Where to print your photos

[fs_tigre]

Hi,
Where do you guys print your photos (for weddings)? Is Walgreens, walmart … an option?
Thanks

[Svetlana]

I'm in Calgary and I registered with a pro lab. I would never take my photos to Walmart or Costco, etc...

[g-money]

Wal_Mart....Surely you are not serious! Check out any of the pro labs. There are tons of them. Some of the more popular are WHCC, Millers or Mpix, H&H, I am sure others will chime in. As for a retail outlet, I hear Costco actually has decent prints but have never used them myself as they are not local to us.

[Mike414]

Mpix has great quality & service.


Mike.

[tim]

Printing FAQ (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=3740438) = see recommended labs near the end.

[bnlearle]

I am 100% serious in saying that I've gotten TONS of prints for myself at Wal Mart and can't tell an ounce of difference between them and WHCC. I'd bet good money that no one here would know the difference either...

Now, print quality (how long it will last)??? I'm sure Wal Mart loses in that department. But digital negatives fix that problem (as prints are no longer needed for archival purposes these days because so many clients get digital negatives).

I print mine up at either WHCC or BayPhoto for my clients. But for me? I typically do Wal Mart as it's right down the street.

[Karl Johnston]

Wal_Mart....Surely you are not serious! Check out any of the pro labs. There are tons of them. Some of the more popular are WHCC, Millers or Mpix, H&H, I am sure others will chime in. As for a retail outlet, I hear Costco actually has decent prints but have never used them myself as they are not local to us.
Costco is walmart

[Peacefield]

Now, print quality (how long it will last)??? I'm sure Wal Mart loses in that department.

That's really the point, though. No one wants to open their wedding album 10 years to see that the colors have faded, skin tones are no longer accurate, etc. That is ultimately a reflection on the photographer and not one I wish to offer.

And I disagree that no one can tell the difference. Like many these days, I offer the HiRes DVD and the client is free to print where ever, but I also show them 8x10's printed at Walmart and those printed through Miller's. Even they see enough difference to want to spend the money on quality prints.

[Trainboy]

STAY AWAY FROM WALMART. For god's sake, you CAN tell the difference, and if you can't, your clients can.
I'm in Calgary and I registered with a pro lab. I would never take my photos to Walmart or Costco, etc...
What lab? I've been looking for a place a bit.

[fs_tigre]

Thank you all very much!

[snyper77]

I recently switched over to www.bayphoto.com (www.bayphoto.com)and they are amazing. Very nice quality, lowwww prices, great customer service and fasssssst delivery. You will NOT be disappointed!

[Big Mike]

With many of the 'cheap consumer labs', a lot depends on who is working / running the lab at the time. I used to live close to a Wal-mart that had a great photo manager, and any prints I got while he was working, were great. Other times, just OK. I moved and tried the closest Wal-mart and the results were unbelievably terrible.
Cost-co seems to have a better standard of quality across the board, for the same price.

A pro lab should have a high standard all the time, which is important when printing work for you clients.

What lab? I've been looking for a place a bit.
Try Technicare (http://www.technicare.com/). I use them here in Edmonton and they are top notch.

[elisesanchez]

Professionals should use a professional lab. No questions! There are many to choose from whcc, millerslab, bayphoto, etc.

[[Hyuni]]

Costco is walmart
I think you are mistaken with Sam's Club.

But I guess it's more of less of the same.

[bnlearle]

That's really the point, though. No one wants to open their wedding album 10 years to see that the colors have faded, skin tones are no longer accurate, etc. That is ultimately a reflection on the photographer and not one I wish to offer.

And I disagree that no one can tell the difference. Like many these days, I offer the HiRes DVD and the client is free to print where ever, but I also show them 8x10's printed at Walmart and those printed through Miller's. Even they see enough difference to want to spend the money on quality prints.
I never said anything about printing albums up at Wal Mart ;) Albums are expensive as because my cost is the same (expensive, that is - not exactly the same price) - but the quality is entirely worth it. Nothing cheap I know of can remotely compare to legit, pro album (I use Collages and Couture). That's just not the same with prints.

STAY AWAY FROM WALMART. For god's sake, you CAN tell the difference, and if you can't, your clients can.

What lab? I've been looking for a place a bit.
I am sure that Wal Mart's across the country are totally different - some being terrible and some being great. However, mine is impressive. I print everything up ordered through me by my clients from BayPhoto or WHCC. But tons of us stuff for me and friends comes from Wal Mart. I also am not blind :D I'm a legit, professional photographer who knows what looks good and what doesn't. For some reason, the wal mart in San Marcos, California looks nearly identical to my WHCC prints. I've compared at least ten times. I'm not saying EVERY wal mart does this, but some do as mine does ;)

Professionals should use a professional lab. No questions! There are many to choose from whcc, millerslab, bayphoto, etc.
Professionals probably should use a pro lab. I do. I'm not planning on not. However, I couldn't care less if others didn't and I wouldn't be nearly as adamant as you are here. Fact is, using a pro lab has almost NOTHING to do with succeeding in wedding photography. It has about as much to do with succeeding as owning a 1DsMKIII does...

The OP, however, is likely NOT a professional photographer ;) It's just fine if he prints up wherever he/she likes.

[Paul Li]

My class and I went on a trip to Washington, DC. One of the chaperones, who is a math teacher, took pics all three days we were there. When we came back to school, she had hundreds of pictures printed out for the us from Wal-Mart. They were very nice prints, and they were printed on Fujifilm Crystal Archive paper.

[Karl Johnston]

Fuji crystal archive paper is pretty damn good stuff. What'd it cost per print?