where do you get prints done?

[jennifer_ecker]

<p>I've recently started my own photography business and can't seem to decide where I should get my prints done for customers. I have been using a great little camera store in town, but is some other way better? Perhaps buying a printer for photo's and printing myself?<br>

I'm more curious to know what everyone else uses! <br>

Thank you!</p>

[justin_koenigshof]

<p>For smaller prints (under 8x10") I just use my personal photo printer. For the larger and/or more specialized prints I use Bay Photo.com They have a lot of great options and they're pretty reasonably priced. Turn around times have always been good for me too. ~Justin</p>

[nathangardner]

<p>Wally World up to 8x10 b/c they use the same paper as the lab and I can't tell a difference in quality. My local photo lab for anything larger.</p>

[geoffs1]

<p>I send a lot of my 8x10 and below prints to Walgreens. They use Fuji Frontier printers, so the quality can be quite good. I've found some stores keep their equipment in better shape than others, but I've had consistently good luck with the "good" stores.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I use <a href="http://whcc.com/">White House Custom Color (WHCC)</a>, who I highly recommend.</p>

<p>I did use my Epson inkjet for a while with MIS PRO inks, but when Epson won the lawsuit protecting their cartridges I stopped using it almost completely.</p>

[kris-bochenek]

<p>I get all my large prints done at Adoramapix never had problems and they have a customer for life.<br>

i like their selection of paper and sizes<br>

all my 4x6's and pictures I want to get done within an hour or so I send to Walgreens.</p>

[JAPster]

<p>For color 4x6 prints from 35mm color film, I take the exposed 35mm cartridge to a local Rite Aid and put them in a Fuji Lab envelope. A courior comes by and drives them to a regional Fuji Processing Lab, and a couple days later they bring back the 4x6 color prints & negatives to Rite Aid and I pick them up. This typically costs about $8-9 per roll. Imo, the quality is good.</p>

<p>I have recently started printing digital images to a 8x10 color printer, Epson model RX500. I am using glossy photo paper (not the highest level quality, but the 2nd level, I think). Picture quality depends on the image quality and the quality level you set in the printer driver control. The Epson RX500 uses a 6 color ink pack, and if you choose the highest level of print quality, you consume the most ink. So if you choose to print your own pics, be sure you carefully budget enough $ for quality photo paper & photo ink.</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>For the past 3 years I used an Epson R1800 and did my own at home - however it apparently has gone to the great printer graveyard - the ink recovery pads are shot and it would cost almost $200.00 to replace at an authorized epson shop. </p>

<p>I now use a Canon Pixma for the 8x10 and smaller and Mpix for the bigger stuff and larger orders.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

[Bill J Boyd]

<p>MPIX.COM</p>

[starvy]

<p>Jennifer, are you dissatisfied with the present prints or is this merely a curiosity to see what else might be available elsewhere?<br>

What about costs? Would you have to pay out more?</p>

[pbalko]

<p>Mpix.</p>

[wood]

<p>For standard prints (home, friends, low level exhibitions) - Costco. For regional or higher shows - MPIX.</p>

[976photo]

<p>I used to be a manager of a one-hour lab at Wal-Mart. They all use the Fuji Frontier systems and will handle prints up to 8x10s (no nudes though!) Printed on Fuji paper. The quality is great, I used to have several pro photographers come to me for their 4x6 and 8x10 printing. There are several "pro-quality labs" that use the same Frontier machines for the smaller printing. However, the difference there in pricing is that some of the pro-labs will offer color correction. Wal-Mart labs, due to the volume and time constraints do not. (I used to color correct as long as we weren't swamped, but when orders got heavy there just wasn't time to keep it under an hour)<br>

I've been told MPix is a good lab to send to, also try CPQ or Pro-Pics Express. I've used Pro-Pics and have been pleased so far.</p>

[976photo]

<p>There was one "Pro" lab that I had looked up a while back, they prided themselves on being a very "high-quality professional printing" lab and obviously thought very highly of their services, which was reflected in their prices. They had what equipment they used listed so I looked at it. For ALL of their small printing (I think it was 11x14 and smaller) they used the exact same Fuji Frontier machines that Wal-Mart has. Prices were 3 times higher, maybe more, it was pretty ridiculous. I saw someone else mention that Walgreens also uses the Fuji Frontier. You can also add to that Wolf Camera as well.<br>

Now I will say, if you're doing work professionally and you want to use one of these one-hour labs I'd recomend going in a few times and printing a couple of pics here and there on your own first. Talk to the lab manager, try and find out which of the people working there are actually competent lab workers and which ones are just button pushing monkeys. Try to see how well they keep up the machines, ask the manager about their regular matinence schedule.<br>

When I worked digital was still new to the mass public and we ran much more film (35mm, APS, and yes even 110) than we did digital. With so much digital now and with the programs available it's much easier for you to do color corrections and alterations on your own, so there's not a lot that they have to do except actually print it for you. unless you're using film still...<br>

Now I'll also add that a lot of the newer Wal-Marts are going away from the one-hour lab completely and offering a "print-it-yourself" service. This is a new thing and I really don't know what printers or machines are being used, but it seems like it's similar to the Kodak Picture Maker (which I never did like) but I can't speak for the quality of these new ones.<br>

And whatever you do, take it from a former Wal-Mart employee, NEVER use the "send-off" or "prints in days" service. Those are sent to a lab and returned to the store. The labs used are downright pathetic (I actually toured one once) and orders are almost always lost, mixed up, or damaged. In almost every batch we got back there seemed to be an issue with at least one. With the one-hour lab the prints never leave the store and you're face-to-face with the people who handle your prints.<br>

Hope that was of some help to someone!</p>

[radiotyson]

<p>Just noticed my local Wal-Mart has added HP Photolab "Print stations". Does anyone have experience with these? Are they better/worse than the kodak print yourself jobs?</p>

[976photo]

<p>Those are the one's I was talking about. Haven't tried them yet and It's been a while since I worked there so they're new to me. Sorry but I really don't know how good they are.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<blockquote>

<p>"And whatever you do, take it from a former Wal-Mart employee, NEVER use the "send-off" or "prints in days" service. Those are sent to a lab and returned to the store. The labs used are downright pathetic (I actually toured one once) and orders are almost always lost, mixed up, or damaged. In almost every batch we got back there seemed to be an issue with at least one. With the one-hour lab the prints never leave the store and you're face-to-face with the people who handle your prints."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Agreed, Luc. During the "peak" of the minilab era - arguably, the late 1990s-early 2000's - even my local Wal-Marts were capable of generating remarkably good quality print processing in house. But the send-out stuff was awful. Negatives were scratched, prints were indifferently prepared and they often omitted prints.</p>