The Shoebox Project
UPDATE: It turns out there’s a referral code for the Instant Ink program that provides a free month to both parties. Click here to take advantage of this if you want.
When my Epson R2880 died a few years ago, my printing habits died with it. As much as I loved watching an image slowly rolling out into the world, holding it, feeling the texture of the paper between my fingers, the ongoing cost of ink and constant maintenance left me cold. Having to purchase another expensive machine didn’t appeal to me at all either.
But for a while now I’ve been thinking about what I’ll leave behind—bits and bytes, mostly. A bunch of ageing drives destined for obsolescence. It’s not like anyone will ever accidentally stumble on my Capture One or iCloud library. Instagram? Please. Most of all, however, is that I’m hungry for physical, tangible objects. I guess virtual lives will do that eventually.
So last Friday I received a new printer. Not a fancy, expensive, dedicated photo printing beast, but an HP Tango—small, “smart” and Wi-Fi only. It uses a dye-based 4-ink system and can only print up to 8.5 x 14; basic as it gets in terms of specs. But I don’t care: the idea is to just print pictures and not overthink. Not museum-grade photographs, not wall art, just small prints I’ll be keeping in small boxes. I call this my Shoebox project.
Initially, I thought I’d settle on 4x6, but after testing various paper sizes and types (I still had tons from those Epson days), I’ve decided to print 4x6 on 5x7 sheets, using Ilford Prestige Smooth Pearl. This is a 310 GSM paper, so the pictures have a nice weight, and it’s a very matte lustre, which I like. And while borderless is usually the big selling point for home printers, I actually prefer a large border for these.
Why do it myself instead of using a printing service? That paper, for one. I’ve never found a single shop that offers paper I like for small prints. But also because, as I said earlier, for me, the joy comes from creating these, slowly, on my own time. It feels like craftwork and connects me to the printed images.
But back to the Tango. The main reason behind this purchase had to do with ink anxiety. We all know how costly ink becomes. Every print I ever made in my life came with the crushing awareness of fast depleting ink tanks. Sometimes I’d second-guess an image for fear of emptying the black or magenta or cyan. I’d end up printing too little, getting clogged heads, having to clean the nozzles…again, losing ink. I’d hear the machine prime itself at every boot, dreading the flashing light of a cartridge asking to be replaced.
So now this is the part where I’m going to sound like an HP ad, even though I’m not getting any kickback. The Tango is compatible with HP’s Instant Ink program: you pay anywhere from $1.25 to $10.99 per month for a fixed number of pages and the company sends you ink as you need it. Yes, I thought there would be a catch and read-up on this like crazy, looked at the fine print etc. It’s real. And since this is a “smart” printer, it monitors ink levels on its own, anticipates usage, and HP sends replacement cartridges before you need them. Shipping is included and they even send special recycling bags with return postage.
But there’s more: specifically on the Tango (1), prints made from any mobile device, up to 5x7, don’t count towards the print/pages total. Not mobile photos, just photos printed from mobile. GFX pictures printed from an iPhone? No charge. Plus, when registering I received 4 free months of the highest tier. This means I’m not paying a cent until July and still getting all the ink I need (2).
After the promotion ends, I’ll be paying $3.99 CAD/month for 50 pages and unlimited mobile prints (unused pages carry over). This means $48/year for all the ink I can eat. But since mobile prints are free, if I print little else I could even switch to the lower tier at $1.25/month and 15 pages…and still get all the ink I can eat. We’d be talking $15 CAD for an entire year of printing as many photos as I want, and never worrying about ink levels, ever.
This makes the Shoebox project not only possible but fun. Zero anxiety.
End ad.
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Yes, THIS much blue.
That said, it’s not a perfect printer: driver options are limited, it adds a bit too much magenta (shifting yellow towards red) and it tends to oversaturate slightly; but there are ways to easily counteract all of this in the HP Smart iOS app. Black and white, however, is a different story: the same app adds a visible blue cast, even in grayscale mode. Printing from Capture One, however (3), gets rid of the cast completely and prints look neutral. So for now, it looks like black and white files will be counting towards my monthly quota. No biggie.
With the right paper and settings, given the scope of what I want to do, it works for my needs.
I’m genuinely excited about this, approaching the Shoebox as I would a book, picking and choosing images that will best represent a trip, an event or just the everyday in a given period.
And folks, it’s awfully good to get prints under my fingers again.
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And the Tango X, which is the same printer wrapped in fabric (!)
My first ink replacement is already on its way. I haven’t printed that much but the starter cartridges are smaller than normal.
Using an Ilford ICC profile.
