Where to get prints as the photographer for clients

[dinanm3atl]

I have a B&W Ferrari 308 Shoot coming up and he is going to want poster size and some other prints.

What does everyone use? I will shoot and sell a photo CD(which he wants and is part of the deal for my marketing caimpaign) and also wants a poster size print as well as other prints.

Where should I be ordering these from for good quality prints? What is typical mark up? Do any other them offer discounts as a photographer?

[cdifoto]

It'd help to know where you're located. The world's pretty big and shipping across it can get pricey.

Or you could just search around a bit:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=519531&highlight=prints

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=518731&highlight=prints

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=505896&highlight=prints

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=500698&highlight=prints

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=494840&highlight=prints

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=488475&highlight=prints

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=474695&highlight=prints

Just a start...

[dinanm3atl]

Atlanta, GA or Alpharetta, GA area.

Thanks for the links.

[cdifoto]

Prints are cheap, so you really don't need a "photographer's discount" anyway. Markup percentages vary by genre and photographer. Don't sell yourself short on prints. You aren't selling the paper & ink...you're selling your expertise in putting the image together.

[dinanm3atl]

Thanks :)

He is looking for the big prints to put the B&W Ferrari 308 framed print next to his BMW M5 framed print so it won't be 'cheap' to start anyways!

Online at a place like mpix.com seems to be a fan favorite?

[cdifoto]

Mpix is popular. I use WHCC and ElcoColour though. I agree ------------- the guy has a ferrari and a bmw - he can afford to compensate you well for your work.

[dinanm3atl]

Choose WHCC and Elco over mpix for any reasons? Ease of use better product?

[cdifoto]

WHCC is more geared towards wedding & portrait photographers, at least in my opinion, the way they don't publish their pricing and based on the other products they offer...or choose not to offer. Elco has good poster size deals - two for the price of one if you need two (or more). It doesn't get you half off of just one though.

For straight prints, just about any good company will work.

[dinanm3atl]

For this shoot I will be mainly focused on getting a single B&W Poster/Frame Quality print for the client.

Which would you say is 'best' for that?

[cdifoto]

I'd say they're all fine for that and there is no "best"...but I haven't even tried mpix at all, or WHCC for a large print yet (just smaller ones). I've had Elco do all my 20x30s so far and they've all been great.

[dinanm3atl]

Thank you sir.

Anyone else have 2 cents to offer?

[Mike30D]

Except for MPIX, these are all professional labs. I can only speak for WHCC and H&H Color Lab. Both do really nice work and have great customer service.

Professional Labs

White House Custom Colour (http://www.whcc.com/)
H&H Color Lab (http://www.hhcolorlab.com/)
Miller's Professional Imaging (http://www.millerslab.com/)
Mpix.com Online Digital Imaging Service - Order digital photo prints online from professional imaging lab (http://www.mpix.com/)
http://www.digilabs.biz (http://www.digilabs.biz/)
Buckeye Color Lab - Index (http://www.buckeyecolor.com/)
:COLOR INCORPORATED | d i g i t a l p r o l a b: (http://www.colorincprolab.com/)
Hunt Color Lab, Inc - A professional photo-finishing lab located in north Atlanta. (http://www.huntcolorlab.com/)
K&K Color Lab (http://www.kkcolorlab.com/)
Burrell Pro Labs :: Where Photography Matters! (http://www.burrellprolabs.com/)
Bay Photo Lab, roes, digital prints (http://www.bayphotopro.com/)
Photocraft Imaging Digital Photo Lab (http://www.photocraftimaging.com/)
Kalamazoo ColorLab (http://www.kalcolor.com/)
Welcome to Galaxy Professional Imaging, Inc. 3460 Seneca Street, West Seneca, NY 14224 (http://www.galaxyproimaging.com/)
Meridian Professional Imaging - home (http://www.meridianpro.com/v3/)
Welcome to Professional Color Service - Metairie, Louisiana (http://www.professionalcolor.com/)
Professional Photo Lab - Full Color (http://www.fullcolor.com/)
NAP Home Page (http://www.naphoto.com/)
Photo Imaging, Photo Design, Graphic Designing, BWC Photo Imaging, E-6, C-41, B&W Processing - Dallas Texas (http://www.bwc.net/)

[dinanm3atl]

Wow thanks!

[Mike30D]

I'd say they're all fine for that and there is no "best"...but I haven't even tried mpix at all, or WHCC for a large print yet (just smaller ones). I've had Elco do all my 20x30s so far and they've all been great.

I've heard good things about Elco, I'm gonna have to give them a try one of these days...

[tim]

I had large prints done at Elco (http://www.elcocolor.com/internet_only_specials.htm)they were great.

Markup isn't a good way to price any creative works, as the actual print costs next to nothing. My price for a large print depends on the situation. For weddings i've already been paid the package price, so print prices are reasonable - $200 for a 30x20" print. for portraits they've paid very little, so the charge is 3-5 times more.

[dinanm3atl]

I had large prints done at Elco (http://www.elcocolor.com/internet_only_specials.htm)they were great.

Markup isn't a good way to price any creative works, as the actual print costs next to nothing. My price for a large print depends on the situation. For weddings i've already been paid the package price, so print prices are reasonable - $200 for a 30x20" print. for portraits they've paid very little, so the charge is 3-5 times more.

So markup for you depends on how much the 'shoot' costed the customer? IE if I am going to shoot the Ferrari and I am not charging for the shoot then I may want to consider a higher markup on the poster print?(Not shooting for free but made it easier to explain).

[tim]

Yeah pretty much. For example a 6x4" print of a wedding image is $10, but from a portrait shoot it's $50. That's because wedding customers have already paid for the session, whereas portrait customers haven't. The sitting fee for a portrait shoot is to get the photographer to turn up, not to compensate them for their time, IMHO.

[black_z]

I had large prints done at Elco (http://www.elcocolor.com/internet_only_specials.htm)they were great.

Markup isn't a good way to price any creative works, as the actual print costs next to nothing. My price for a large print depends on the situation. For weddings i've already been paid the package price, so print prices are reasonable - $200 for a 30x20" print. for portraits they've paid very little, so the charge is 3-5 times more.


So you have charged $600-1000 for a 30x20" portait?!

[tim]

So you have charged $600-1000 for a 30x20" portait?!

I'm not going to go into exact prices on a public forum. I'm in the ballpark, but it depends on paper, framing, etc. Markup varies depending on the print sizes - I charge what I think is reasonable, compared with other portrait photographers in my area.

[black_z]

I think that's great!

I've been looking at people's print prices on their websites(trying to get an idea what to sell my stuff for) and think that a LOT of them are selling WAY too cheap.

[Nicole Faith]

I've ordered a variety of items from Mpix (as you said they are so well advertised) and have NOT been impressed with any of their products. I stopped ordering from them all together. Even their hard cover book that won an award in 2007 was of poor quality and the spine broke on the first open. Blah.

[MD Steelerfan]

I got some metallic prints from several vendors in poster size and I would make sure you use a place that uses Kodak endura for that and not Fuji. the differrence is huge. For black and white you wont want metalic anyway, but just an FYI.