Mpix stands out as a widely recognized photo service, offering a convenient app for direct smartphone photo orders. Despite its popularity, in our evaluations, Mpix’s prints were ranked as the least favored by our panel. A significant drawback was its inability to print smartphone photos without substantial cropping.
If meticulous composition is a priority in your photography, this mandatory cropping is likely to be a deal-breaker. In contrast, services like EZprints and RitzPix provide smartphone-friendly print sizes with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Furthermore, Printique and Nations Photo Lab offer the flexibility to print your images uncropped, regardless of aspect ratio discrepancies. Currently, Mpix lacks both of these accommodating options.
Bay Photo does offer smaller print sizes tailored for smartphone photos, coupled with robust packaging. However, our tests revealed its print quality to be moderately average. In blind print comparisons, participants rarely ranked Bay Photo as their top or bottom choice, typically positioning it as a satisfactory second option among the services we tested.
Snapfish distinguishes itself by offering the lowest prices among the services we assessed, yet this comes with considerable compromises in print quality. Both 8×10 and 4×6 prints exhibited harsh contrast, resulting in diminished detail in shadows and highlights. Portrait photographs displayed noticeably orange-tinted skin tones. The packaging was also unsatisfactory; smaller prints were shipped in a flimsy cardboard envelope lacking adequate padding for protection during transit. While the 11×14 print arrived in a sturdy tube, the absence of internal padding led to edge damage from the tube’s end caps, as illustrated below.
Damaged rolled-up print edge from Snapfish due to insufficient packaging.
Snapfish’s protective tube for the 11×14 print lacked internal padding, causing crease damage to the top edge during shipping due to impact with the end cap. Photo: Amadou Diallo
A similar packaging failure was observed with RitzPix. Their 11×14 print was shipped in a flat envelope, merely sandwiched between thin cardboard sheets—similar to those found in inexpensive photo frames. The shipping envelope’s minimal size margin over the 11×14 photo resulted in corner damage when the package was crushed during shipping. RitzPix could have easily prevented this damage by using a larger envelope or, ideally, a box, as employed by several other services. This inadequate packaging was particularly disappointing given their substantial $14.95 shipping fee, more than double the average cost of other services we ordered from.
Damaged corner of RitzPix photo print due to undersized shipping envelope.
This RitzPix 11×14 print sustained corner damage from its too-small envelope being crushed during shipping. Photo: Amadou Diallo
Like Snapfish, EZprints was among the few services where print quality was notably substandard. Every print exhibited a hazy, washed-out appearance, as if obscured by a veil. These photos were the least sharp of all tested, and areas of consistent tone displayed a somewhat mottled texture.
Our order from Shutterfly was the second most expensive in our evaluations, yet the print quality was, at best, average. Our primary concern was packaging. Small prints arrived in a thin, flat envelope, while the 11×14 print was shipped in a tube, leading to a significant curl that necessitated flattening before display. (Note: A quick method to flatten a curled print involves wrapping it around a wide tube in the opposite curl direction. However, this requires care to avoid creases or ripples. A safer method is to flatten prints under weight for one to two days.)
Curled photo print from Shutterfly due to tube shipping, requiring flattening.
Despite protective shipping tubes, prints often arrive with substantial curl. Photo: Amadou Diallo
Zazzle offers photo prints, but its interface is geared towards single-item orders and provides limited paper choices. Selecting a print size requires individually dragging each image onto a print-size template on its order page. This process is excessively cumbersome, even for small batches of prints.
Flattening photo print with coffee table books and cardboard sheets for safe uncurling.
The safest, albeit slower, method to uncurl prints is to sandwich them between cardboard and weigh them down for 24-48 hours. Photo: Amadou Diallo
Winkflash is plagued by consistently poor customer reviews. Beyond numerous reports of customers losing access to stored photos due to ownership changes, many users have reported difficulties contacting customer service. Customer support is exclusively available via a web form, lacking phone or email options. These issues led us to quickly dismiss Winkflash.
FreePrints, true to its name, offers up to 1,000 free 4×6 prints annually, though shipping is charged. Based on limited information on their single-page website, all operations appear to be app-based. Given the scant online details about the company, prints, and ordering, the adage “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is” comes to mind.
Amazon Prints prices 4×6 prints at 17¢ each, a shift from their previous alignment with budget rivals like Snapfish at 9¢. Amazon Prime members using Prime Photos for storage can directly order prints of these images. Amazon’s ordering process was straightforward. Print quality was mid-range—not exceptional (skin tones tended towards orange), but not the worst. Photos arrived within six business days. Packaging was underwhelming, consisting of a flat mailer with two thin cardboard sheets, resulting in corner damage to one print upon arrival.
Walmart provides a 4×5.3-inch print size, accommodating smartphone 4:3 aspect ratio images without cropping. However, their overall print size selection is less comprehensive than our top pick services.
This article was edited by Ben Keough and Erica Ogg.
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