The photo printers in today's market offer professional quality digital photos with real-life colors. But there are some photo printing tips and tactics for getting the best results out of your photo printer.

1. High Resolution
Resolution determines the quality of the printed text and images. It's measured in dpi (dots per inch), the maximum number of dots the printer can print in a square inch. Higher dpi means higher resolution. The higher the resolution, the sharper the photos will be. Get a printer with a minimum of 1200 x 1200 dpi for good quality. For example HP Photosmart 8450 Photo Printer offers Up to 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi (Photo Paper, 1200 x 1200 dpi input)

2. Right Format
Save your photo in the correct format. For emailing, you can use the JPEG format but for printing save your pictures in the TIFF format. TIFF format results in a rather larger file size, but it produces the best results. The JPEG format is more suitable for e-mailing as it results in smaller, compressed files which are ideal for sending by e-mail.

3. Printer Settings
Set your photo printer's settings to "highest" print quality when printing photos. But for small prints (3" x 5"), "normal" resolution may be sufficient. Refer to your photo printer's user's guide to find out how to change quality settings.

4. Photo Editing Software
Use a good quality photo editing software to alter your digital photographs, to remove dust marks and specks. The printer will pick up all the flaws even if they're small.

5. Type of Photo Paper
Using photo papers will give you the best results as they are especially designed for this purpose. Letting your photo printer know what type of paper you are using can have a remarkable effect on the completed print. The plain paper setting uses the most ink, whereas glossy film and photo paper settings use the least. The main differences in all photo papers are; opacity, brightness, weight, caliper (thickness) and finish.

6. Paper Settings
Paper settings control the amount of printer ink that's put down on paper, so using the paper setting that matches your photo paper is crucial for generating good prints. Different paper types need different settings. For instance plain paper setting uses more ink compared to glossy or photo paper setting. Find the accurate setting for your paper by trying different settings.

7. Photo Paper Drying Time
After printing give your photo paper sufficient time to dry before you frame it. Drying time may vary according to temperature, light and humidity. In general it is a recommended to let the digital photograph print dry for roughly 24 hours.