Digital printing service comparison: Kodak Gallery, Adoramapix

I have used Kodak Gallery and I am very disappointed with photo quality. One batch has blue hue, the other had green hue. I will never print prints from them again. I have used Yahoo prints (via Target pickup) to print 8x10 photo. Again, I would never do it again, photo had green hues all over. Paper was thin too. So far, my HP color printer and paper is doing the best job. I am still looking for a good photo lab.

Michael,

Great post. Any sample comparison images of prints?

Some labs tell you nothing about their ICC profile, if they ever even had one, or their color space, and don't let you turn off their automatic color correction, I think Kodak is in this category, as are other major online retailers (e.g., Shutterfly, Snapfish).

Others, such as Adorama, do provide a reasonably up-to-date profile, and let you turn off color correction. Costco is in this category.

I think any image-related results from a lab in the first category are up to whoever or however the color correction is being made, and probably aren't repeatable anyway. For anyone who even knows what a profile is, I would think that only the labs in the second category would be acceptable.

So, unless you need it done locally, why not use Adorama or some similarly-savvy site? In addition, Adorama has the best user interface that I've seen.

I too have used Kodak Gallery and have been pretty satisfied with the quality of prints, cost and how quick the turn around was.

I am now going to try out other printers due to the lack of protection the Kodak Gallery gives to your pictures. Most recently I received an 8x10 that was damaged to the point of needing to re-order the print again. As Michael mentioned, the envelopes are made of a light cardboard and offer very little protection.

I would rather pay more, wait longer and get my prints in useable condition than continue to use a company that skimps on packaging.

Here�s more input on another company: shutterfly.com. Shutterfly.com is located in CA. I placed an order of about 20 4x6 prints from them. I placed the order on a Saturday and they shipped the prints Monday night. The shipment was made via USPS First Class, and I received it on Wednesday (I�m in Virginia). I would rate the prints average. I edited all my files in Adobe RGB color space and converted them to sRGB during submission. Shutterfly does not provide any ICC printer profiles. The prints were made on Fuji paper, the color was slightly off compared to what I saw on my system (MAC OS, Photoshop CS, EyeOne calibrated monitor). The prints were about one-third to one-half stop under. Some of the prints also looked a bit warmer than the original. Shutterfly used heavy weight, non-padded envelopes to package the print (similar to those fedex over night envelopes, but smaller). The photos survived the shipment with no damage or folding, although I would prefer to see a better packaging method, especially for larger prints.

One thing you don't mention is how you GET the photos to the company.

Snapfish will allow you to send them a CD (they charge you $2.50 I think) and will upload the pix to your account so you and others can select/print/whatever.

Adorama has produced some nice photos for me on their pro paper. I called them yesterday and they will accept a CD.. But they will only print directly from the CD; they will NOT upload the pix.

So if you elect to send them a CD, you're getting convenience (who wants to upload lots of high res pics?) but OTOH you have no server backup and no ability to share pics with others (common for families, etc) and no easy ability to select pics later for added reprints.

I'm testing out winkflash now. They have some nice features: 1) they will allow you to mail CDs for upload to your account (and it's free to do so, including shipping) 2) you can share--for FREE--high res photos, so it's a handy way to give pics to family. 3) you can order prints. Their website says they don't color correct. I have yet to try them, and I'm not sure whether they release their ICC profiles. But I'll see how it goes.

I generally just convert images to sRGB before uploading to Costco or Winkflash. I'm impressed by both, but haven't made anything larger than an 8x10 at Winkflash (which is excellent) and 12x18" at Costco (which is also excellent).

Dave

I print photos which are generally between 8x12 and 20x30. These are for sale, so I'm looking for quality at low price (I know the rub). Lately I've been printing about 100-150$ worth of prints about every 2 months. First, I used photoworks.com. Their prints came in flat envelopes so the edges got dinged in the mail and a bit bent. The print quality and color was good, but then I noticed that I could get more print sizes, lower prices and large prints shipped in tubes (almost undamagable) from winkflash. Winkflash (I'm only talking about big prints which they use a giclee process to print) turned out to be a disaster, all of my prints came back way too saturated and way to dark. Looks like Andorama is next on my list.

I have used Kodak, Snapfish, Target, a lot of sites. I wanted to see the comparision in all these sites and the one I was most pleased with is Shutterfly.com. Now i have only ordered 4x6 and 5x7's, but I've been very pleased by the product. And like other sites you have ordered from, the turn around time from when you order is fast. I live in ND. I have had no problem with their envelopes. If you aren't satisfied with any of your prints, contact customer service. They've always been helpful. Plus if you have never experienced Photobooks, this is a site you should try. I've made eleven books and I am so impressed with the quality. So another option instead of ordering prints, is to do a photobook. Check out the Gallery. You'll be impressed and inspired. Hope this helps. I'm a volunteer team member on the Gallery site, so what I'm telling you about Shutterfly is the utmost truth. I wouldn't brag about a site, if I wasn't 100% pleased. Good luck to you...