PDA

View Full Version : Ritz Camera and Large prints anecdote


Sp00ks
21st of June 2007 (Thu), 05:37
I just thought I might share my frustration from yesterday afternoon.

There are two Ritz stores very close to the office I work at. I know they do large prints and I need a 20x30 done. Let me start off by saying I was sceptical from the start with the idea of having Ritz produce a quality print of this size.

I call the store in the mall whom I have dealt with before and do a pretty good job with the prints they have processed for me. The store closest to my office, I refuse to step foot in due to past experience. Well, the guy at the mall states the other store can print that size but he can not, sigh. So I bite my lip and call the hated store.

This is where my frustration really starts. First off, I swear the woman that answered the phone is the same woman that pissed me off previously. I start asking questions about print quality on a print that large. She seems over confident in my opinion that they can produce a quality print that size. We get through all of that and I ask her what format she needs the file in, she says "jpg".... At this point I start being less polite.....

Me: Your telling me that your going to produce a print that size with a compressed file format and have no image quality problems?

Her: yes

Her: You can bring it in as a .tiff if you like but when you sumbit that file in the kiosk it will convert it to .jpg anyway.

Me: Your going to make me submit this through the kiosk? This file is approximately 270 mb. Ok, thats all the info I need, Thank you for your time.

I immediately call my local "real" shop just to inquire who can do this work for me in the area and was told thier other location on the other side of town can do a print that large. I didn't even know they do prints but anyway. I call over there and ask the same exact questions. He states you better bring us a .tiff for that size print and if you have a thumb drive, just put it on there and bring it to us.

I'm basically just venting here. I tried uploading this to mpix originally but I think the file size is too large. The upload keeps failing. I think it might be on thier side, accepting a file that large. I have some pretty good bandwidth at the house so I don't believe that was the problem. Part of the image is enlarged past 100% and I'm a little worried about print quality considering that fact. I am reluctant to reduce the file size for that reason.

For those of you that suffered through this long post , thanks for listening.

Jerry

In2Photos
21st of June 2007 (Thu), 08:12
I needed a 16 x 20 done last week and had to have it in four days or less. I knew Wolf (Ritz) could do it in an hour but didn't want to rely on them so I used Costco. For larger prints they have to be mailed instead of local pickup but I have been very pleased with the prints form my local store so I gave them a shot on this one. I paid for 2-day shipping and still came out cheaper than Wolf and got the print quality I was looking for.

SuzyView
21st of June 2007 (Thu), 08:28
My local Costco can print poster size and not lose anything. It's great. It's a new shop and they have techs that know what they are doing, trained to handle problems. But they can't handle very large files, as you said, must be mailed to your house.

Jon, The Elder
21st of June 2007 (Thu), 09:30
Hey Jerry ....want some real chuckles?
Go to a Ritz and just hang out as the totally inept counter person sells a DSLR to a first time buyer.

I do this when my wife is shoppng in another store in the mall. I have on occasion, stepped in a situation that was so filled with misinformation that I felt sorry for the potential customer.

The counter guy got uptight and asked me about my status as a shooter (he said photog, trying to sound cool). I told him of my 40+ years as a professional Industrial/sports photographer.
He went into the backroom and was still there when the customer left, and me soon after.

The counter guy won't look me in the eye when I pass by the store.

I just love to mess with idiots.

narlus
21st of June 2007 (Thu), 13:25
i used Ritz to print a 16" x 20" photo which i framed and gave as a christmas gift last year. it was not a pleasant experience. the kiosks offer no control over the print process, they don't allow TIFFs, and while the print came out ok and the price wasn't too bad, i'd look for other alternatives next time.

Zepher
22nd of June 2007 (Fri), 06:42
Why not have the lab do the file enlargement for you?
Lets say you have a RAW file that is 8 megs. Why not do your cropping and color corrections to the raw, and give the lab the RAW + the enhancement file and have them size it up to 20x30 and print it out?

liza
22nd of June 2007 (Fri), 06:55
I get my poster sized enlargements for sports banquets from www.winkflash.com. If you aren't pressed for time, they do a great job.