Not sure what forum this goes under but here goes... I rarely print photos off, but I want to get some prints (a few of them large). Do you find that some places quality is much better than others? I've gotten photos printed at the grocery store before and I wasn't impressed with the quality. Where do you Canadians get your photos printed? I know my mom does her photos at Costco.
Hey atom. In australia Kodak is by the far better one. Just yesterday we had 2 identical photos one in fujifilm paper and the other in Royal Kodak. The Kodak had far better colour rendition.
A second vote for Mpix.com - though I haven't used it myself, yet, I've received a number of prints as gifts from photographers who've used Mpix. Don, did you use Mpix's calibration tool? I'm not 100% sure how it works, but have heard that it is a good thing to do. (In the past, I have used Kodak.)
I've used WHCC a few times with excellent results. They give you a couple free prints right away as a means to calibrate your system for use with their printers. They ship amazingly fast, too. You upload the files and get the prints a couple days later. I'm not sure how they would operate with Canada mail, tho.
What I do with Mpix is to; make 2 or 3 images with different color ranges in subject matter. Then I make the images ready to go to Mpix. I sent the files up and ... I get 1 print made to my profile and no corrections from them and then another print with them doing color correction.... When you get the prints back, it's easy to see which way to send the files up. I mostly do B&W, so this isn't an issue unless I tone the images. The color stuff they do almost makes me want to see in color...can you believe that?!
One question: Do you have to have a professional account or do they serve to the mainstream?? I was perusing in their website, but when I saw the questions asked on their account set up, I felt intimidated...
They definitely serve the mainstream. You'll need to provide a credit card for them to keep on file. But beyond that, they print as many or as few images as you want, in whatever size you need. I set up my account a few years ago so I don't remember what their questions were (or if they would be the same now). I know they do service a lot of professionals, but I'm just a regular joe who prints just a few images a year with them.
I print my own. I picked up a very capable Canon PIXMA Pro9000 II printer for under $200, and I can print up to 13x19 with it in professional colors. Lots of people are selling them NIB for cheap because they get them basically for free from Canon when they purchase select cameras. They normally retail for about $500. For large prints I go to my neighborhood print shop. They do a great job, and I like supporting my local photographic retail community as much as I can since I rely on them so much for my photography needs.
