Getting Prints

I was just wondering...

I have taken alot of photos lately and have had alot of requests for large size prints so that they can be framed. Now here is where I have the problem, I know that it is possible to take a CD of my photos to my local camera shop and get them printed out on "photo paper" just like regular film for about .45 cents each. What would be better, printing them out on my own or getting them put on photo paper? Will the photo paper pictures be that much better and is it worth the .45 cents or so per print?

Thanks you guys
--Marco G. Alvarez
[email protected]

Marco Alvarez said:

I was just wondering...

I have taken alot of photos lately and have had alot of requests
for large size prints so that they can be framed. Now here is where
I have the problem, I know that it is possible to take a CD of my
photos to my local camera shop and get them printed out on "photo
paper" just like regular film for about .45 cents each. What would
be better, printing them out on my own or getting them put on photo
paper? Will the photo paper pictures be that much better and is it
worth the .45 cents or so per print?

Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of prints. I like my stuff digital, on the screen

But on occasion I have tried to print on an inkjet printer. It leads to only frustration and wasted money (ink, paper...) and time. We have sent photos to ofoto.com for printing and they are just GREAT, far beyond what you can get with your own inkjet printer. Also, they will not be using the same technology and will put a coating on your pictures that will allow them to last much longer.

I have never tried local shops where you can bring photos on a CD but the web thing is just great to me, and not very expensive. I have tried only ofoto and have been very satisfied, and they are FAST. They are in California, like me, and ordering priints from them seems to take just the time for the mail to come back, barely a couple of days.

I still have to try a bigger format (8*11) but it's probably just a matter of what resolution you send.

By the way, I think they (and competitors also) allow you to order several pictures for free first, just to see if you're satisfied with the results.

David.--My photo galleries: http://www.pbase.com/davidp

David Pichevin said:

Marco Alvarez said:

I was just wondering...

I have taken alot of photos lately and have had alot of requests
for large size prints so that they can be framed. Now here is where
I have the problem, I know that it is possible to take a CD of my
photos to my local camera shop and get them printed out on "photo
paper" just like regular film for about .45 cents each. What would
be better, printing them out on my own or getting them put on photo
paper? Will the photo paper pictures be that much better and is it
worth the .45 cents or so per print?

Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of prints. I like my stuff digital, on the screen
But on occasion I have tried to print on an inkjet printer. It
leads to only frustration and wasted money (ink, paper...) and
time. We have sent photos to ofoto.com for printing and they are
just GREAT, far beyond what you can get with your own inkjet
printer. Also, they will not be using the same technology and will
put a coating on your pictures that will allow them to last much
longer.

I have never tried local shops where you can bring photos on a CD
but the web thing is just great to me, and not very expensive. I
have tried only ofoto and have been very satisfied, and they are
FAST. They are in California, like me, and ordering priints from
them seems to take just the time for the mail to come back, barely
a couple of days.

I still have to try a bigger format (8*11) but it's probably just a
matter of what resolution you send.

By the way, I think they (and competitors also) allow you to order
several pictures for free first, just to see if you're satisfied
with the results.

David.
--
My photo galleries: http://www.pbase.com/davidp

Click to expand...

David, thanks for the quick response, do you know if Ofoto allows you to send your pictures over the web because I live in Phoenix, AZ. If so is the highest resolution on my 707 going to create "film like" quality?--Marco G. [email protected]

Marco Alvarez said:

What would be better, printing them out on my own or getting them put on photo paper?

Click to expand...

According to a PCWorld article several months ago, the Canon S800 ink jet printer using Canon Photo Paper Pro will give you prints that will last 25 years. I can't of course vouch for the 25 years but the print quality is first rate. I have printed around 100 8x10's over the last few months and all of them look as good as the store printed stuff. The consumables cost is around $1.10 per 8x10 if you buy ink and paper online.

Here is just my opinion:

We also had this question - on line or get a good photo printer. The on-line services do a very nice job, but on a per-picture basis it is more expensive than printing it yourself.

However, we figured that we don't print enough per year to allow the printer to "pay for itself" before the technology significantly improves (Which we figure happens every 12 to 18 months).

So this is my advice: if you would print enough pictures in a year to "pay" for the printer, go for it.

This is just my opinion.

Marco Alvarez said:

David, thanks for the quick response, do you know if Ofoto allows
you to send your pictures over the web because I live in Phoenix,
AZ. If so is the highest resolution on my 707 going to create "film
like" quality?

Click to expand...

Marco, yes, they are web based. You upload your pictures, choose the format you want. You can even have frames custom made, books etc... They will also tell you if your picture resolution will yeld a good quality for the print size you choose.

Not sure what to answer about film like quality. I have never been interested in film cameras. I like digital medium. What I can say is that photos printed by ofoto coming from pictures taken by my old Kodak DC240 (I haven't tried from the Sony yet) with 4 times less pixels than a full 707 image looked great on 4x6 and better than any photo I've seen taken with a regular camera. This is just what I can say with my limited experience with film and family photos etc...

Shay here had a thread some time ago about a great result he got after printing on the web an 8*11 photo coming from the 707.

David.
--My photo galleries: http://www.pbase.com/davidp

Marco Alvarez said:

I have taken alot of photos lately and have had alot of requests
for large size prints so that they can be framed. Now here is where
I have the problem, I know that it is possible to take a CD of my
photos to my local camera shop and get them printed out on "photo
paper" just like regular film for about .45 cents each. What would
be better, printing them out on my own or getting them put on photo
paper? Will the photo paper pictures be that much better and is it
worth the .45 cents or so per print?

Click to expand...

What printer do you have? What printer is the local camera shop using?

I make my own prints on the Epson 870. My ink costs are essentially nothing because I'm using a continous ink system that allows me to buy ink in bulk. An 8x10 sheet of good paper is about 50 cents (I assume an 8x10 from your camera shop is going to cost more than that).

I'm very very happy with the quality that I get from my Epson 870. Making my own prints also gives me a lot more control than getting prints made by a lab or printing service.

alex

This last week I just got back photos from 2 online printers:
EZ Prints and Shutterfly

I just had 4x6s & 5x7s done to start with--but I'm amazed! As long as you upload jpg.s with enough resolution, you'll get back TRUE photos. I was satisfied with both companies.

EZ Prints website
http://ezprints.mye-pix.com/
These guys offer luster finish as well as glossy.

Shutterfly's website
http://www.shutterfly.com/index.jsp
They offer a lot of borders and fun stuff you can add to your photos. --Janeen

Marco Alvarez said:

I was just wondering...

I have taken alot of photos lately and have had alot of requests
for large size prints so that they can be framed. Now here is where
I have the problem, I know that it is possible to take a CD of my
photos to my local camera shop and get them printed out on "photo
paper" just like regular film for about .45 cents each. What would
be better, printing them out on my own or getting them put on photo
paper? Will the photo paper pictures be that much better and is it
worth the .45 cents or so per print?

Thanks you guys

--
Marco G. Alvarez
[email protected]

Click to expand...

I have uploaded to Wal-Mart.com at 26 cents per pic and they could ship the pics to me for a s&h charge or they could send them to your local walmart you specify free of charge no shipping. I ordered prints for shutterfly, ofoto and walmart and the walmart pics came in first and looked as good as the others at the best price.

I recently had a 16x20 print done of a 707 shot (highest res) from ofoto.com. I was absolutely blown away with it. There is no discernible pixelation even at this size. My 2MP DC280 would generally pixelate at 8x10. The colors are great and it shipped in about 3 days. Highly recommended.

Every person I have shown it to has said essentially the same thing. "I didn't know digital cameras could do that".

John

Marco Alvarez said:

I was just wondering...

I have taken alot of photos lately and have had alot of requests
for large size prints so that they can be framed. Now here is where
I have the problem, I know that it is possible to take a CD of my
photos to my local camera shop and get them printed out on "photo
paper" just like regular film for about .45 cents each. What would
be better, printing them out on my own or getting them put on photo
paper? Will the photo paper pictures be that much better and is it
worth the .45 cents or so per print?

Thanks you guys

--
Marco G. Alvarez
[email protected]

Click to expand...

I did a test by ordering the same set of prints from 4 online photo labs and here is the first and last place finishes...

First Place: Ofoto.com

Service: ( 5 stars)

They emailed me the same day that they had my order, the next day they emailed me that the order was finished and the third day they emailed me that the order had shipped. I received them in two days. Total turn around time 4 days!

Quality: (5 stars)

The prints were glossy finish on Kodak photo paper. The colors were vibrant and very accurate.The larger prints were mailed separately from the smaller prints but they both arrived at the same time. They included an index sheet of all the prints ordered.

Price: 2 ( 3 1/2 stars)

Ofoto is a bit more expensive then the rest at 39c per 4x6; 99c for 5x7 and $3.99 for 8x10. They also include a signing bonus of free 15 4x6 prints, which is not the best offer out there.

Comment : For me,their service and quality out weigh there slightly higher prices

LAST PLACE: dotphoto.com

Service: * ( 1 star)

It took 3 weeks and 4 e-mails to get my photos from these guys. I gave them 1 star because finally did get the prints. Throughout the whole time I waited, they did not contact me or keep me posted. It was only because I made a fuss that they offered yo credit me for the free prints I had used up.They claim that they are under staffed and over ordered and were having problems with their printers at the time. Well helllloooo...it's Christmas time...it shouldn't have been a surprise!!

Quality: 2 ( 3 1/2 stars)

The prints were not bad with fairly accurate colors but slightly faded. I also had the Ofoto prints to compare to...no comparison!

Price: ( 5 stars)

Well that's what attracted me to them in the first place. Their 4x6 prints sell for 29c; 5x5 for 89c and the 8x10 for $2.99. They also offer 60 free 4x6 print bonus for signing up...the best offer out there.

Comment: With such poor service and mediocre print quality, I would stay away from these guys even if they offered a 100 free prints or reduced their prices!

The other two labs, Cosco.com and HPphoto.com were in the middle with acceptable delivery times of 5-7 days and decent quality prints for similar prices.

Hope that helps somebody...

debadguy
--debadguy

Do you mean highest jpeg or Tiff?

J.R. said:

Every person I have shown it to has said essentially the same
thing. "I didn't know digital cameras could do that".

John

Marco Alvarez said:

I was just wondering...

I have taken alot of photos lately and have had alot of requests
for large size prints so that they can be framed. Now here is where
I have the problem, I know that it is possible to take a CD of my
photos to my local camera shop and get them printed out on "photo
paper" just like regular film for about .45 cents each. What would
be better, printing them out on my own or getting them put on photo
paper? Will the photo paper pictures be that much better and is it
worth the .45 cents or so per print?

Thanks you guys

--
Marco G. Alvarez
[email protected]

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

JPG

Frank said:

J.R. said:

Every person I have shown it to has said essentially the same
thing. "I didn't know digital cameras could do that".

John

Marco Alvarez said:

I was just wondering...

I have taken alot of photos lately and have had alot of requests
for large size prints so that they can be framed. Now here is where
I have the problem, I know that it is possible to take a CD of my
photos to my local camera shop and get them printed out on "photo
paper" just like regular film for about .45 cents each. What would
be better, printing them out on my own or getting them put on photo
paper? Will the photo paper pictures be that much better and is it
worth the .45 cents or so per print?

Thanks you guys

--
Marco G. Alvarez
[email protected]

Click to expand...

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