getting prints

[MIKEZILLA]

not sure if this should go in this section or not.

do any of you ever get prints of your digital images? if so, where do you get them? i know you can go to a store with one of those machines and print them off. but i am not so sure about the quality from those. i have seen a few places online where you can order them also. anyway, i was just curious what services, if any, you use.

thanks,
mike

[TheSonofDarwin]

Only one I've used is shutterfly, and that's cause they had like an introductory special where you got like 20 free prints. Turned out very nice, but honestly I have no others to compare to.

[meriadoc]

wolf camera/ ritz camera (cuz I work there) mainly - I have full control, and the images are really really nice :)

i've also used adorama, mpix (waiting on prints back from there to see the quality)

you can order your photos online with ritz, and pick them up instore - kinda cool really - prints have to be printed within 2 hours :)

[jasno999]

THey are all pretty good. I have done webshots.com and wallgreens and ofoto.com. THey all are very similar and come out well. Better to do it via online and have them mailed to you. When you go to the drugstore like wallgreens or CVS it just never seems to come out right.

[meriadoc]

because walgreens, cvs and all those places probably don't do regular maintenance, color balance and color corrections, as well as density corrections like more expensive labs do.

[hir0]

because walgreens, cvs and all those places probably don't do regular maintenance, color balance and color corrections, as well as density corrections like more expensive labs do.
i hate places that alter my image when they print it out. i went to costco here in honolulu to have some prints made, and all of them had the saturation increased as well as contrast. a picture of my son looked like he had black eyes. i went to a place called kinkos and stuck a cd in one of those sony machines, and the prints came out way better IMO. i printed out some of them same shots so i could compare. maybe next time i'll ask if they can print my photos straight, without "enhancing" them first.

[benny]

Where I live, there's a custom lab that has an online service. I just upload the respective prints, order the size and finishing (Gloss or Matt) and pay via credit card. They just send the stuff straight to my house. Pretty convenient.

And the results are fantastic.

Cheers,

[meriadoc]

well, there are some places that automatically adjust the image for optimum viewing, but at the same time, unless you have a specific profile embedded in your file, sometimes what you see won't be what they see, or the printer sees.

Whenever I'm editing for printing onto a specific printer, and paper profile, like fuji crystal archive paper, i'll embed and work in that profile, so i know thats how it will turn out when I print.

color management does also play a big part in printing.

[hir0]

yah, i was just upset that they adjusted the photos without asking.

[benny]

yah, i was just upset that they adjusted the photos without asking.

Most of the time, you can specify. Over here, we have to option, cropping and color adjustment. There's two little check boxes and we just mark accordingly.

Cheers,

[jasno999]

YOu know what amazes me is that over the weekend I say a cool 4X8 printer specifically for printing out photos off the camera direct or via the computer. It was on QVC which normally has some good deals. I was not looking to buy one but just ran across it on TV.


What I noticed was on there they listed the operating cost and it said that it cost approximitly 0.29 cents per picture to use it. That is crazy in my mind cause I can go online and have them doen for 0.19 cents. SHouldn't a personal printer be cheaper?

[meriadoc]

nope, because what they don't tell you is that....

1. the cost of electricity
2. each one you screw up thats .29 cents
3. ongoing paper costs

so if you print one, and it doesn't turn out, then you print another one, and that one does turn out, your per print cost comes out to about .58 cents.

Also, when you do them online, factor in the shipping. One or two printed online plus say $5.00 in shipping (what mpix charges) makes those two prints awfully expensive.

Thats why, if i only have a couple, i'll gladly pay my 29 cents (including tax) rather than payint 19 cents and $5.00 in shipping. Now, for larger prints i'll go online.

I pay locally about 29c plus tax at Canoga Camera (an online retailer and a big store near my work) but the quality is much better than the stuff I have ordered online. The pics are sharper, the paper is nicer (Fujicolor something or other) it's matte finish, and takes an hour. I can also then give the guy the numbers I like and how many and which sizes and he makes extras (if they are not too busy) on the fly for me. Personal service, plus I am supporting a local "good guy". Worth it. I do a lot of prints, $20-30 a month or more just for 4x6s. But it's worth it for that Instant Gratification and ability to pick and shoose.

btw, forgot to mention, I used to get them from togophoto.com 'cause they were german-based and had really nice paper and processing, highest level stuff, then they changed the name (got bought out I think) and I ordered recently and they were garbage.

[jasno999]

Well I need to see a picture- the same picture- done at different online stores, at say CVS and then on a personal printer. That is the only way I woudl knwo how much of a difference there actualyl is. But I have used Ofoto and webshots.com and I thought their prints came out very good. I am sure if I saw somethign that was better quality it might change my mind but the prints I got looked good to me.

And I did nto pay anywehre near 5 bucks for shipping. I wait till have have several photso I want printed and then I send my order. The places I use only seem to charge me the actual cost for shipping. I do not feel liek I am gettign ripped off. So I feel like even with postage that I am saving money over usign a personal printer.

Think about it the personal printer cost 75-200 dollars and then at 0.29 cents a print do yo uactualyl ever sve money?

[meriadoc]

Did i EVER say you saved money? no. I said that with the ongoing costs of paper and ink, and possible repeats of pictures because of mistakes, you can drive up your printer cost 4, 5, 6 times the advertised cost.

Well, it's not about saving money. I bought a printer, and played w/it for a while. It is EXPENSIVE, but it gives YOU total control. You can do ONE shot and print it out, and have instant gratification of seeing your photo in print. You can look at it and see that it did not come out right, go fix the photo and re-do it instantly. That is the advantage. It's DEFINITELY more expensive. But the control is unrivaled.

As far as quality comparision, there is definitely a difference, whether it's enough to change your mind, I dont know but it's there. I have only been TOTALLY happy w/my local place. They are pricey but I am willing and able to pay the price to get the quality I want. Perfect pics, nice crisp non-glossy stock, clean machines that are to the highest standard and not set on "VOLUME" like Costco or other places to save toner. The stuff comes out AS GOOD as my personal printer did for the two days that I had it :)

[meriadoc]

not only is there a quality difference, but also a longevity difference also.

the systems that companies use for printing involve actual light exposure to REAL photographic paper, they go through the same photographic process as traditional prints do. There are no dyes that shift as with inkjets. They don't fade either. That is a big difference there in itself. We don't do anywhere near as much volums as costco, walmart, sams etc, we do alot less. If we're busy, sorry, you won't get it in an hour. It all depends on our workload.

We have prints as low as 25cents for an 4x6. I don't care. We have people coming in because they like being able to have quality pictures. I know for a fact that mpix does color corrections, and for that i am thankful, aso my printer prints blue, and you try printing out TWO 11x17 prints that would run roughly $6-$7 a piece, and thats just for the ink and paper, that doesn't include electricity.

Wanna know what some of these machines run? Our system at work is valued at about 2 million bucks. Thats alot of money - and you cut costs you don't get a profit. There are places that do volume. But walmart, costco, sams, walgreens etc also sell other products - photofinishing and printing isn't their main line of work, so they can charge whatever they feel - thats why they're cheap. But you go to a quality lab, you WILL notice a difference.

We print on glossy paper - and would you believe that glossy paper is more expensive than the matte stock? A ROLL of paper is $80. In our lab, a roll would be lucky to last half a day (and thats a QUIET day). Feel the difference between a sheet of inkjet glossy, and a sheet of glossy photo paper - the inkjet glossy is far more tacky and sticky than the photo paper its not funny. We run through on average 2-3 rolls in a day. On a more busy day, we may be changing rolls every couple hours.

Each time we run a new roll of paper, we condition the printer to the new roll. EACH time. That in itself takes up 20 minutes to do. But its all quality control. We sit and adjust EVERY single photograph (from negative - digital we do not adjust). For quality prints, it takes a while. We have the potential to do as much as what walmart do - but if we stick our machine on auto and let the machines decided what it would look like, we'd get into trouble.

And maintenance on an expensive machine is a very time consuming and daunting task. Its an unenviable task, but we do it to maintain high standards.

And people like me are thankful :)

[meriadoc]

aww shucks - believe me, not alot of people know just how much work we do.

[jasno999]

Interestign to know.