Print pictures from your iPhone

10 Creative Ways to Print Pictures from Your iPhone

Bring Your Instagram Photos to Life
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The following article was published in the September/October 2015 issue of iPhone Life magazine. Learn how to get the most from your iPhone by clicking here to subscribe.

It’s a shame when a particularly wonderful memory becomes buried in a sea of images on your Instagram or Facebook feed. A few dozen likes and comments later, and everyone, including you, forgets your shot that once inspired so much excitement. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Today, there are a variety of options for printing your photos from your iPhone—some you’ve probably never heard of. Here, I’ve compiled a list of ideas that you can use to bring your favorite photos from your Instagram feed into your life, whether by turning them into home décor, creating traditional photo books, or ordering a few dozen prints. And don’t worry if you don’t have Instagram. Most of these services allow you to upload photos directly from your iPhone or Facebook as well.

Handcrafted from reclaimed beetle pine from Colorado, these 12-month calendars let you display your favorite photos in the most elegant way.

Create a Wood Calendar

Let’s face it—with the rise of technology, physical calendars have become a pretty archaic concept. After all, we carry our calendars with us everywhere we go in the form of an iPhone app, so why have a paper calendar taking up unnecessary space on our wall? Well, you might want to revive that old tradition after seeing these gorgeous calendars by Artifact Uprising ($29.99), and who could blame you? Handcrafted from reclaimed beetle pine from Colorado, these 12-month calendars let you display your favorite photos in the most elegant way. And once you cycle through all the months, you can easily order more pages with updated images.

Compile a Photo Book

There’s something about prints that make memories feel so much more personal. Sure, albums on social media are great, but they can’t quite take the place of a genuine album sitting on your shelf. That’s why you should design your own photo book with Blurb (starting at $12.99) and give it a modern twist by incorporating your iPhone photos! Blurb offers a variety of photo book options to choose from—including cookbooks, portfolios, and even Instagram and Facebook-inspired books that include comments and captions. Other companies also offer photo books, with nice options from Artifact Uprising (starting at $17.99) and Social Print Studio ($15).

There’s something about prints that make memories feel so much more personal.

Print Photos onto Magnets

Admit it—you miss the days when your mom proudly showcased your scribbled “masterpieces” on her refrigerator door. And even if you don’t, you can’t deny the accomplishment you feel when you put your own work on display. For $15.99, Sticky9 lets you print your iPhone pictures in the form of nine 2-inch square magnets that you can place on your fridge, washer, or anywhere else that has a metal surface. You can upload images manually or from Facebook or Instagram—and shipping is free!

Design Your Own Postcards

Email and text is a common form of communication these days—so much so, in fact, that wishing someone a happy birthday or congratulating them on a huge life achievement via Facebook or email has somewhat lost its significance. Receiving a note in the mail is more meaningful because it takes time and effort—but that doesn’t mean it has to be difficult. You can use Postagram (free) to turn your iPhone photos into postcards that cost a mere $0.99 a piece. Simply upload your photo, write a message, and Postagram will mail your postcard directly to your loved one.

Believe it or not, those filtered images filling up your Instagram feed make for some pretty spectacular living room décor.

Decorate Walls with Your Own Art

Why waste money covering the walls of your home with generic artwork that has no real meaning to you? Believe it or not, those filtered images filling up your Instagram feed make for some pretty spectacular living room décor—and they’re all yours. CanvasPop is unique in that it is one of the few companies to specialize in printing Instagram photos on archival-quality canvas (which is designed to last), and boy, do they do it well! Although Instagram has a pretty bad reputation for dishing out poor-quality images, CanvasPop has created a special technology that transforms low-resolution Instagram shots into high-quality images that are then printed onto 12-inch ($79.95) or 20-inch ($114) square stretched canvas.

Frame and Display Your Shots

Okay, so I mentioned how you can print your Instagram images onto canvas, but did I mention you can also display them in these gorgeous frames from Social Print Studio?  Handmade from reclaimed Santa Cruz barn wood, these rustic frames tell a story as intricate as your images—and they make your photos look pretty good too! Frames come in three different options: the 5-inch Slim Frame ($30), the 7.5-inch Wide Frame ($35), and the 4.75-inch Shadow Box ($35). I liked the shadow box, which let me include little details significant to my framed image (i.e. souvenirs from my trip to Alaska, my tassel from graduation, or even sand from the beach where I used to spend summers with my family).

I know what you’re thinking at this point: Rheanne, is there anything I can’t create with pictures from my iPhone?

Print Them on Cotton

I know what you’re thinking at this point: Rheanne, is there anything I can’t create with pictures from my iPhone? Pretty much, no, and Stitchtagram is here to prove it. This company specializes in creating unique products out of your Instagram photos, including throw pillows ($58), tote bags ($52), and coin purses ($25). Simply choose the product you want, import your images from Instagram, and start creating! Photos are printed on cotton and then handmade by expert seamstresses.

Design Your Own iPhone Case

iPhone cases are a solid way to personalize our devices—and that’s exactly the niche market Casetify aims to fill. Starting at $40, Casetify lets you customize your iPhone case using your own photos. All you have to do is select your case and template, and then start importing.

Keep it Simple—Purchase Basic Prints

Maybe all you really want to do is order some basic prints—that’s alright too! Nearly all of the companies I’ve mentioned let you order prints on top of their other services, including Social Print Studio, Artifact Uprising, and Sticky9. I ordered prints from Social Print Studio and I absolutely fell in love with them. I received 24 4-inch prints for $12, which arrived printed on archival-quality paper with a soft matte finish. The color and clarity looked exactly how I envisioned, and I loved how easy it was to switch out my framed prints with new ones.