I don’t print.  We live in an RV – there’s no place to put printed photo albums!  I love being able to share my pictures by uploading them to Picasa Web Albums / Google+.  (see Member Tutorial Video: Intro to Web Albums)  But that’s me.  I know that some people still like to have prints.  And, I have been known to print some pictures for my Mom to have.   

Printing to Your Own Printer

Just select the picture (or pictures) you want to print and click the Print button at the bottom of Picasa’s screen (see Member Tutorial Video Printing).  You will have options for print size, Shrink to Fit, printing captions on borders, printer setup options, and number of copies.  For a quick way to get something printed, this works great, but keep reading and I’ll tell you a much better way to print your pictures.

Let the Pros do the Printing

You will get much better results if you use commercially available photo-printing services like Walgreens, Walmart, Shutterfly, or CVS.  Many people know that already and they export their photos to a USB thumb drive and take them to the store for processing.  Oh no!  It’s so much easier than that!  Picasa will upload your pictures (the edited version) directly to Walgreens, Walmart, Shutterfly, and more.  Then you can go pick up the finished prints in an hour!  Or you can have them mailed to you – or whoever you want to get them.

Here’s how:  Just select the pictures you want to print and click the ‘Shop’ button at the bottom. 

What’s that you say?  You don’t see a Shop button?  The same command is available on the File menu, Order Prints …

Choose the provider you want to use – e.g. Walgreens, then you will need to log in or create an account at that provider.  It’s free to create the account.  Once you’ve logged in Picasa will upload the full size picture to Walgreen’s in your account.  When the upload is finished you will be taken to Walgreens website and you’ll see the pictures in your account.  Now you need to learn to navigate their website.  You should see buttons to order prints and select the size you want.  Often the price is less than 10 cents per print!  I’ll bet your printer’s ink would cost you more than that!  And you get professional photo paper and process. 

You will need to pay for whatever you ordered using a credit card, then select whether you will pick them up or enter a mailing address for the prints to be sent.  I have done this several times ordering prints for my Mom to see and having them mailed directly to her.  I’ve even ordered framed photos, coffee mugs, mouse pads and tshirts using Picasa’s ‘Shop’ feature. 

Have Fun!

This tip brought to you by Geeks on Tour

Geeks on Tour is a membership website with hundreds of Tutorial Videos on topics of interest to travelers, such as managing digital photos with Picasa, Route-Planning with Streets and Trips, and sharing your travels with a website using Blogger or with friends on Facebook. You can subscribe to our free e-newsletters, or become a paid member and be able to view all of the videos in the Learning Library.