ABSTRACT
Although the ability to view pictures instantly on a camera’s in-built review screen is one of the defining characteristics of digital photography, there still comes a time when paper prints are required. One reason is that it is far easier to pass prints around a gathering of friends or family than it is to circulate the camera itself, or even to huddle over a computer screen. People often like to view pictures in their own time, pausing longer on some than others, so regimented viewing of, for example, a ‘slide show’ displayed on a television screen is not ideal either. Then there is the
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matter of framing and permanent display: it is true there are electronic systems that will exhibit a picture directly from file, but these are limited in terms of size and cost. The inescapable fact is that there is still a great deal to recommend the traditional concept of a photograph as an image on a sheet of paper.
