Smartphones, especially iPhones, have revolutionized photography, making it easier than ever to capture precious moments. But what happens to those digital memories? Transforming your favorite iPhone photos into tangible prints allows you to relive those moments in a more meaningful way, decorate your home, or create personalized gifts. However, not all online photo printing services are created equal, particularly when it comes to handling photos directly from your iPhone. Many services struggle with the unique aspect ratios and image quality of smartphone photos, leading to unwanted cropping or subpar prints.
This guide dives deep into the best options for Iphone Photo Printing, ensuring your cherished memories are printed beautifully and accurately. We’ve analyzed popular online photo printing services, focusing on crucial factors like print quality, cropping policies for iPhone photos, packaging, and overall user experience. Whether you’re looking for wallet-sized prints or large format enlargements, we’ll help you find the perfect service to bring your iPhone photos to life.
Services That Understand iPhone Photos (and Some That Don’t)
When it comes to printing photos directly from your iPhone, aspect ratio is a critical consideration. iPhones typically capture photos in a 4:3 aspect ratio, while standard print sizes often come in 3:2 (like 4×6 prints). This mismatch can lead to automatic cropping, cutting off parts of your carefully composed image. Some services handle this better than others.
Mpix, a widely used photo service with a convenient mobile app, unfortunately, falls short in this area. Our tests revealed that Mpix significantly crops smartphone photos to fit their standard print sizes. For iPhone photographers who pay close attention to composition, this forced cropping can be a major drawback. If maintaining your original photo composition is paramount, Mpix might not be the ideal choice for your iPhone photo printing needs.
A close-up of the edge of a rolled-up print from Snapfish showing damage from shipping, emphasizing packaging issues in online photo printing services.
On the other hand, services like EZprints and RitzPix offer more smartphone-friendly options. They provide print sizes with a 4:3 aspect ratio, perfectly matching your iPhone photos, minimizing or eliminating cropping. Printique and Nations Photo Lab go even further by offering a “no crop” option, allowing you to print your iPhone images with their original aspect ratio, regardless of the print size you choose. These services demonstrate a better understanding of iPhone photo printing requirements and offer more flexibility for preserving your original image composition.
Bay Photo also caters to iPhone photo printing by offering small print sizes specifically optimized for smartphone photos. They also impressed us with their sturdy packaging, ensuring your prints arrive safely. However, in our print quality tests, Bay Photo’s output was somewhat average. While not the worst, it wasn’t a standout either, often being ranked as a decent but not exceptional choice by our panelists.
Budget-Friendly Options: Balancing Cost and Quality for iPhone Prints
If price is a major concern for your iPhone photo printing, Snapfish is often touted as one of the most affordable services. However, our tests revealed that the low cost comes with compromises in print quality. Snapfish prints, particularly in 8×10 and 4×6 sizes, exhibited harsh contrast, resulting in a loss of detail in shadows and highlights. Portrait photos also tended to have an undesirable orangish skin tone.
Furthermore, Snapfish’s packaging left much to be desired. Smaller prints were shipped in flimsy cardboard envelopes lacking adequate padding, while larger 11×14 prints, although sent in tubes, lacked internal padding, leading to damage during transit. The image below illustrates the damage a Snapfish print sustained due to insufficient packaging. While Snapfish is budget-friendly, the trade-offs in print quality and packaging might outweigh the savings, especially for important iPhone photo printing projects.
Damaged corner of a photo print from RitzPix against a green background, highlighting shipping damage in online photo printing services.
RitzPix, unfortunately, also struggled with packaging, despite charging a premium shipping fee. An 11×14 print from RitzPix arrived damaged due to being shipped in an undersized flat envelope with minimal backing board. This inadequate packaging is particularly disappointing given their higher-than-average shipping costs. While RitzPix offers aspect ratio options suitable for iPhone photo printing, the risk of damage during shipping and the higher cost make it a less appealing choice compared to services that prioritize both print quality and secure packaging.
EZprints, similar to Snapfish, also delivered subpar print quality. Prints from EZprints consistently appeared hazy and washed-out, lacking sharpness and clarity. Areas of solid color also exhibited a mottled, uneven texture. While EZprints offers smartphone-friendly print sizes, the compromised print quality makes it difficult to recommend for iPhone photo printing where image fidelity is important.
Mid-Range Services: Average Quality and Packaging Concerns
Shutterfly, another popular name in online photo printing, fell into the mid-range category in our tests. While not delivering exceptional print quality, Shutterfly’s prints were also not the worst. However, considering it was the second most expensive service we tested, the average print quality was underwhelming.
Packaging was also a concern with Shutterfly. Small prints arrived in thin, flat envelopes, offering minimal protection. Larger 11×14 prints were shipped in tubes, which, while offering better protection against bending, resulted in curled prints that required flattening before display. While shipping prints in tubes can protect them, it often leads to curling, as illustrated in the image below. If you choose Shutterfly for iPhone photo printing, be prepared for potentially average print quality and prints that may require flattening.
Curled large photo print shipped in a tube, demonstrating the effect of tube packaging on photo prints from online services.
Amazon Prints offers competitively priced 4×6 prints, particularly for Amazon Prime members who utilize their Prime Photos service. The ordering process is straightforward and convenient for those within the Amazon ecosystem. Print quality from Amazon Prints was decent, falling in the middle of the pack. Skin tones tended to lean towards orange, but overall quality was acceptable. However, packaging was again a weak point. Prints arrived in a flat mailer with thin cardboard inserts, resulting in corner damage to some prints. While Amazon Prints provides a convenient option, the average print quality and subpar packaging are factors to consider for your iPhone photo printing needs.
Services to Avoid: User Experience and Reliability Issues
Some services present significant drawbacks in terms of user experience or reliability. Zazzle, while offering photo prints, has a user interface that is better suited for single-item orders. The process of selecting print sizes involves dragging each image individually onto a print template, making it tedious for ordering multiple prints. This cumbersome interface makes Zazzle unsuitable for larger iPhone photo printing orders.
Coffee table books flattening a photo print, illustrating a method to uncurl prints shipped by online photo services.
Winkflash has garnered numerous negative reviews regarding customer service and reliability. Customers have reported losing access to their hosted photos due to ownership changes, and customer support is limited to a web form, lacking phone or email contact options. These issues make Winkflash a risky choice for iPhone photo printing.
FreePrints, while enticing with its offer of free 4×6 prints (up to 1,000 per year), provides very limited information on its website. Orders are exclusively placed through a phone app, and details about print quality and the company itself are scarce. The lack of transparency and reliance on a “too good to be true” offer raises concerns about the reliability and quality of FreePrints for iPhone photo printing.
Walmart offers a 4×5.3-inch print size, which accommodates the 4:3 aspect ratio of iPhone photos without cropping. However, their overall selection of print sizes is less extensive compared to other services. While Walmart provides a no-crop option, the limited size selection might restrict your choices for iPhone photo printing.
Conclusion: Choosing the Best Service for Your iPhone Photo Printing
Printing photos from your iPhone should be a seamless and enjoyable experience, resulting in beautiful prints that accurately represent your digital memories. While services like Mpix are popular, their cropping issues can be problematic for iPhone photo printing. Services like EZprints and RitzPix offer better aspect ratio options but may suffer in print quality or packaging. Snapfish and Amazon Prints are budget-friendly but compromise on print quality and packaging. Shutterfly offers average quality at a higher price point, while services like Zazzle, Winkflash, and FreePrints present user experience or reliability concerns.
When selecting a service for iPhone photo printing, consider your priorities. If print quality and accurate representation of your iPhone photos are paramount, explore services like Printique and Nations Photo Lab, which offer “no crop” options and are known for high-quality prints (though not explicitly reviewed in this article). If budget is a primary concern and you are willing to accept potential compromises in quality and packaging, Snapfish or Amazon Prints might be considered with caution.
Ultimately, the best service for iPhone photo printing depends on your individual needs and preferences. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of different online photo printing services, you can make an informed decision and ensure your cherished iPhone memories are printed beautifully and preserved for years to come. Always prioritize services that offer clear information about their iPhone photo printing capabilities, aspect ratio options, print quality, and packaging to avoid disappointment and ensure your prints meet your expectations.
