Favorite online inkjet print service?

[kiro]

I have few options near me to get my photos printed on an inkjet. What's your favorite online inkjet print service?

[Ed_Ingold]

It depends on where you are.

 

I send mine to a local (Chicago area) Walgreen's drug store. They have several printers, including a 24" Epson inkjet which can print on cardboard. I upload JPEG files (to save space) in sRGB color space, and Walgreen's color and sharpness are very good. My last print was a large group (symphony orchestra), in a 42 MP file, printed 16x20".

 

If you adjust the color on a calibrated monitor and use sRGB, you will probably get good results from a minicab. If the cropping is critical, build a margin around your image. If the lab crops, it will crop the margin rather than the parts you wish to keep. You may need to request that no adjustments be made. Left to the judgement of non-photographer technicians, the colors and contrast may be exaggerated.

[digitaldog]

Assuming you don’t wish to funnel your data into sRGB (suboptimal for print) and assuming you want a full color managed workflow, with output profiles for soft proofing and conversion, check out this link of possible providers:

Digital photo lab profiles

[kiro]

Thanks folks - let me clarify slightly: I'm interested in online print fulfillment for archival quality inkjet. As I understand it, Costco does not use an archival quality paper in their 7880's. What paper does Walgreen's use?

[JDMvW]

I think it's still true that something closer to "archival" is got with pigment, rather than dye," inks. The paper also needs to be acid-free, etc.

 

Some prints are going to last longer than others, but if I wanted true archival quality, I'd do color separations.

 

Or am I just old-fashioned?

[kiro]

Right - there's pigment inkjet inks.

 

And yes I realize I could go crazy with the notion of "archival". For my purposes, the 100 > 200 year rating from WIR for pigment inkjet is good enough

[Ed_Ingold]

Assuming you don’t wish to funnel your data into sRGB (suboptimal for print) and assuming you want a full color managed workflow, with output profiles for soft proofing and conversion, check out this link of possible providers:

 

You can't count on minilabs, including Walgreens or even legacy photo shops, to be color managed. Even if they are, you can ask, but expect to hear "what's that?" from the technician.

 

You could have the lab print a color chart (without correction) and use the results to create a print profile for that lab.

[digitaldog]

You could have the lab print a color chart (without correction) and use the results to create a print profile for that lab.

I’ve done (almost) exactly that over the years for such labs (print a target of color patches).

[Ed_Ingold]

I believe there are services which will analyze a color patch print and give you a print profile. You can do it yourself using a reflecting spectrophotometer or colorimeter, such as an X-Rite Photo device. Those are pricey, and mine is no longer supported in OS. A cheaper and probably effective alternative is an X-Rite Color Munki Photo (~$350). The latter device is on my short list. I don't print enough to spend $1500 on the full-sized photometer.

 

There are other devices too, but X-Rite (formerly Gretag-MacBeth) has the best software. You can also calibrate your screen, camera, projector and scanner with the Munki Photo.

[digitaldog]

No, you cannot build an output (print) profile with a Colorimeter. The ColorMunki Photo ($400) is a Spectrophotometer.