How to print your nursery photos without spending a fortune

We had hundreds of nursery photos sitting on a laptop for the best part of a year before I printed a single one. Printing felt expensive and faffy. It turned out to be neither, once I knew where to look. Here's how to get them onto paper, or the wall, without it costing much.

Start with the originals, not the screenshots

One thing first, because it saves disappointment later. Prints only look good if you start from the full-size original photo. Screenshots and the leaving PDF the nursery gives you are usually shrunk down. They look fine on a phone, but blow them up to print size and you get soft, blocky, slightly mushy pictures.

If you're pulling photos from ParentZone, Famly, Famly.de or Bright Horizons FamilyApp on a laptop, NurseryDownloader saves the full-size originals to your computer, which is exactly what you want before printing anything bigger than a postcard.

The cheap and cheerful options

For everyday prints, you really don't need to spend much:

• High-street print machines. The self-service kiosks in Boots, Asda and similar will do standard 6x4 prints for pennies each, ready to collect the same day. Good for a quick stack to stick on the fridge or pop in a frame.
• Online prints by post. Sites that print and post your photos work out cheaper per print if you're doing a big batch, often a few pence each plus delivery. The trade-off is waiting a few days. Keep an eye out for first-order discounts.

For a handful of photos to scatter around the house, this is all you need. A pack of cheap frames and you're done for well under a tenner.

When it's worth spending a bit more

Some photos deserve more than a 6x4. Here's where a little extra makes sense:

• A photo book. If you've got a whole year of nursery photos, a printed book is my favourite way to keep them. You can usually make a small softback one for around £10 to £20, and they often go on offer. It turns a folder of files into something the kids actually pull off the shelf.
• A canvas or framed print. For that one brilliant shot, a canvas or a proper framed print earns its place on the wall. These cost more, anywhere from £15 up depending on size, so I'd save them for the few photos you genuinely love rather than printing dozens.

My rule of thumb: cheap prints for the many, a book for the year, and a canvas only for the one or two that make you stop and smile.

A quick word on getting it right

A couple of things that have saved me money and regret:

1. Check the photo isn't blurry before you print it. A soft picture on screen will be softer on paper.
2. Don't bother printing tiny app thumbnails large. Start from the original file every time.
3. Wait for the discounts. Photo printing sites run offers constantly, so there's rarely a need to pay full price for a book or canvas.

That's the whole job. Get the originals onto your computer, print the cheap stuff in bulk, and save the canvas for the keeper. Your walls will thank you, and so will your future self.