Getting Real Photographic Prints from Digital Cameras
(Review of Cooter's Online Print Ordering Service)

By James Dunn
September 7, 2003

The new digital cameras are real cool. You can shoot as many pictures as you want and it costs almost nothing. You can even look at the image immediately after you shoot it and  if you don’t like it, you can just erase it and shoot again.  You can send digital files to friends and relatives for them to look at, and you can also display the pictures on your TV with a DVD player. As long as you keep the image in the digital domain, the cost is minuscule.

But what if you want traditional prints? 
We now have inkjet printers that are capable of making color photographs that rival those made in the traditional way. It’s even got a snazzy new name – the digital darkroom. Every month in the Digital Photography SIG we discuss various subjects, among others, the Digital Darkroom. It’s not exactly a snap. There's a lot to learn - dye inks or pigmented, icc profiles, color gamuts, and the many different papers. It’s challenging and lots of fun and can be rewarding when you get excellent prints that you made yourself.

However, there are many people who do not wish to spend the time and effort to get up to speed with printing photos. Or perhaps they have tried with unsatisfactory success. Even those who can make their own prints find that, considering their own time investment, they have not saved money doing it themselves.  They just want good prints and are not interested in climbing the learning curve.

The Cooter's Web address is www.cooterscamera.com. On the home page, there is a button just under the logo, labeled SERVICES.  When you click this button, you are then taken to the Digital Photo page. There are two ways (upload or e-mail attachment) that you can submit your digital files. You can upload your images directly to the Noritsu, or you can send them as an attachment to an e-mail message to Cooter's. There is also a third option, which is not mentioned on the Web site. The third option is to bring your digital files on a floppy disk or a CD to the Cooter's Cameras store in Highland Park Village, and then Cooter's will process your digital images for you. But the whole point of the Cooter's Online Services is to provide its customers with another timesaver benefit.

I tried the Cooter's online services from home. The menu structure is quite self-explanatory. The uploading process requires that something called SoftArtisanXFile be downloaded and installed. When I did this, the certificate showed that it was registered to Software Artisans, Inc in Brookline MA. 

If you are reluctant to install software from the Internet onto your computer, there are other options. You can submit the files by attaching them to an e-mail or, if you have the Java run-time installed on your machine, there is a Java interface. Java is more secure for the home user than active-X. In any case, instructions on how to proceed are on Cooter’s Web site.

I had already prepared three JPEG test files, one each for 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 inch prints. The files totaled about four and a half megabytes alltogether. The first time I tried to upload went smoothly, but slowly. I think the upload would have been faster if I had installed the files on my hard drive. I uploaded them from CD-ROM and I’m sure that slowed down the upload process.  After the upload, the server took me to another screen for ordering. This screen showed thumbnails of each of the files I uploaded and asked me to specify how many and what sizes of each I wanted. 

You can bookmark this page and you should do so. There is no other way to get back to here if you don’t. You don’t want to have to do the upload again. Cooter's retains these digital files in the Noritsu for 30 days and then they are deleted. At the bottom of the order page is a link to send the order page to up to five other addresses, so that you can share the images with your family or friends. It doesn't matter whether or not you send the upload file to friends or family members, you should always make it a habit to send the file to yourself.

Next, I tried to send one of the digital files via e-mail. The directions said that after I sent the file(s), I would receive an e-mail message with a link to the order page. This might be the preferable way to do this, if this link remains active for re-orders.  However, four megabytes of attachments per e-mail might be a problem. You might need to send a separate e-mail message for each digital image attachment. Cooter's’ e-mail address has no size limitations on it, but most ISPs have size limits on your e-mails. Check with your ISP before sending attachments larger than a two megabytes. Be aware that the larger the files sizes, the longer the upload will take. That also applies equally to e-mail messages. The larger the size of the attached files, the longer it takes for your ISP to process the outgoing e-mail. If you are on a 56k dial up, there is no way around the upload speed, except to upload the files to the Noritsu or to bring the files on CD to the Camera store.

When you use Cooter's Online Services, payment is handled via credit card over a secure server. The files are printed on genuine Kodak photo paper (not inkjet) and available the next day. I opted to pick them up at Cooter's, since I hadn’t been to their store in a while.  I like to see what new stuff they may have from time to time. You can of course get the prints sent to you via US mail, so that you don’t have to make the trip.

Two weeks after my original order, I received an e-mail from Cooter's offering re-prints of the same files. This e-mail had a link back to the ordering page. Cooter's keeps the file for only 30 days then deletes them, so do not rely on Cooter's for archival storage. Keep the original digital files yourself. 

In summary, this is a very valuable service for people who need real photographic prints from their digital camera files. You will want to give it a try.

James Dunn

James Dunn is leader of NTPCUG's Digital Photography SIG.
He may be contacted by e-mail: Click to e-mail James Dunn
His Web site is: ImagesByJamesDunn.com