Digital printing service comparison: Kodak Gallery, Adoramapix

I would like to start a thread on the various experiences you have

with the different digital printing services out there. Please don�t

just say you liked a particular service, be specific and provide

examples. I�ll start with my experience with kodakgallery.com and

adoramapix.com.

 

Kodakgallery.com, formerly lofoto.com, is located in Oakland CA. I

placed an order of about 100 4x6 Kodak Royal prints and one coffee

mug print from them. It took Kodak Gallery about 2 days to ship,

which was quite satisfactory. The 4x6 prints were quite good. I

edited all my files in Adobe RGB color space. The print color was

close to what I saw on my system (MAC OS, Photoshop CS, EyeOne

calibrated monitor). There was no colorcast problem. The coffee mug

print was OK, but nothing to write home about. The mug print color

faded quite a bit after a few hand washes, so don�t buy that as a

gift before you try it out yourself. The 4x6 prints were shipped via

DHL and the USPS (a DHL tracking number was provided). Yes, you heard

it right. DHL transported the prints from CA to Virginia and

delivered them to my friendly local post office. My post office then

delivered them the next day. The shipping part took about 6 days. As

for the coffee mug print, it was shipped via USPS directly and it

took 4 days. Kodak Gallery used heavy weight, non-padded envelopes to

package the print (similar to those fedex over night envelopes, but

smaller). The photos survived the shipment with no damage or folding,

although I would prefer to see a better packaging method, especially

for larger prints.

 

Adoramapix is located in New York City, NY. I placed an order of

about 40 5x7 Kodak Royal prints from them. Adorama provides ICC

profiles for their photo printers, and they have both Kodak Royal and

Endura (professional grade) paper. I edited all my files using their

Matte Paper ICC profile (Kodak Royal). I found out that in many

cases, I needed to use the Photoshop LEVEL tool to narrow the color

range (especially in the shadow area) in order to avoid any clipping.

The final digital files had an Adorama ICC profile embedded in them.

 

Sidebar: I also noticed if I used the Luster paper print profile

(Endura) instead of the Matte print profile (Royal), Photoshop

indicated there would be no clipping, meaning the Endura paper has a

wider color space range and I didn�t have to make any LEVEL

adjustment in the majority of the cases. I�ll try this paper for my

next order. Adorama referred me to the following URL on how to use

their ICC profiles: www.drycreekphoto.com.

 

I placed the order with Adorama on a Sunday and the prints were

shipped the following Tuesday noon. It was shipped via USPS with a

tracking number. Due to the close proximity of Adorama to Virginia,

it took only two days for shipping, a big difference compared to

Kodak Gallery�s 6 days. The packaging was excellent. They placed the

prints in a heavy weight envelope, wrapped the envelope with a thick

piece of cardboard, and then used a waterproof outer envelope. It

would be difficult for the postman to fold the package.

 

As for the print quality, the Adorama prints are as good as the Kodak

Gallery prints. The color came out correctly, very close to what I

had on the monitor. If I have to pick between the two companies, I

would pick Adorama because of the availability of the ICC profile. I

was able to use the profile to adjust the prints highlight and shadow

areas and they came out correctly. I had the ultimate control, not

the person who manned the print machine. Another thing is Adorama

prints the file name on the back of the photo, so if you name your

files like �UTAH2005-Arches NP Balance Rock 01�, you have a record of

when and where the picture was taken.

 

By the way, one thing I don�t like about Kodak Gallery is that they

bombard you with email promotions all the time. Sometimes their

promotion is misleading and you have to read the fine print

carefully. Adorama gives you the option of not receiving any email

promotion.

 

Sorry about this long post. Hope this helps. Would like to hear your

experience with mpix.com, shutterfly.com etc.

 

I have used Kodak Gallery and I am very disappointed with photo quality. One batch has blue hue, the other had green hue. I will never print prints from them again. I have used Yahoo prints (via Target pickup) to print 8x10 photo. Again, I would never do it again, photo had green hues all over. Paper was thin too. So far, my HP color printer and paper is doing the best job. I am still looking for a good photo lab.

Michael,

 

Great post. Any sample comparison images of prints?

Some labs tell you nothing about their ICC profile, if they ever even had one, or their color

space, and don't let you turn off their automatic color correction, I think Kodak is in this

category, as are other major online retailers (e.g., Shutterfly, Snapfish).

 

Others, such as Adorama, do provide a reasonably up-to-date profile, and let you turn off

color correction. Costco is in this category.

 

I think any image-related results from a lab in the first category are up to whoever or

however the color correction is being made, and probably aren't repeatable anyway. For

anyone who even knows what a profile is, I would think that only the labs in the second

category would be acceptable.

 

So, unless you need it done locally, why not use Adorama or some similarly-savvy site? In

addition, Adorama has the best user interface that I've seen.

I too have used Kodak Gallery and have been pretty satisfied with the quality of prints, cost and how quick the turn around was.

 

I am now going to try out other printers due to the lack of protection the Kodak Gallery gives to your pictures. Most recently I received an 8x10 that was damaged to the point of needing to re-order the print again. As Michael mentioned, the envelopes are made of a light cardboard and offer very little protection.

 

I would rather pay more, wait longer and get my prints in useable condition than continue to use a company that skimps on packaging.

Here�s more input on another company: shutterfly.com. Shutterfly.com is located in CA. I placed an order of about 20 4x6 prints from them. I placed the order on a Saturday and they shipped the prints Monday night. The shipment was made via USPS First Class, and I received it on Wednesday (I�m in Virginia). I would rate the prints average. I edited all my files in Adobe RGB color space and converted them to sRGB during submission. Shutterfly does not provide any ICC printer profiles. The prints were made on Fuji paper, the color was slightly off compared to what I saw on my system (MAC OS, Photoshop CS, EyeOne calibrated monitor). The prints were about one-third to one-half stop under. Some of the prints also looked a bit warmer than the original. Shutterfly used heavy weight, non-padded envelopes to package the print (similar to those fedex over night envelopes, but smaller). The photos survived the shipment with no damage or folding, although I would prefer to see a better packaging method, especially for larger prints.

One thing you don't mention is how you GET the photos to the company.

 

Snapfish will allow you to send them a CD (they charge you $2.50 I think) and will upload the pix to your account so you and others can select/print/whatever.

 

Adorama has produced some nice photos for me on their pro paper. I called them yesterday and they will accept a CD.. But they will only print directly from the CD; they will NOT upload the pix.

 

So if you elect to send them a CD, you're getting convenience (who wants to upload lots of high res pics?) but OTOH you have no server backup and no ability to share pics with others (common for families, etc) and no easy ability to select pics later for added reprints.

 

 

I'm testing out winkflash now. They have some nice features:

1) they will allow you to mail CDs for upload to your account (and it's free to do so, including shipping)

2) you can share--for FREE--high res photos, so it's a handy way to give pics to family.

3) you can order prints. Their website says they don't color correct. I have yet to try them, and I'm not sure whether they release their ICC profiles. But I'll see how it goes.

I generally just convert images to sRGB before uploading to Costco or Winkflash. I'm impressed by both, but haven't made anything larger than an 8x10 at Winkflash (which is excellent) and 12x18" at Costco (which is also excellent).

 

Dave

I print photos which are generally between 8x12 and 20x30. These are for sale, so I'm looking for quality at low price (I know the rub). Lately I've been printing about 100-150$ worth of prints about every 2 months.

First, I used photoworks.com. Their prints came in flat envelopes so the edges got dinged in the mail and a bit bent. The print quality and color was good, but then I noticed that I could get more print sizes, lower prices and large prints shipped in tubes (almost undamagable) from winkflash.

Winkflash (I'm only talking about big prints which they use a giclee process to print) turned out to be a disaster, all of my prints came back way too saturated and way to dark.

Looks like Andorama is next on my list.

I have used Kodak, Snapfish, Target, a lot of sites. I wanted to see the comparision in all these sites and the one I was most pleased with is Shutterfly.com. Now i have only ordered 4x6 and 5x7's, but I've been very pleased by the product. And like other sites you have ordered from, the turn around time from when you order is fast. I live in ND. I have had no problem with their envelopes. If you aren't satisfied with any of your prints, contact customer service. They've always been helpful. Plus if you have never experienced Photobooks, this is a site you should try. I've made eleven books and I am so impressed with the quality. So another option instead of ordering prints, is to do a photobook. Check out the Gallery. You'll be impressed and inspired. Hope this helps. I'm a volunteer team member on the Gallery site, so what I'm telling you about Shutterfly is the utmost truth. I wouldn't brag about a site, if I wasn't 100% pleased. Good luck to you...

<p>I thought I'd contribute my experience with kodakgallery since it's now 2012 and things change. Well, kodak is selling their online printing service in July to shutterfly, so it won't matter much now, but thought I'd comment anyway for those who will be using shutterfly (I'm assuming shutterfly is taking over the same printers and service that kodak offers now). <br>

I've been pleased by the prints. They are printed on kodak royal and I use Adobe RGB and I've printed tons of 15x20 and 20x25 and 20x30 cm prints for horse jumping competitions. I'd say the printing is neutral: neutral colors, neutral contrast, sharpness, etc. So it depends more on my techniques in photoshop and as a photographer. With shots that are super sharp with great color and contrast as viewed on my Mac OS system, the photos turn out equally good but with maybe a little bit less sharpness. I found myself cranking up the sharpness to make the prints look more film-like and less digital (turning up sharpness also increases noise just a bit). I can crop in on an image from my original 5D or T2i about 25 percent and still retain good quality at those size prints. After that I lose sharpness and contrast and a few photos turned out blah. Again, not really kodak's fault. <br>

I recommend using them while they're still around and I'll just keep using shutterfly once they take over since they'll have all my photos on their server. <br>

Packaging has always been good. It's light cardboard but I've never received damaged packages. I'm getting ready to order a 40x60 print and was curious about the packaging for a larger print. I guess I'll find out. </p>

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