where there’s smoke there’s forum fire
Has anyone seen a difference in print quality between the Costcos and CVSes of the world and Adorama or other specific photo sites? Either way, who do you recommend? I know that when I used film I did much better sending my film to "real" photo companies than using CVS, but in the new digital world am not sure. (Searching the forums, I found some recommendations for printing services, but they are all at least a year old and seem to vary radically.)
Thanks!
Each printing service has its own ups and downs, and of course, each photographer has their own preferences. For what it's worth, I use Costco most of the time to get prints of digital files, as do many of the people I know. It's cheap, convenient, and their processing is archival, since they use high quality, commercial products. However, many people I know also eschew Costco, since their color accuracy is suspect, mainly due to the training (or lack thereof) of their staff. In addition, many people also prefer the look of inkjet prints, and like having the control of making your own prints.
Really, the only way to know if a commercial service suits your needs is to try it out. Send a few images (with a mixed variety of what you will usually send) and have a look. I wouldn't suggest making your own prints unless either you are really into making your own prints, or cannot get what you want from commercial services.
Hi,
You can influence good prints by tuning your monitor to your graphics program(s) and using the printer profile (Costco does have them for download) with your printing order.
That will go a long way to making what you see on your monitor match what you see in your final prints.
I use Photoshop CS5, but also use a lot of plugs-ins too, and you'll find that there is variety in each.
It's cheaper in the long run to print via a service such as Costco than ink jet, IMHO.
My best,
Mike
With the lower end stores (Walmart, CVS, Walgreen's, I have noticed quality differences from store to store or from print run to print run. Just yesterday, my wife printed 5 copies of the same photo (a baby on a white background) for our family members from Walgreen's and in each photo, the background was a slightly different color temperature ranging from slightly warm to slightly cool.
Mike is right on the ink jet cost. I did the math once and it costs me about $2 per sheet to run my epson. Compound that with the fact that it tends to bleed on prints or dust ruins the image and I have to print 3-4 pages just to get 2 usable pages ($8+ for two pages rather than $4 if I use a reputable printing company).
I never us cheap labs for real prints that I give to customers. We have a reputable lab about 15 miles away that I use for 4x6 and 5x7. Anything larger I go through Black River Imaging (I hate them with a passion, mostly due to their ordering software, the quality and cost is the only reason I stay with them).
I have been satisfied with the quality and speed of Adorama's print processing. I like that with the check of a box on the order form that they will do NO photo corrections to my images. What I see on the screen is what I see for a print.
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