These days, printing at a photo lab is for the most part cheaper than your own printer. Printing at home, with a printer and paper than can match the quality of lab printers, is really only if you want to have complete control over how your photos turn out..

I have never tried walmart, but in general I have found a lot of the non-photo photo labs to be pretty awful. I've tried Target, Walgreens, Long Drugs, those Kodak kiosks, etc, and all have been pretty bad. Ritz Camera was pretty decent, as was Costco (and Costco is VERY inexpensive). But I think the quality I get from online photo labs like MPIX or WHCC is incredible...

Both depends on your image editing skills. I've gotten thousands of perfect prints (8x10 and larger) from Costco, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club over the past five years. But my files are color corrected and sized so they don't expand and get cropped when printing on standard paper sizes. The one hour labs use either Frontier or Noritsu printers with Fuji Crystal Archive paper and Fuji chemistry. For printing black and white, I find the Noritsu printer at Costco more neutral..

So, for an occasional print, do it yourself, but if you live within 15 minutes of one of the one hour labs, consider that option..

Yumology wrote:.

I just bought a canon XT, and my father has a powershot A460 he wantsto print from too.So I want to know if the quality of a photo printer is better/worsecompared to walmart's prints.He wants to know if it's cheaper to buy a printer+ink+special photopaper and make prints himself instead of paying $0.12 each for 4"x3"prints..

Larry Bermanhttp://BermanGraphics.com..

The kiosks at Walmart are often occupied by people who take a LONG time editing & printing..

I find it most convenient to upload what I want to walmart.com & by the time I get to the store the prints are ready & paid for...

That may be fine for 4x6 prints, but Wal-Mart and Sam's limits the file size of uploads so it's impossible to upload a maximum quality JPEG for larger sizes. Costco doesn't have a file size upload limit..

Dave Martin wrote:.

The kiosks at Walmart are often occupied by people who take a LONGtime editing & printing.I find it most convenient to upload what I want to walmart.com & bythe time I get to the store the prints are ready & paid for..

Larry Bermanhttp://BermanGraphics.com..

If you print 4 X 5.33 (no cropping for your dads camera) to get 4 photos on an 11.5 sheet and use good quality aftermarket ink you can beat Walmart. I figure about 4c a photo on Red River paper if I buy it on sale. Of course you have to profile for the ink and paper and get a paper trimmer. You can get a LOT of Walmart prints for the cost of a good photo printer, profiling and a decent trimmer. And they will print 4.5 X 6 for him, which looks nicer..

Im looking for a break-even around mid 2009 if I dont weaken and get tempted by a new super printer that might be released before then..

I almost always print 5 X 7. Take a batch of 4 X 6 somewhere and everyone says they are nice. Take a batch of 5 X 7 and you inevitably get a WOW! I know that my prints probably arent as UV resistant even though theyve improved the inks. And they definitely arent as resistant to spills and grubby little fingers. I just really like doing my own..

Edit: I just saw Larry's post. I'll have to check the resolution. They also have a Costco membership but I couldn't find the photo upload on their site..

Dave Martin wrote:.

I find it most convenient to upload what I want to walmart.com & bythe time I get to the store the prints are ready & paid for..

Great idea. I have friends who I have had a devil of a time getting sorted out with EasyShare. The dumb program wont let them upload photos back to the camera as it blocks PTP for Kodak cameras. They dont want to mess with a card reader and learn to use the Windows file system. I even brought them some blank CDs as they have a burner I doubt any of them have been burned. She likes to take her photos to Sams on the card and accumulates them there until she can get them printed.



I just checked Sams and they have the same system with an online photo album like Snapfish. Problem solved I hope thanks a bunch...

I really appreciate all the feedback thanks everyone..

I think I'm going to go for ease of use. I can upload to walmart strait from picasa, which is about as far as my dad can handle editing photo's. I can use Photoshop fairly well and I like to manage my photo's in picassa too. I had no idea different places give different performances. I'll have to send test photo's to various places and see what I like best...

.."I think I'm going to go for ease of use. I can upload to walmart strait from picasa, which is about as far as my dad can handle editing photo's....".

Sounds like a good plan. Make sure your Dad uses Picasa's fixed ratio crop functions..

Now I must learn to upload directly from Picasa to WalMart! My wife will love that strategy...

Before I continue: I have no idea how print machines (noritsu, etc) work. But I'm quite sure, they are capable to deliver hi-quality results. Now... how's reality?.

If you send image files (or deliver personally -doesn't matter), you'll get cr*p in 90%. In most cases, person that work on those machines, has no clue about photos -(s)he just pushes buttons. If you say to that person "hey, these photos are too reddish...", then you can't expect much talk about that issue, because "...sorry, machine just print the files you brough here...". And if files has been sent over internet (who knows to where), then you can only bite your lips..

Yes, it's not the person there, but machine. Most of the time, these machines are not maintained properly or regulary -it's ok, as long there's something comming out of the machine. And if something is wrong with printed photos, then they will try to let you know, that you "actually don't know" about photography (bad camera, wrong settings, shaky photographer,...)..

Again, pro machines can give equal or better (I assume), but they don't, because nobody cares there..

Is X lab better than Y? Go with cheaper (it's a gambling anyway). You wish to get the best results? Print at home..

To shorten: if you haven't seen properly (home) printed photos, then you don't know what is your camera capable to deliver. Yes, I'm talking about home printer worth $150 (with original ink and paper, of course)..

BogdanMy pictures are my memorieshttp://freeweb.siol.net/hrastni3/..

Hbx2004 wrote:.

Before I continue: I have no idea how print machines (noritsu, etc)work. But I'm quite sure, they are capable to deliver hi-qualityresults. Now... how's reality?If you send image files (or deliver personally -doesn't matter),you'll get cr*p in 90%. In most cases, person that work on thosemachines, has no clue about photos -(s)he just pushes buttons. If yousay to that person "hey, these photos are too reddish...", then youcan't expect much talk about that issue, because "...sorry, machinejust print the files you brough here...".



Yes, it's not the person there, but machine. Most of the time, thesemachines are not maintained properly or regulary -it's ok, as longthere's something comming out of the machine. And if something iswrong with printed photos, then they will try to let you know, thatyou "actually don't know" about photography (bad camera, wrongsettings, shaky photographer,...).Again, pro machines can give equal or better (I assume), but theydon't, because nobody cares there.Is X lab better than Y? Go with cheaper (it's a gambling anyway). Youwish to get the best results? Print at home..

To shorten: if you haven't seen properly (home) printed photos, thenyou don't know what is your camera capable to deliver. Yes, I'mtalking about home printer worth $150 (with original ink and paper,of course)..

I think you're generalizing a bit. Yes, there are many drug store labs that are quite poor and have untrained staff. But some camera shops do have trained staff and maintain their printers well. And I've found the quality of dedicated only printers like mpix and whcc to be excellent...

"...> If you send image files (or deliver personally -doesn't matter),.

You'll get cr*p in 90%. In most cases, person that work on thosemachines, has no clue about photos -(s)he just pushes buttons. If yousay to that person "hey, these photos are too reddish...", then youcan't expect much talk about that issue, because "...sorry, machinejust print the files you brough here..."".

I'd like to see the data establishing that 90% are cr*p!.

Do you really want some operator (trained or untrained) adjusting the color balance on each photo? On each batch of photos?.

What I'm looking for IS a machine that just prints the files I brought there! I want ME to adjust the color balance, not them. I want to decide how to crop, not them..

I've little doubt that the machine operators in the mass market outlets are instructed to not deviate from standard color balances and similar machine settings..

The time to go to a custom shop is when you actually want some non-standard output...

Wow, I think things must be really different in your locale..

I haven't worked in reatil lab for some time (8 years?) but I would assume things have only become more advanced..

When I started in those labs 15 years ago some of what you said might have applied. Operators did have to make adjustments for each frame(normally for improperly exposed or damaged/fogged/old film). But that machine was 10 years old then (it would be 25 years old now)!.

Back then a good operator could print 24 pics with less than 3 "re-dos" adjusting for each frame. When I finished that part of my carreer the mini-labs arriving from Fuji would produce less than 3 re-dos /1000 prints (so long as the operator left them alone)..

Now a machine upkeep is an issue but most machines do 90% of this for themselves as well. These new machines only have one channel to setup, many use pre-mixed chemistry. You almost have to go out of your way to get these things to screwup (fuji have gon along way to ensureing that there name doesn't get associated with bad looking snapshots)..

Now I realize that not all operations/machines/managment are equal, thus you can get poor results from any setup, so called pro shops as well as drug stores. But chances are if you try a few you will find a lab set up that produces excellent results very economilcally and if you are lucky be able to get your groceries while you wait for your prints. Certainly cheaper than and less effort than trying to get a perfect set up at home..

James.

Hbx2004 wrote:.

Before I continue: I have no idea how print machines (noritsu, etc)work. But I'm quite sure, they are capable to deliver hi-qualityresults. Now... how's reality?If you send image files (or deliver personally -doesn't matter),you'll get cr*p in 90%. In most cases, person that work on thosemachines, has no clue about photos -(s)he just pushes buttons. If yousay to that person "hey, these photos are too reddish...", then youcan't expect much talk about that issue, because "...sorry, machinejust print the files you brough here...".



Yes, it's not the person there, but machine. Most of the time, thesemachines are not maintained properly or regulary -it's ok, as longthere's something comming out of the machine. And if something iswrong with printed photos, then they will try to let you know, thatyou "actually don't know" about photography (bad camera, wrongsettings, shaky photographer,...).Again, pro machines can give equal or better (I assume), but theydon't, because nobody cares there.Is X lab better than Y? Go with cheaper (it's a gambling anyway). Youwish to get the best results? Print at home..

To shorten: if you haven't seen properly (home) printed photos, thenyou don't know what is your camera capable to deliver. Yes, I'mtalking about home printer worth $150 (with original ink and paper,of course)..

BogdanMy pictures are my memorieshttp://freeweb.siol.net/hrastni3/..

Nathan Yan wrote:.

These days, printing at a photo lab is for the most part cheaper thanyour own printer. Printing at home, with a printer and paper thancan match the quality of lab printers, is really only if you want tohave complete control over how your photos turn out..

I would add that speed and convenience are also factors in deciding to print at home. I don't typically print any images myself (just view them on the computer or a television), but my dad prints out everything he wants to keep in a photo album on a Kodak EasyShare 500. It's not a matter of control because he just keeps the printer set to "natural" and lets it do it's thing automatically. The convenience of getting home from a photo excursion, putting the memory card into the printer, then just hitting the print button whenever he scrolls to an image he likes is well worth the additional cost over outside printing services. The dye sublimation prints are fast and ready for immediate placement in a photo album (no drying time needed as with the ink-jet model he had previously), and the picture quality is better and more consistent than other printers or print services he has tried...

Hbx2004 wrote:.

Before I continue: I have no idea how print machines (noritsu, etc)work. But I'm quite sure, they are capable to deliver hi-qualityresults. Now... how's reality?If you send image files (or deliver personally -doesn't matter),you'll get cr*p in 90%. In most cases, person that work on thosemachines, has no clue about photos -(s)he just pushes buttons. If yousay to that person "hey, these photos are too reddish...", then youcan't expect much talk about that issue, because "...sorry, machinejust print the files you brough here...".



Yes, it's not the person there, but machine. Most of the time, thesemachines are not maintained properly or regulary -it's ok, as longthere's something comming out of the machine. And if something iswrong with printed photos, then they will try to let you know, thatyou "actually don't know" about photography (bad camera, wrongsettings, shaky photographer,...).Again, pro machines can give equal or better (I assume), but theydon't, because nobody cares there.Is X lab better than Y? Go with cheaper (it's a gambling anyway). Youwish to get the best results? Print at home..

You're generalizing an awful lot there. There are plenty of places you can go to get good prints made for cheap. Personally, I wouldn't go to Wal-Mart because they seem to be antagonistic towards people who make "pro-looking" work. I do all of my printing at CostCo. They get their machines profiled regularly (and make their profiles available for download), so I can get the color exactly the way I want it. Their technicians are good, and they stand behind their work - I've had only one print out of hundreds come out unsatisfactorily because of their error, and when I pointed it out, they reprinted it immediately, putting me at the front of the printer queue.



If you've got a CostCo convenient to you, give them a try - hit drycreekphoto.com for the printer profile for your store, and follow the workflow directions at DryCreek's site..

If you're really serious about prints and want to do better than CostCo or an online place like WHCC or MPIX can do, then you've got to drop beaucoup bucks on a higher-end printer than anything you can get at BestBuy - we're talking >$1000 for a printer, plus inks. You really only need that if you're a pro making/selling fine art prints...

Because responses are quite similar, IMO there's no need to answer to each separate... but I thing it's polite to answer .

90%? It's just a number without scientific background -otherwise I would write 89,72374%  It's just my subjective number... no facts behind..

Now, to explain a bit. In my country, there are no such names as Walmart, Costco, etc., so I can't compare with them. Still, here we have several labs, printing on "usual" (well known) machines and on known brand paper. Saying that, I assume lab name shouldn't make difference in this regard. The same for personell there; they are friendly, ready to reprint if needed (after complain), etc..

The only difference I can imagine, is maintaining the machines. If Costco does that regulary, then you can get expected results and they will keep customers. But (from my experinece here), thats not allways the case. Sometimes, people there are not aware, that photos coming out ain't so good as they should or could be... until they are confornted with better ones. It's not that all photos are way off, but they can be much better.

As said, it's a lottery..

Doesn't apply to you, but you will admitt, that people in general, don't know how good photo today can be (same as "more megapixel is better").Don't take all above as pure gold... it's just my opinion..

Greeting to all,BogdanMy pictures are my memorieshttp://freeweb.siol.net/hrastni3/..