By Ron Weinberg, Tampa PC Users Group
rswjbr@verizon.net

Despite the prevalence of home PC photo printers, many digital camera owners choose to have prints made at a commercial photo lab for several reasons.

They may not have a home photo printer. Commercial quality is better than that of inexpensive home printers. Commercial prints may be more permanent. Last but not least, commercial prints are generally far less expensive per print, often in the range of 17 to 20 cents each for high quality 4x6 prints. Even the common 29-cent price often compares favorably to the per print cost of paper and ink at home. As for convenience, one hour commercial service is often available.

In order to facilitate ordering digital prints in a standard easy to use manner, a consortium of leading camera makers–Canon, Kodak, Fuji and Matsushita (Panasonic)–developed the DPOF (Digital Print Order Form) Standard in 1999. In 2000, version 1.10 was released and has been licensed to more than 80 companies, including most other camera makers, commercial photo finishers, and for use in other digital imaging devices. Many PC photo printers also accept the standard information automatically.

The key features of DPOF are as follows:

Settings are made on your camera and DPOF information is stored on your memory chip (digital media) attached to the image and is downloaded with the photo for processing. Some software will allow you to edit or add DPOF settings to photos residing on your PC.

For DPOF-enabled labs and printers you can specify:

• Number of prints desired
• Print date on photo
• Multiple Image Print (multiple pictures can be printed on the same sheet)
• Specific Size Print (different sizes for printed images).

For DPOF-enabled cell phones, projectors, or other software or devices you can specify:

• Automatic Transfer (image files can be electronically transmitted to selected e-mail addresses or fax numbers)
• Automatic Play (user can create "slide shows" of still pictures, audio files and movie files that can be displayed using a digital camera, computer, or electronic display device).

If you have a camera or printer manufactured since 1999, check your manual or online support center to determine if DPOF is available on your model and for specific information on using DPOF with your model. All features may not be available on all DPOF devices.

Complete details on the DPOF Standard are readily available on the Internet, just search for DPOF. u