Who do you use for online printing?
Discussion
Hi, we are still using the local shop on the highstreet to print images and fancy dipping my toe in the world of online print ordering. Just noticed Jessops do online photo-printing - anyone used them? Or any other recommendations? Not necessarily looking for the cheapest but the best quality 
djsmith74 said:
I've been using Peak Imaging for a few years now, mainly to process rolls of film with a few prints ordered. Can't fault their service at all.
A friend of ours uses these and claims that every image is looked at by a technician to get the color print right?!I had a look, compared to some of the other recommended online guys they did seem a little pricey. There work does look good tho!
I've used Photobox a couple of times, quality is...OK.
Wasn't very happy with Boots in terms of quality.
Got my wedding photos done by DS Colour Labs on the recommendations of half of talkphotography and they're excellent!
http://dscolourlabs.co.uk/
Still sorting doing some big prints from DSCL, delivery's a little high but per page price is low.
Wasn't very happy with Boots in terms of quality.
Got my wedding photos done by DS Colour Labs on the recommendations of half of talkphotography and they're excellent!
http://dscolourlabs.co.uk/
Still sorting doing some big prints from DSCL, delivery's a little high but per page price is low.
Dan_1981 said:
A friend of ours uses these and claims that every image is looked at by a technician to get the color print right?!
I had a look, compared to some of the other recommended online guys they did seem a little pricey. There work does look good tho!
I'd want them to print as sent not take their view on it!I had a look, compared to some of the other recommended online guys they did seem a little pricey. There work does look good tho!
I've ordered a couple of prints from Loxley - just to get an idea of how they compare against the local shop on the highstreet that charges approx 15p. However, not sure I understand what I'm doing properly as I sent the images to Loxley direct from 'Photos' app on my mac. Would these images be of lower quality than say for example the memory card on my Sony RX 100 or the USB stick our photographer who did the wedding photos gave us? I downloaded the images from the card and USB stick to my mac > Photos.
Craikeybaby said:
It really depends on how you sent them from Photos - did you export them?
I usually crop/resize the files to what they will be printed at before sending them.
I'm not quite sure what you mean re 'export' but I simply clicked on the import image link on the Loxley site > then chose which image I wanted from Photos > then upload. I think file size of the photo on Photos (when you right-click > 'get info') is approx 3mb. I'm going to give Loxley a call and speak to one of their guys I usually crop/resize the files to what they will be printed at before sending them.
If your camera shoots in, lets say 4:3 aspect ration, and you want to print them in 10x8 or 6x4, something's going to get cropped, stretched or otherwise lopped off.
See here for some more detail: http://www.digicamguides.com/print/aspect-ratio.ht...
If your camera takes photos at 3:2 and you want 6x4 prints, that's a bit easier. What (I think) the guy above is saying is that their photos are edited and then cropped ready for the print size, so nothing's stretched or looking odd, at the correct specs that the printers want.
In terms of pulling the photos straight off the camera, I prefer to edit them first because out of the camera they dont look quite as good. So while they might be bigger, higher quality files from the camera, they havent been edited in a way that I'd like to see them. For something like a 6x4 print, a 3mb file size, assuming it's in the right print scale and quality would be fine. The photos your wedding photographer gave you, mostly, should also be fine (assuming they've been edited). Some of ours from our wedding photographer have come out at 17mb, some which are cropped and resized are more around 5mb. But their relative size is still around 5000x4000 pixels when viewed on a screen.
If you're trying to print a 320x100 pixel sized photo for example, in a 6x4 format, it might come out a bit jagged and not look too good. That sort of size is generally only good for web use, where a standard pixel size is going to be around 1200 pixels on the longest side of the photo.
See here for some more detail: http://www.digicamguides.com/print/aspect-ratio.ht...
If your camera takes photos at 3:2 and you want 6x4 prints, that's a bit easier. What (I think) the guy above is saying is that their photos are edited and then cropped ready for the print size, so nothing's stretched or looking odd, at the correct specs that the printers want.
In terms of pulling the photos straight off the camera, I prefer to edit them first because out of the camera they dont look quite as good. So while they might be bigger, higher quality files from the camera, they havent been edited in a way that I'd like to see them. For something like a 6x4 print, a 3mb file size, assuming it's in the right print scale and quality would be fine. The photos your wedding photographer gave you, mostly, should also be fine (assuming they've been edited). Some of ours from our wedding photographer have come out at 17mb, some which are cropped and resized are more around 5mb. But their relative size is still around 5000x4000 pixels when viewed on a screen.
If you're trying to print a 320x100 pixel sized photo for example, in a 6x4 format, it might come out a bit jagged and not look too good. That sort of size is generally only good for web use, where a standard pixel size is going to be around 1200 pixels on the longest side of the photo.
andy-xr said:
In terms of pulling the photos straight off the camera, I prefer to edit them first because out of the camera they dont look quite as good. So while they might be bigger, higher quality files from the camera, they havent been edited in a way that I'd like to see them.
Why would files be smaller or lower quality after being edited on a computer, other than if you chose to make them so?andy-xr said:
If your camera shoots in, lets say 4:3 aspect ration, and you want to print them in 10x8 or 6x4, something's going to get cropped, stretched or otherwise lopped off.
See here for some more detail: http://www.digicamguides.com/print/aspect-ratio.ht...
If your camera takes photos at 3:2 and you want 6x4 prints, that's a bit easier. What (I think) the guy above is saying is that their photos are edited and then cropped ready for the print size, so nothing's stretched or looking odd, at the correct specs that the printers want.
In terms of pulling the photos straight off the camera, I prefer to edit them first because out of the camera they dont look quite as good. So while they might be bigger, higher quality files from the camera, they havent been edited in a way that I'd like to see them. For something like a 6x4 print, a 3mb file size, assuming it's in the right print scale and quality would be fine. The photos your wedding photographer gave you, mostly, should also be fine (assuming they've been edited). Some of ours from our wedding photographer have come out at 17mb, some which are cropped and resized are more around 5mb. But their relative size is still around 5000x4000 pixels when viewed on a screen.
If you're trying to print a 320x100 pixel sized photo for example, in a 6x4 format, it might come out a bit jagged and not look too good. That sort of size is generally only good for web use, where a standard pixel size is going to be around 1200 pixels on the longest side of the photo.
Thanks Andy. Still all new to me so need to experiment. I've ordered some prints through DSCL too to see how they turn out See here for some more detail: http://www.digicamguides.com/print/aspect-ratio.ht...
If your camera takes photos at 3:2 and you want 6x4 prints, that's a bit easier. What (I think) the guy above is saying is that their photos are edited and then cropped ready for the print size, so nothing's stretched or looking odd, at the correct specs that the printers want.
In terms of pulling the photos straight off the camera, I prefer to edit them first because out of the camera they dont look quite as good. So while they might be bigger, higher quality files from the camera, they havent been edited in a way that I'd like to see them. For something like a 6x4 print, a 3mb file size, assuming it's in the right print scale and quality would be fine. The photos your wedding photographer gave you, mostly, should also be fine (assuming they've been edited). Some of ours from our wedding photographer have come out at 17mb, some which are cropped and resized are more around 5mb. But their relative size is still around 5000x4000 pixels when viewed on a screen.
If you're trying to print a 320x100 pixel sized photo for example, in a 6x4 format, it might come out a bit jagged and not look too good. That sort of size is generally only good for web use, where a standard pixel size is going to be around 1200 pixels on the longest side of the photo.
This is mighty interesting to read about because I'm getting a little bit fed up with having to buy multiple (and expensive) colour and BW cartridges for my inkjet printer along with decent quality photo paper, just so that I can print out a few photos from time to time, only to discover that the ink has dried up in the nozzle from the previous print run.
In terms of costings:
Has anyone actually done cost per print calculations based upon actual cartridge and paper usage compared to online and in-shop printing?
What are the general delivery times from ordering online to the photos dropping through the letter-box?
In terms of costings:
Has anyone actually done cost per print calculations based upon actual cartridge and paper usage compared to online and in-shop printing?
What are the general delivery times from ordering online to the photos dropping through the letter-box?
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