Do you remember slide projectors? They were a very popular option to view photos. Folks would have their film developed into slides. They were compact and easy to store. It was easy to produce a slideshow of, say, the family vacation and share it with a room full of friends.

There are uses for printed photos. Framed portraits, favorite moments to put onto the trophy wall, etc.

If you are like most people, you have a handful of photos that you like to look at from time to time and show to your friends and family. Not too long ago, the only way to do this was to haul a photo album around or have your guests go through one while visiting your home. Now it’s easy to show off your pictures. There are plenty of options and good reasons to keep your photos in digital format.

Not long ago, I was faced with cleaning out the cabinet that housed 25 plus years worth of printed photographs. There photos of the kids being born, growing up and moving away. New puppies, old cars, places we had lived. There were hundreds of pictures that should never have been taken such someones thumb over the lens, the floor of an unknown car – you get the idea. I was face with the prospect of sifting through all of these photos, finding the ones worth keeping and, then, scanning them to digital format so that I could share them. The vast majority of pictures were not worth keeping or scanning and ended up in the trash. I spent a huge amount of time getting my old photos into a digital format which is how I want virtually all of my photos.

So, imagine my amazement when I was faced with the prospect of someone who wanted to take the photos from their digital camera and have them all printed. I could think of several reasons why this was absurd – cost, time, waste of paper, the inconvenience of getting them into a photo album and the list kept going. I stand by all of the above but understand the need for printed photos for some purposes.

Most people now see pictures via Facebook, instagram, personal websites, etc.

There are cost effective ways to get photos printed.