Best place to get 4*6 prints?

[Markhpnc]

I know a lot of you print your own, but I do not want to mess with that. I have a Canon SD300 camera and this will be for printing possibly 2 or 3 copies each sometimes of 100+ photos at a time from trips I have taken. I have tried the Kodak machines at stores where you just put your memory card in, but I did not like the quality. As far as I know it wasn't my camera because they look better on the PC even at a much larger size. The best deal by far I have found (which I havn't tried yet) is ordering from Fujifilm online. I can order straight from my Windows XP software. If I pick up the prints at the store they are only $.17 a piece as opposed to $.25+ at other places I have seen. Has anyone ever used Fujifilm printing and how is it?

[Bluedog]

The only one I've ever dealt with has been Ofoto. They did a very good job on the prints and very fast service. You might find cheaper but don't know about the turn around time.

[Mr. Peabody]

Hope this helps.

Printing Digital Pics.

My adventures and what I’ve learned thus far.

My test:
Over the past few days, I’ve been to 3 different places and developed the same 20 photos on 4 different types of machines.


Why am I testing?

Because one day after purchasing my first digital camera, I went to Walgreens to develop about 20 pics. I was so disappointed in the way the pics turned out that I was ready to get rid of my Canon 20D Digital Camera. I decided to go develop the same 20 pics somewhere else because there was no way this camera could take such terrible pics. I just knew the reason for the poor quality pics had to be because of the machine at Walgreens. I went out to see if my theory was correct or not.

(btw, I don’t want to buy a printer that will read my card and develop my pics. I don’t want to waste money on photo paper on expensive ink cartridges either.)



The test machines:

1. Walgreens Fuji Film DIYer machine using fuji paper. The machine also had Aladdin Digital Photo Center printed on it.
(It uses 3 colors of light to process the film or so I’m told. The clerks aren’t very knowledgeable. This machine doesn’t develop prints using chemical processing like used to develop 35mm film. It develops your pics and spits them out at the bottom rear of the machine.)

Results:
I’ve already mentioned these pics turned out bad enough to make me consider selling my camera. If this was the best that retail stores had to offer, I didn’t want a digital camera. The pics lacked MAJOR color and detail. Faces on the subjects were dark too. I was very disappointed. The pics did have a nice gloss finish though.




Next, I went to Sams Club. Sams Club had two different machines to develop your digital pics.

2. Sam’s DIYer Kodak machine using Kodak paper. (This is some type of thermo heat/ink transfer machine. Again, the clerk didn’t explain it very well. It spits your pics out at the bottom of the machine.)

Results:
I printed out the same 20 pics. These pics looked excellent. They were bright, very detailed and full of color that the Walgreens machine couldn’t produce on its pics. I was very satisfied. One of the clerks said that the pics from this machine are not very durable because of the type of processing. He said in order to get the best durability, you need to get your pics developed by chemical processing. I talked to a clerk at another Sams, and he said that info was not true. He told me that the Kodak prints were very durable and the other guy didn’t know what he was talking about? Who knows? I was extremely impressed with my pics though.

3. Sam’s other DIYer machine using fuji paper. (This machine links back into their processing center and plugs up to their big computer 35mm film chemical processing/ printing machine. It developed digital pics the same way as 35mm film. The pics can only be developed with a textured matte finish though.)

Results:
They did show a lot more color than the Walgreens DIYer Fuji machine. This might have been due to the grainy textured matte finish of the prints. I didn’t really care for textured matte finish that much. Maybe because I’m just so used to the smooth glossy look.





Next, I went to Eckerds…………….

4. Eckerds. (They didn’t have a DIYer digital machine. The guy takes your card and sticks it into his computer. They develop your digital pics by chemical processing just like 35mm film. Eckerds uses Kodak paper.

Results:
I loved the way my prints turned out. They were bright, very detailed, and had a great glossy finish. I was extremely impressed just as I was with the Kodak DIYer machine at Sams. The only drawback was that since it wasn’t a DIYer machine, I couldn’t play with my photos by editing and cropping them.




Conclusions:
1st choice will be Eckerds.
2nd choice will be Sams using the Fuji Film DIYer machine that links back to their chemical processing equipment.


Printing costs:
Walgreens FujiFilm DIYer machine 29 cents per pic
Sams Kodak DIYer machine 28 cents per pic
Sams other DIYer machine using chemical processing 18 cents per pic
Eckerds 25 cents per pic


Additional notation:

Even though I gave great praise to the Kodak machine at Sams Club, that is only when making 4 X 6 prints. Recently, I tried to develop some pics at 5 X 7 and 8 X 10. They were absolutely horrendous. They lost massive amounts of detail when being blowed up. The 4 X 6 prints were great though.

I decide to get some blow ups using the Sams Club DIYer Fuji Machine that I mentioned earlier. Those 5 X 7 and 8 X 10 prints turned out absolutely perfect. I love them.

Btw, Eckerds is now CVS.

Right now, I’m using Sams Club to print my pics. The 18 cents for 4 X 6 is a great deal. Their prices for 5 X 7 and 8 X 10 is great too.

[JTL]

I know a lot of you print your own, but I do not want to mess with that.

I don’t want to waste money on photo paper on expensive ink cartridges either.)Just as long as you realize that they will never look as good as if you printed them yourself on an 8-color printer (like the Canon i9900 with Photo Paper Pro) and that you will never be in control of the color calibration, saturation, contrast and other things. Part of the greatness of the digital photo revolution is that it has given us this creative control and freedom to have our images the way we want them. For me, having a digital camera without a printer would be like having one foot in the new paradigm and one foot in the old...

If you ever tried it, you would never go back…

And why is it a waste to give your images the best possible treatment? You should be proud of the photos you take as they are a unique and personal creative expression. Take pictures. Print pictures. Display pictures (proudly). I apologize for my exuberance...I just get carried away sometimes. :)

[Markhpnc]

Thanks for the info everyone. Mr. Peabody, I can't remember for sure where I used that Kodak machine at, but it was either CVS or Wallgreens. I do not know what kind it was either. It was just a self standing Kodak unit that had card readers and a CD drive and it spit the prints out instantly below as you said. I think I have also seen it in Target. Maybe it is like one of the ones you mentioned? Is there a way to find out what kind of machines they are? So it sounds like there are 2 main types, DIYer and chemical processing? The choices I have straight from Windows XP where I view my pictures and then click "order prints on line" are Fujifilm, Shutterfly, and Kodak Print Service by Ofoto. It will not give me any additional info on them other than the price. The Fujifilm option is the cheapest at $.17 each, and it gives the option to have them mailed for more $$$, or pick them at at Sams Club. I am guessing the Sams Club would have the same printers you spoke of, but I don't know which one they would use. I am tempted to just give this one a try, but I need to get mutliple copies of over 100 prints so maybe I should test a few first or go into the Sams first and see what info I can get?

[TheObiJuan]

i printed my pictures online through adoramapix.com
i left instructions to make no changes whatsoever. they did not make any changes and the back of the print verified that.
i crop, edit, and do everything in photoshop, and I save time by just uploading them online and getting them in the mail. It is more convenient for me.

[JTL]

i printed my pictures online through adoramapix.com
i left instructions to make no changes whatsoever. they did not make any changes and the back of the print verified that.
i crop, edit, and do everything in photoshop, and I save time by just uploading them online and getting them in the mail. It is more convenient for me.Wow...that's a great service to know about! So, you can maintain control and yet have them do the prinitng for you? That sounds like an idea that works. In that case, I take back what I said about having to own a printer...

[gary_hendricks]

The only one I've ever dealt with has been Ofoto. They did a very good job on the prints and very fast service. You might find cheaper but don't know about the turn around time.

Gotta agree with that. OFoto is pretty good, but so is ShutterFly.com.