Prints: Do-it-yourself or?

[Liz]

Thanks Seb and Bmadau,

I appreciate your input....Final Answer: I'm not doing anything at home!

Have you tried uploading the pictures to the walmart website and just go in to pick up your photos

That's my next test.........

Thanks.

Liz

[payn817]

Over the net is simple, and you wont waste time/fuel going back and forth. If you send them online, they are not touched at all. If you go into the store, they should print the photos for you from the CF card with the terminal behind the counter. If one of my associates told you they couldn't do your order, it'd be on.

Still, the best bet if you want the 1 hour 4X6 from the mart, try the online thing, it's very simple. Plus you can send them to any store. For example if you want to send some to family on the opposite coast, just enter that zip and select their closest location. I've seen some 20X30 prints recenty, and was impressed (that is two day service though).

[Liz]

If you send them online, they are not touched at all. If you go into the store, they should print the photos for you from the CF card with the terminal behind the counter

Well, they did that for me once. However, this time I was told "we aren't doing CF card processing anymore."

Maybe the tech was wrong. I'll go back and check, but first I'm going to try them online. It may work - and it may be easier.

Thanks.
Liz

[Ultra Magnus]

Well, my wife just went to pick up some prints today and we have a little problem. I resized and edited a few photos last night, one of which we wanted in a 5x7 and 8x10, so I had cropped photos of each for each size. She picked them up and with all the kids with her (our three and her sisters one, all 5 and under) she didn't look at them closely until she got home and got two to take a nap. It turns out they really botched our 8x10. I haven't seen it yet, but she says it looks like they printed a 4x6, scanned it, and printed the scanned 4x6 image at an 8x10, because we got an extra 4x6 of this image we didn't order. It's like they forgot to print it from the file we uploaded and to get it done did this. The picture is grainy as all hell, she needed it for something she's doing today, and she's pissed. She can't go back readily with all the kids sleeping (the other two she left awake are laying down for a nap too) and with t-ball tonight she won't be able to do it when I get home either... So, as good as the paper they are using is, or as good as their equipment may be, it still can't compensate for incompetent employees.

Just be careful...I guess in the end you pay for, but it was a $3 8x10 print?? That's not exactly cheap, is it?

BM

[Ultra Magnus]

Qucik follow up... She just called wally world and asked what they did, and that it looked like a scanned resized photo and the technician (being polite) on the other end of the phone said "Uh huh, yup, that's what we did." Turns out they are out of 8x10 printer paper and only have the 8x10 in the copier so that's how they made our 8x10. Took the photo I sent them, printed a 4x6 (agian, having to crop for the different aspect ratio) then printing it at 8x10, losing tons of resolution, and cropping it again for the 8x10 aspect ratio. She (wallmart employee) didin't seem to think there was a problem with doing that. To the average joe schmoe consumer who doesn't know the difference of these details, would have just gotten screwed.

Now my wife is waiting to talk to the manager....yay!

BM

[another view]

So, as good as the paper they are using is, or as good as their equipment may be, it still can't compensate for incompetent employees.

Excellent point. I did have a problem once (can't remember what, actually) but the grocery store I use corrected it right away. I had been going in there a lot at that time so maybe that helped. Mistakes happen but what matters is how they deal with it.

I don't think your case was a mistake as much as it was an error in their judgement (from reading your second post). I have to believe that some people might get that 8x10 and think that they need a better camera... There is a risk to using places like this, but I try to make everything as easy and hopefully foolproof as possible by making my own files to fit the print size. So far it's worked well for me.

PS - $3 isn't too bad, but I think locally it's just under $2. I've heard (but haven't seen the proof) that paper and ink for an 8x10 is worth about $2 for the inkjets or dye subs that most people (individual photographers) are using.

[Lava Lamp]

Excellent point. I did have a problem once (can't remember what, actually) but the grocery store I use corrected it right away. I had been going in there a lot at that time so maybe that helped. Mistakes happen but what matters is how they deal with it.

I don't think your case was a mistake as much as it was an error in their judgement (from reading your second post). I have to believe that some people might get that 8x10 and think that they need a better camera... There is a risk to using places like this, but I try to make everything as easy and hopefully foolproof as possible by making my own files to fit the print size. So far it's worked well for me.

PS - $3 isn't too bad, but I think locally it's just under $2. I've heard (but haven't seen the proof) that paper and ink for an 8x10 is worth about $2 for the inkjets or dye subs that most people (individual photographers) are using.

My local CVS charges $4.99 for a bad 5x7 printed on an Epson inkjet. When I was printing my own stuff, I did some family calendars and it cost around $3 per 8 1/2 x 11 sheet using good paper.

[Liz]

My local CVS charges $4.99 for a bad 5x7 printed on an Epson inkjet. When I was printing my own stuff, I did some family calendars and it cost around $3 per 8 1/2 x 11 sheet using good paper.

Wow! You can get a 5x7 at Walmart for less than $1.00. Quality depends on who is doing it and which machine (they have 2) they use.

Liz

[Ultra Magnus]

They printed the 4x6 on matte paper, so when they scanned it to reprint it at 8x10, it picked up the texture of the matte paper making the 8x10 on glossy look textured and grainy.

BM