I need to have some gallery quality prints made from some digital photos I've taken. Does anyone here have any experience with getting these types of prints made? I don't have a fancy printer and I can't really afford one either. Thanks for the help.

 

I've had good sucess with Wolf Camera in smaller sizes and know they go up to something in the 20x30 size range, might get a better response in the Camera/Vdeo forum Pixel count is going to be a huge part of how well it re-sizes

FYI- I haven't had a single one of my photos printed in over a year and even then it was a color front page for a newspaper.

 

Ah ok. I was afraid to make the thread there since it's not MINI related.

 

I have never done it but there are online places you can upload your images & have them send you prints

http://www.photoworks.com/

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Welcome.jsp

 

Hey Valcom111t,

What print size are you looking for? If you have Photoshop and basic skills, you can generate image files and submit them to Costco for "Gallery" quality results-- really! The Costco prints (as are just about any print) are only as good as the image file you provide. So, if you are submitting a good image file, you can expect very nice results from Costco. If you are advanced digitial image processing, you can download Costco printer profiles and apply them to your images for even better quality control. The Costco printer profiles can be downloaded from www.drycreekphoto.com. They are Costco store location-specific profiles as each store has it's own version of printing equipment. In store sizes are up to 13x19. You can upload images to the Costco site and save one trip there.

Does this help?

 

Moved from Off Topic to MINI Camera and Video forum.

 

I agree, Costco is an outstanding deal, but IMO the best digital prints I've ever seen (and as a custom picture framer, I see lots of 'em) come from MPIX.com. Just extraordinary quality.

 

I haven't printed (my personal printer doesn't count) in a while but I'm all about the Costco. I also just joined shutterfly.com and have heard from several professionals who use them that they're good. They print on a bunch of different things and go up to a 20x30 I think...good luck

 

I use Shutterfly and have been very happy with them. I don't know if they're necessarily better than anyone else, but I like them.

You didn't say how big your prints need to be, but if you look in the back of any of the photography magazines, there are places that go up to 40" X 72" or larger, for about $4 a square foot.

 

Thanks!

I'll probably stick to 8x10 and maybe a couple 11x14 if I can hold the quality. I shoot with a Nikon D70 at full res but in JPEG. I've got a show coming up this summer that I'm doing with my dad and I want something I'll feel comfortable showing and selling alongside fiber-based silver prints.

 

Using a D70?

Your equipment is certainly capable of producing awesome 16x20s. I wouldn't worry about jpeg file format if you are using the lower compression, higher quality settings. (I forget what the D70 menu says, but you should consider shooting on high, or normal, but skip basic) The biggest pitfall in printing might be the ISO you are using. If you have a properly exposed, relatively full frame image shot at 100-400ei, your 8x10s are potentially awesome. If you shoot at 800ei or above, especially if it's a little underexposed, you'll find a nasty amount of noise (grainy-looking) in your enlargements.

OOPS, I just reread your post. You want something that's going to look good next to fiber-based silver prints. Are your prints going to be b&w? If so, I would question that a b&w conversion printed on 4-color paper, whether it be Costco, Snapfish or Shutterfly, would be a nice match alongside traditional silver prints. (still worth the experiment, though, at $1.99 per 8x10!).

If you live in a Metro area, I would seek out a digital image service bureau. (In Kansas City, try www.digitallabrador.com). I would go with ink jet b&w prints made with a printer such as Epson 7600. Your local digital lab is likely to assist you in file preparation. If you're rural, I'd suggest giving the online options a try.

 

Have you thought of Giclees?
http://www.fineprintimaging.com/gicleephoto.htm

 

Find a lab/service bureau that has a Durst Lambda

 

Shutterfly.com has treated me very well over the past few years from small pictures to enlargements.

 

Giclees is marketing talk for "inkjet prints" Just sounds better en francais.

 

I sell prints through Printroom.com and they do a fantastic job. My customers have been very happy. If you're selling prints they also make things very easy by taking care of the billing and shipping. If you're on a budget, though, I agree that Costco can do surprisingly well, especially for the money, provided they have good people running the machines.

Mark

 

Here are two places that are supposed to do quality work beyond the normal quickie places

http://www.mpix.com/
http://whcc.com/

You can use specific ICC or mpix wants sRGB

I havent used them yet but got them from the digital photo forums

 

Same here!!
(Thanks for the idea,Mark! )

For the money, Costco rocks!!
Jim

 

This is a great topic...and over time, the answer changes.
Shutterfly was the first and original. They've always had pretty good quality and prices aren't bad. You can't go wrong, but you should also be able to find others that are cheaper or higher quality.
I had alternatives that were better a few years ago but you know what happens when a small company gets popular..the quality goes down.
I need to make some prints soon too so I also would like to know. Looks like mpix is the current quality choice?
Also, the opposite of your question, but if you want cheap prices and don't care so much about quality, York is super cheap, just like they were with the mail-in-your-film days. I've printed plenty of 4x6es with them to throw into cards to send to relatives who haven't grasped the concept of looking at online photo albums yet.