Five Crazy Ways to Print Photos in the 21st Century

Everything was once new and crazy. When the telephone was first introduced, people worried about being electrocuted and kept the devices in a small closet so as not to bother the company. When we first started offering high-quality canvas photo prints, a lot of people thought it was just a strange novelty item – today millions of people around the world proudly decorate their homes with canvas art made from their own photos. People sometimes just need some time to adjust to a new idea and get comfortable with it.

Now, we’re all pretty comfortable with print photos on canvas, metal and acrylic for our walls – but there are some new ideas out there for your photo prints that will either get you excited or make you scared. Just remember – while some of these may wind up being a fad, other might become normal in a few years!

Crazy Way #1: Print Photos on Stone Coasters

If you keep a nice house, you probably have coasters to protect your nice surfaces from moisture rings and scuffs. Well, instead of boring old pattern coasters, people are now using printing services to create gorgeous, durable stone coasters with photos on them. Ideal for families – imagine proudly laying out photos of your brood at your next adults-only party! One place to get them: www.coastermatic.com.

Crazy Way #2: Marshmallows

Yes – marshmallows, those delightful cloud-like pillows of sugar. We’ve all seen cakes with edible photos printed on them – these are just tinier. Web site www.boomf.com will take your photos and turn them into real marshmallows for your hot chocolate, your s’mores, or just your snacking pleasure.

Crazy Way #3: Ceramic Tiles

You want to print photos in a new way? Try ceramic! While we wouldn’t necessarily want to tile an entire bathroom in these, a few sprinkled throughout your tile pattern might make for a powerful effect. The site, www.imagesnap.com will take your photos and send you high-quality ceramic tiles with the images on them. The tiles aren’t designed to withstand real foot traffic or shower moisture, but using them in a backsplash or simply as an accent on the walls should be fine.

Crazy Way #4: Sneakers

Okay, this is a bit of a cheat. Nike (at photoid.nike.com) won’t literally print photos onto a pair of sneakers, but they will take your photos and create a custom shoe with a colour scheme inspired by your photos. This is neater than it sounds, as the colours are often quite vibrant and interesting – and certainly bespoke, as they are inspired by your own photos!

Crazy Way #5: Postcards

You might think postcards went the way of the Dodo in the digital age when you can email photos of yourself to your friends and family in seconds – but the postcard retains a quaint, old-world charm that still appeal to people. And a hot way to send postcards from your travels is to have custom ones created at places like www.postagramapp.com with your own photos. Personal, cool, and useful, this is one new way of printing your photos we think might have staying power.

There’s no longer just a handful of ways to print photos – today you have almost infinite choices. As quickly as people can dream up ideas they’re building Apps and launching businesses to print your photos in new ways. Try them all – why not? Have a little fun, and maybe find yourself on the cutting edge. And if you want some classic canvas photo prints for your walls, just click here and we’re happy as always to keep that tradition alive.