Summary: Printing photos from your cameraphone is not difficult. Printing quality photos that rival prints form a digital camera is quite tricky. In fact, it is difficult, tedious and frustrating. PORTRAITSECRETS looked into the rapidly changing technology available and offers some tips and observations that can help you navigate the shifting sands of the printing landscape.

    You just snapped a cameraphone portrait of your new friend and e-mailed it to everyone on your buddies list. Now, you want to make a nice print, suitable for framing, for your workspace. That's where the fun begins.

    Making quality prints from cameraphone photo files is a work in progress. There are many routes you can take and there is not one clear alternative that is superior to the others.

    First of all, the print quality is ONLY as good as the optical quality of your camera. Most domestic market cameraphones are in the 2-megapixel category. That file size should insure a print no larger that 4 inches by 6 inches. That's an acceptable print size for casual display. However, don't expect it to be a vivid photo quality print.

    Some cameraphones default from 2 megapixels to an even lower resolution when flipped up in preparation for dialing. This resolution default is programmed by manufacturers on their assumption that the photo will immediately be sent to another person, via e-mail or text messaging. A smaller image file at lower resolution would speed the transmission, but only by a few seconds.

Methods, madness and making sense of them

There are many methods of printing cameraphone photos and even more methods of linking and downloading cameraphone photo files. Some cameraphones have no umbilical linkage, like USB cables, that will allow downloading photos. You'll have to rely on the e-mailed file to make a print.  Still, other newer generation cameraphones are equipped with USB ports and cables that hook directly to printers. You'll have to check you printer to see if it is compatible with your phone.

Other cameraphones have a mini-SD card that is removable and can be inserted into an SD card adapter and then into the printer port for an SD memory card. Those adapters can fit into a computer-linked printer or directly into any number of freestanding portable printers, either personal or retail, that can print without a computer.

    Recently, some professional photofinishing retailers have installed print kiosks that are Bluetooth enabled or use infrared transmission to download files from Bluetooth or infrared enabled cameraphones for printing.

    Using the standard method for printing digital files works well for most cameraphone images. However, there are issues with camera resolution, contrast and image sharpness that will affect the print. A nearly perfect cameraphone image is required to make an acceptable print.

Today's "best" is tomorrow's "old news"

    Manufacturers are leap-frogging each other in an attempt to gain a toehold in a developing cameraphone printing market. The changing landscape of printing images that includes Bluetooth wireless technology, dialup direct transfer and e-mail transfer leaves users searching for stability and  standardization.

    Understanding the technology available, locating that technology in a retail outlet and overcoming the steep learning curve associated with the whole cameraphone printing experience can be frustrating.

     Lily, a friend of PORTRAITSECRETS,  recently bought a new cameraphone that had a long list of features. They included 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels resoultion, Carl Zeiss optics,  autofocus, video, flash,  Bluetooth technology, Pict-Bridge  EDGE, video calling and download, MP3/AAC/MPEG4playerWAP 2.0xHTML/HTML browser and Pop-Port with USB. Some of those feature related to the camera in the phone and others were features for web browsing, music and connectivity.

    As you can see, the features, or even the list itself, can overwhelm a user. Eventually, Lily was able to take a self-portrait of herself and e-mail it to a friend. The process left her a bit overwhelmed. Littl wonder she thought she looked tired in her self-portrait.

Key language of printing photos

    Like all upstart technology and the process of becoming comfortable with and using it to your advantage, it is important to understand and grasp the language associated with that technology.

    PictBridge is a standard for connecting a digital camera and printer via a USB cable, and printing without using a PC. Established by the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA). This standard is endorsed by a large number of manufacturers of digital still cameras and printers, and has quickly become the industry standard default. Until now, manufacturers have supported direct print via proprietary systems, limiting the combinations of digital cameras and printers that could "talk to each other." The establishment of the PictBridge standard will make it possible for any digital camera and printer to be combined, regardless of manufacturer or model, as long as they both support the PictBridge standard.

    A USB (Universal Serial Bus) port is the gateway to your computer. A USB port may also exist on your camera phone, which would allow you to transfer your photos from your camera phone right onto your PC for easy, instant printing.

    Bluetooth technology is a short-range radio technology aimed at simplifying communications among devices like cameraphones, cellular phones and even computers. It also aims to simplify data synchronization between Internet devices and other computers.

    Some retail printing outlets and even personal printers come equipped with both Bluetooth and infrared linkage that allow wireless linkage between the cameraphone and the printer.


More print sources

    If you choose to find a retail source for printing cameraphone photos, there is a growing trend in the industry that seems encouraging. A recent photo industry report, confirmed with interviews of retail outlets specializing in printing digital files, shown that home printing is on a decline. Ink and paper costs, disappointment with results and lack of time are the leading factors in that decline.

    Media reports cite a growing interest in phone service providers marketing print services for their customers.

    Fujifilm is teaming up with Cingular, the largest cellular carrier in the US, to allow users to send camera-phone pictures from a handset directly to one of 3,500 neighboring photofinishers for prints in as little as an hour.
The service for a fee, called Get the Picture Mobile service, expands upon a previous direct-from-handset deal Fuji made with Sprint in March 2005.

    Fujifilm has provided kiosk printing facilities to Ritz Camera stores, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Walgreens in an effort to build interest in cameraphone printing along with digital camera printing. An informal survey of several of these retailers found both demand for the printing service and knowledge about the service less than wanting.

    Other retailers are approaching the issue with  caution. Investment in printing equipment, specific to the needs of cameraphone users, is a cost that has yet to yield a return on investment justification.

    The continued development of cameraphones with higher image resolution, increased optical quality and acceptance of the cameraphone as a "real camera" by the public will drive the market. PORTRAITSECRETS believes that the public will eventually buy into the idea when quality issues are fully addressed. In the meantime, industry analysts predict the over 7.5 billion cameraphone photos will be taken in the coming year. The market potential for making prints is unlimited.

A snapshot of Robert Clark's webpage dedicated to photographs taken with a Sony Ericsson cameraphone.