Online high quality photo printing service recs?
Posted by: Top Cat on 05 October 2005
Hi,
Just back from a fairly long holiday and (after editing) have around 600 photos I wish to get printed. My usual place isn't cheap and so the prospect of getting them to do it is quite wallet-bruisingly scary. So, I'm looking for a decent online service who can:
(a) accept full-size images - I've batch converted to very high quality jpeg at around the 3000x2000 pixel size;
(b) avoid mucking about with the colours. My displays are calibrated and I've got the colours 'just so';
(c) avoid downsizing to a smaller resolution for 'efficiency' reasons (which is bloody annoying - Jessops once did this to me and basically buggered up the fine detail in the prints).
(d) do it for a reasonable price: I'm thinking no more than about 10-15p per 6x4, and no more than 50p per 9x6, say. Anything bigger will go to my usual place and they'll fleece me I'm sure but it'll be a cracking print.
Any recommendations gladly received. I'll submit in a few batches - the first batch is now ready to go and it'd be great to start the upload today (as it'll take some time I'd bet).
Ta,
John
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by BigH47
Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a printer and DIY? Plus it will be there for the next batch.
Howard
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by Top Cat
Not really cheaper. The time and effort required to get consistent results, plus the initial cost of the printer plus inks, probably makes it no less expensive than getting a lab to do it. Plus I already have a semi decent photo printer which isn't really as good as a pro lab system no matter how much I tweak...
I've done a search and I'm looking at PhotoBox.co.uk. Anyone any comments about them? They seem reasonably priced and they don't muck about with the res., so unless someone says something bad about them, I might give them a try...
John
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by Tony Lockhart
I used photobox last year with satisfactory results. I had one pic printed at, I think, 30"x20" without any cause for complaint. I haven't been able to compare to other services though.
I think after my next holiday I'll be putting most pics on my photobucket site and only having the real corkers printed.
Tony
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by Derek Wright
I also use
http://www.photobox.co.uk - if you buy enough print credits you can get the price down to 7p per 6by4 or 6by4.5 inch print. They do a print to fit service so they respect how you have cropped the image.
If you wish you can get a colour profile for Photobox from somewhere in the
DryCreek site although I have not used the profile.
Totally agree that lab printing is the way to go - assumimg you have broadband to upload the images. Photobox accept prints via ftp, a Java upload tool, individual file uploads, and email attachment uploads.
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by Top Cat
OK, have decided to give Photobox a try. It's a pity that the default 'upload cache' is only 200Mb as that's only about 40 photos for me (6Mp jpeg top quality - higher ISOs being as big as 10Mb, lower being from 3Mb).
It does say it will allow me to temporarily exceed 200Mb which is something, though I'd like to keep the images there for a couple of weeks as we might want extra copies.
John
PS. Even on broadband, it is taking ages to upload - but then, uploading is broadband's Achilles Heel...
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by rackkit
Unless your using the facility for online storage, why are you uploading such large files if it's just for web viewing?
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by Derek Wright
I have never noticed any restriction in the amount of data I can upload in the the Temporary Library which which holds data for 2 weeks. I uploaded 500 files to the site the other week.
In the past I asked if there was a limit and they said not.
As you use the service you get additional space you can keep - I now have one gig of space on their servers.
Remember to specify Print to Fit when you order.
There is a postage break point above about 500 prints when they switch from First Class post at £1.50 to courier service at £5.99 or £6.99, it may be worth splitting the parcel of work to minimise costs.
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by Derek Wright
For your 6by4 prints there is no need to send such large image files - it might be worth while running some tests with different quality levels to determine if you can see any degradation with smaller files.
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by Top Cat
Rackkit, who said anything about web viewing?
My plan is 6x4s for all prints and a few 12x8s. So, I want full images.
John
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by Derek Wright
At
advice on quality and resolutionthere is information on minimum resolution for a given print size. Also comments on colour profiles which rubbishes my comment earlier.
Posted on: 05 October 2005 by rackkit
quote:
Originally posted by Top Cat:
Rackkit, who said anything about web viewing?
My plan is 6x4s for all prints and a few 12x8s. So, I want full images.
John
Sorry fella. Mis-read the thread title.
You'd still be surprised at what little difference there is between a photo saved at full jpeg 12 in p'shop and one at say 8, when printed at a modern lab though.
Posted on: 06 October 2005 by Rockingdoc
I've put about 300 pounds worth of work through Peak this year, and find them excellent.
peak imagingPosted on: 07 October 2005 by Top Cat
Update: I was just about to put the first batch through Photobox when my wife (a pro photographer) said she'd spoken with another lab she uses and they'd do 100 prints at 8p/print with full reprint of any that we weren't happy with. So, we were a bit surprised that they were so flexible on pricing so decided to stick with them for now. So, I will probably still give photobox a try, but perhaps not for these photos.
John
