photo processing

[american idol]

ok so where does everyone get their photos developed, we just got a digital camera for our last trip Sony, Kodak etc etc want 49c pr cpy, walmart 29c

i have whittled it down to 177 pictures so the 49c would be quite expensive !

[Keith]

I tend to do my own now on a canon 900 printer. The prints seem to come out better than I've had from the cheapy labs...

...but ok, 177 is quite a few ;-)

I tried walmart on my last trip and to be honest, I hated the prints I got back. They had scratch marks on them, were dull and not especially sharp. I started doubting myself thinking perhaps it was my photos so in the end we agreed to stop trying and they gave me the prints without charging which was fair enough.

I printed some on my own printer when I got back which looked great then took the rest to boots (which used exactly the same equipment as walmart) and they all came out nicely too.

On the photography groups, there are some people who won't go near walmart and then there are some professionals who use them for proofs all the time.

So it SEEMS to depend on how good your local one is. The equipment they use, fuji frontier, can deliver some stunningly good prints as long as it's used properly.


If I were you, I'd get the first 20 or so developed at your local walmart in one hour and see what they come out like. If you have a good branch, they'll look amazing and you can then get the rest done!

[poohbaby]

Wal mart dose a good job, you can get a refound in the store if you don't like your pics, plus there 8x10s are under $3, i think there 4x6 are $.26 right now.:)

[Mickeymac]

I've had incredible success with prints from Shutterfly, although do most of my scrapbooking photos at home with my Epson 880 (which is my next gadget to upgrade)

Shutterfly is .49 a print, but you can prepurchase shots and get them as low as .29 a print. I've always been pleased with their output. If you want a referral for free prints, let me know and I'll send you one.

I also just signed on an account with Walmart, I want to test their quality and compare with Shutterfly. Keith, we have three walmarts near out house - the one by the Mall has some incredibly savvy kids at it and I'm hoping to have some luck at it. Thanks for the heads up. I'm glad to hear they use Fuji - I'm a Fuji junkie. :D

[Keith]

me too :thumbs: I positively hunt the fuji frontier labs out since I've seen what can be done with them.. It's just that the knowledge of the people using them makes such a difference and I'm sure sometimes the stores believe that it's all "automatic" these days so no training necessary

If you upgrade your printer to an epson 2200, I will go positively green with envy.

Been stunningly impressed with the canon s900 though.

I've heard good things about shutterfly too!

Over in the UK, boots does a pretty good job (fuji again)....

[Mickeymac]

mick runs off to check the prices on the 2200...

Ugh, nope. would love to, but can't afford it. I'm looking at the $100. printers.

[Keith]

Think it's diminishing returns above about 150 anyway... sure little improvements but not worth the extra dosh.

The 2200 appeals because of the, in theory, long lasting inks.

Actually for 4x6 prints I quite like the look of those canon cp100 little photo printers.. but much less flexible than the bigger ones I guess

[Cathydisneynut]

Keith, we upgraded from an Epson 600 to the Epson 915, and the print quality is excellent! Its just a pity the actual photos aren't so good:(

Cathy

[Keith]

I'm a big epson fan! Kinda went off the rails and got a canon this time but I'll probably be back to epson for the next one.

[american idol]

thanks y'all, what kind of price are you looking per print if you print yourself

i am loathed to buy a printer at the moment as we probably only have another year in the USA and there's a limit to the amount of transformers you can use

I use my photos for scrapbooking too MM, DH said that if the pics from walmart didn't last that long we could reprint them from the cd later- and replace them??? i don't know what to do

oh and what paper would you use to print them, is it lignin and acid free??

[Mickeymac]

I just bought Jetprint paper - 60 pages for $11 at Walmart this week. Doing the math, that makes it about three or four cents a print, minus the ink costs.

Jetprint is fine for scrapbooking (depending on what you are doing), but not long-term storage. It doesn't say anything about acid- or lignen- free, but I have a photography friend of mine tell me that that's merely a marketing concept and 99% of papers on the market all ready are that. She scrapbooks with Jet-print, but uses Shutterfly for her permanent prints (and one other professional service for her clients and "keeper shots") Check out www.jetprint.com if you want more info.

Yes, you can reprint from CD later. I transfer all my images to CD for long term storage.

[american idol]

thanks, i might just try that paper and my printer- see what happens

one more question- what type of printer would you want for photos? inkjet, laser?? i'm clueless, do you know what the canon S600 is?

[Keith]

Havent heard of the s600... the s900 is an inkjet (more specifically a bubblejet).

The quality truly is amazing.. better than I'm getting from the walmart/boots labs (to my eyes)... when I print to a pro lab, they take more care printing than the consumer places and have to say, their quality is remarkable.

For photos, inkjet is the way to go at the moment... it's cheap, fast, paper/inks available widely and produces excellent prints.

Dye sublimation printers used to be the best solution but again to my eye, the good inkjets are beating them most of the time for less money (the dye subs have the advantage on continuous tones like the sky or a lake... but only just...).

Lasers are nowhere colour wise (at least at the affordable few thousand dollar range). They used to be *AWFUL* and now they're *ACCEPTABLE* at printing photos but again, compare an inkjet costing $500 and a colour laser for $2000 and the inkjet will win.

Longevity of prints is an issue... inkjet prints will tend to fade over time especially if left in daylight/direct sunlight.

Resolution is now amazing and the inkjet companies are concentrating on improving their inks and papers to last longer but at the moment, it's still an issue.

Main thing is, even if they do fade a little in 5 years time, we can go back to our backups (cough) and reprint it! (unlike lost negatives and so on).

PS. To everyone reading, please do keep backups on cdrom somewhere safe and labelled. A friend recently had his computer hard disk die and lost thousands of photos that he was always planning on looking at, printing off etc. CDROMS/DVDs are cheap now and these are your memories

[american idol]

thanks keithop, i am gonna try and do some at home but have also sent 10 to walmart, and 15 to shutterfly (first fifteen were free) i'll tell how they come out. Anyone else know of any free trials?:)

[JuniorMickey]

I believe Snapfish gives you 10 for free when you register... if you prepay for 100, your prints are .29 each.... I'm new to the digital era as far as the camera (I got an Olympus D-380 2.0 megapixel for Christmas from my darling boyfriend)

Anyone got advice for going digital for my next disney trip?

[Eeyore1974]

I'd love to get my hands on an s600 by Canon! They were quite difficult to get a hold of several months ago. If I remember correctly, this is the inkjet printer made for digital cameras. You can insert your CF card directly into the printer and get great prints. here's the coolest part...you can insert your 35mm negatives into this printer and get great prints as well!!! Very cool item. The company I used to work for used to get numerous requests for them, but we could never get enough of them from Canon.

Oh yes, Black's photography (it's a chain, but not sure if they have them in your area) prints digital for 35cents a print. It's a little less expensive than that other place you mentioned, but more reliable than Walmart. Also they have a Memories club, you pay $20 to be a member for a year and you get 25% off all services. You also collect points for every dollar you spend, which goes towards free gift certificates for you to spend later. I spend a lot of money there:blush:

[Keith]

Congrats on the great pressie!!!!!! :thumbs:

Read some of the other threads in the gadgets and gizmos forum for loads of tips.... but basically make sure to take enough memory cards!

It's so different to film because you can just snap away without worrying about film or costs and then only print the best ones that you want to keep. (keep the rest on the computer or cd)

Also I'd advise having more than one memory card (even if you have enough space on one) and alternate them... put one in the safe at the hotel and take the other out.. then alternate each day.

If anything awful happens like you lose your camera with the card in it, or one of the cards dies... at least you'll have another that will have a record of your holiday.

When you get back home, be diligent about putting the photos on your computer and backing them upto a cdrom if you can.... because the photos are just computer files, it feels easier to lose them through an accident (faulty computer, accidently deleting etc.) than it would be with prints.

...but basically relax, enjoy and take LOOOOOADS of photos ! :)

(ps. have you seen MickeyMacs photos in trip reports? Really cool examples of what can be done with digital)

[JuniorMickey]

Keith,

Thanks for the great tips... The camera came with an 8MG card which I promptly decided was not enough so I bought a 64MG card. My trips to Disney are usually just a weekend since I live down here, but I'm planning on getting an extra 32 before I go.

I'll be sure to check out mickeymac's pics. I'm looking forward to not having to worry about switching rolls of film in the middle of the backlot tour at MGM :)

[Mickeymac]

JM - you won't have to worry about switching rolls, but you will have to keep an eye on your film cards. Nothing would tick me off more than when I got snapping and had to switch acard during candids.

Keith, they really are not that good. You can stop making me blush now.

[Sweet_girl99]

ok, so dont hate so much yet ( :lol: )
so i work at the photo lab in Target. so people hate the target photo lab, but i think we do pretty good prints, most people come to me saying that wal-mart messed their picturs up. i'v had pictues done there, but didnt like the way there were done.