceed with film and making prints. My wife wants me to make some prints (of our vacations) to hang on the wall. Do I:

(1) Shoot negatives & slides and have prints made 'professionally'?
(2) Shoot negatives & slides and scan files for printing?
(3) Shoot negatives & slides and have a Kodak CD made (flame suit on)?

I'm not ready or really inclined to do darkroom work, even for B&W film. I'm inclined to stick with slides because it's hard to beat slides displayed on a nice screen. Suggestions & comments are welcome.

 

[boilerdoc2]

If you are shooting color, go negs/slides and scan. Better if you scan your own but lab scans can be pretty decent and faster. For B&W shoot C41 process film (XP2 Super or B&W Portra) and have lab print - altho you can scan those yourself (or them) and get great prints.
steve

 

[aad]

I'm shooting slides for color, traditional B&W for prints, just like the old days. My own scans do better than most labs-I use a print service either online or at a local WalMart type deal.

 

[clintock]

I scan slides and either print at costco or similar for small prints, or use my old 6-color inkjet canon for bigger things. I've tried to get inspired to do black and white with an inkjet printer, but all the quadtone inks, endless paper types, profiles yada yada, I'm just gonna make a darkroom for the black and white.. It's so much easier it seems to me to make a real 'silver' print than it is to make one that is almost as good for more money.. enlargers are almost free now.

 

[Sparrow]

Scan myself; adjust in Photoshop, save as jpg in the lab’s colour-space print on an Agfa D lab 2, works well