Commercial printers.

[Frog]

I have only printed a few photos but my wife suggested I print some up for gifts.

Our printer is pretty old so didn't think it would do a very good job so I sent two of them to Walmart to be printed.

Both came back with the edges noticeablly trimmed and one especially came back quite a bit darker.
I'm now remembering the same problem with 35mm development coming back trimmed on edges.
Is there an online printing business that doesn't trim and pays attention to the light/dark, etc. in the original?
I'm not great at photoshop but I'm cautious with any cropping I do and do the best I can with light and color and want prints to come back as I sent them.

Thankyou for your attention!

[mjs1973]

I'm a huge fan of www.mpix.com as well as www.adoramapix.com. Both offer great quality prints, for not a lot of money. They both charge a flat rate shipping fee so you pay the same for shipping if you order 1 print, or if you order 600.

Both places will show you and let you adjust the cropping on the photo so you know exactly what you're getting. Both places also have a box you can check so they won't adjust or color correct your photos. The color part may be a little tricky if you don't have a calibrated system that you're viewing your photos on. My system isn't calibrated, and I have ordered prints from both places, and I thought they looked great. Both when I have them color correct them, and when I don't.

I have also ordered from Snapfish.com and shutterfly.com. Both places are very inexpensive, but I don't think the quality is as good as the other two I mentioned. I use snapfish and shutterfly for inexpensive prints for myself, and Christmas cards and things like that. If I want a good quality print to frame, I go with mpix or adorama.

[wpb]

I love printing my own pics. I get absoloutely stand up results from my Epson R200. I am limited in the size prints I can make of course, but for a $100 printer (including $78 worth of ink) it is fantastic. I did some test prints at different places and then compared that to my printer and my printer put them all to shame ... not even close. If you want to go to a larger format you will pay, but it is still a bargain. Best hint ... use good paper.

[darkman]

Is your monitor calibrated with a spider? This could explain why the prints appear darker from wal*. Or, it simply could be that they aren't doing a good job of calibrating OR the operator felt he needed to make a tweak. As far as the trimming, this is done to insure the whole print is covered with the wet process machines. It varies a little bit from machine to machine. When I send out for prints I add a small border or crop a little more loosely to compensate.

My advice would be to find a locally owned shop. There are several by me that have fuji frontiers, dursks, LJ's, etc. The local one I use I can download images and pick them up later (or have them sent to me - but I never do). These places are usually meticulously calibrated and will almost always reprint if there is an issue.

From a personal pov, I prefer sending out my images to be printed. I can't compete with the prices, the time, and the prints are more handholdable than inkjets. I also prefer the linearization the wet printers give over the inkjets.

Mike

[Frog]

Thankyou Michael, wpb, and Mike.
I'm going to try a few different printers with one or two prints and then whoever does the best job will get my business.
Unfortunatly there are no local places unless you count Walmart and RiteAid.

[freygr]

I spent my money on a Epson R-2400 ( up to 13" wide ), and I'm very happy with the results out of my printer. Also I run an uncalibared system and let the programs do the color corrections. I also only us OEM inks and test thrid party papers before use.

You will never have good results with color ink refills.

[WsW-WYATT-EARP]

I have the Epson R300 .. good for 8x10's

I can't say enough about this printer ... most i have done with it is 5x7 but the results are amazing ... I run an uncalibrated system also and let photoshop control the color for printing ... i agree with using OEM inks and not a cheap ink refills for quality prints ... I also stick with epson paper ...

I also just sent an order in for a few pics to MPIX see what they come back with compared to what i get off my printer .. if they are at least very close I will use them for larger prints or big quantity orders ...