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Printing Options

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Ditch that high-priced photo lab: new top-flight printers and online print-and-enlarge services can finally produce sharp, hard-copy images. For professional-level results at home, invest in Canon's Pixma Pro9500 (canon.com; $850), the company's first non-fading pigment-based model. This 4,800-by-2,400-dots-per-inch printer shoots 10 inks (including matte black, gray, and cyan) through an unprecedented 7,680 nozzles, rendering brilliant color and monochrome images (up to 13 inches by 9 inches). Less expensive, the Epson's Stylus Photo 1400 (epson.com; $400) isn't great for black-and-white, but the six-inker does produce rich, long-living color with lab-quality resolution. Consumers, however, can still find online experts that let them upload images and receive top-quality enlargements in the mail. Enlarging photos is a delicate process that requires high-end software as well as printers, and Web services vary. One of the best is Enlargephotos.com (18-by-24-inch prints $24), run by Mike Kruske in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Kruske only offers fade-free giclée prints (read: archival pigment-ink images) that come as wide as 40 inches on premium acid-free paper. He'll also take back any print you don't like for a full refund. Just make sure the image you choose is worth supersizing.—Adam Baer

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