Finding the best place to print your precious photos can be challenging with so many online services available. You want quality prints, convenient service, and perhaps good value for money. This review examines several popular online photo printing services to help you decide Where Can You Get Photos Printed to best meet your needs. We delve into print quality, packaging, and user experience to give you a clear picture of what to expect.
Mpix, a well-known service with a user-friendly app, unfortunately didn’t impress our reviewers. While convenient, Mpix photos were ranked as least favorite due to their significant cropping of smartphone photos. This cropping issue is a major drawback if you pay close attention to image composition. Services like EZprints and RitzPix offer 4:3 aspect ratio prints that are more smartphone-friendly, while Printique and Nations Photo Lab allow uncropped printing regardless of aspect ratio. Currently, Mpix lacks these options, making it less ideal for smartphone photographers concerned about preserving their original image composition.
Bay Photo provides small print sizes suitable for smartphone photos and robust packaging. However, the print quality was only middling in our tests. In blind comparisons, it was rarely a top or bottom choice, generally considered a decent but not outstanding second option. While Bay Photo offers reliable packaging, the average print quality might not justify choosing them if print quality is your top priority when considering where can you get photos printed.
Snapfish is known for being one of the most budget-friendly options, but our tests revealed significant compromises in quality. Both 8×10 and 4×6 prints exhibited harsh contrast, losing detail in shadows and highlights. Portrait photos also had an undesirable orange skin tone. The packaging was also subpar, with small prints arriving in flimsy cardboard envelopes offering minimal protection. Even the larger 11×14 print, shipped in a tube, lacked internal padding, leading to damage during transit.
A close-up of the edge of a rolled-up print from Snapfish showing a crease caused by damage during shipping, highlighting poor packaging from online photo print service Snapfish.
Snapfish’s inadequate packaging resulted in damage to our 11×14 print during shipping, demonstrating a significant downside when considering where can you get photos printed with safe delivery in mind.
RitzPix also delivered a damaged 11×14 print. Despite charging a high $14.95 shipping fee, more than double the average, RitzPix used inadequate flat envelope packaging with thin backing boards. The envelope, barely larger than the print, offered no buffer, and the print arrived with a corner dent from shipping damage. Better packaging, like a larger envelope or a box, as used by other services, could have easily prevented this. This experience with RitzPix raises concerns about packaging quality even with higher shipping costs when you are thinking about where can you get photos printed online.
Damaged corner of a photo print from RitzPix against a green background, illustrating poor packaging and damage during shipping from online photo print service RitzPix.
The damaged print from RitzPix, shipped in an undersized envelope, underscores the importance of considering packaging when choosing where can you get photos printed online, especially for larger sizes.
EZprints, similar to Snapfish, stood out for poor print quality. All prints had a washed-out, hazy appearance, lacking sharpness and showing a mottled texture in areas of consistent color. These were the least sharp photos among all services tested, making EZprints a less desirable option if print clarity is important to you when deciding where can you get photos printed.
Shutterfly, while being the second most expensive service in our test, only delivered average print quality. The main issue was packaging. Small prints came in a thin envelope, and the 11×14 print arrived curled from being shipped in a tube. While shipping tubes offer protection, they often result in curled prints that need flattening before display, adding extra effort after you’ve decided where can you get photos printed.
A curled large photo print from Shutterfly after being shipped in a tube, showing the inconvenience of curled prints from online photo print services.
The significant curl of a print from Shutterfly highlights a common issue with tube packaging: prints require flattening, a factor to consider when thinking about where can you get photos printed for immediate display.
Zazzle allows photo prints but is designed for individual, single-item orders. The user interface is cumbersome for multiple prints; selecting print sizes involves dragging each image onto a template on its order page. This tedious process makes Zazzle impractical for ordering more than a few prints, which is a significant drawback if you need to print many photos and are looking for where can you get photos printed efficiently.
Two coffee table books flattening a photo print placed between cardboard, demonstrating a method to uncurl prints from online photo services like Zazzle.
Flattening curled prints, as illustrated, takes time and effort, a factor to consider when choosing where can you get photos printed based on convenience and readiness for display.
Winkflash has numerous negative online reviews. Customers have reported losing access to stored photos due to ownership changes and encountering difficulties with customer service, which is only available via a web form, lacking phone or email support. These issues make Winkflash easily dismissible as a reliable option when considering where can you get photos printed with confidence and good customer support.
FreePrints offers up to 1,000 free 4×6 prints annually (you pay for shipping). However, their website provides minimal information, and ordering seems to be exclusively through a phone app. The lack of online information and the “too good to be true” offer raise concerns about the service’s reliability and quality when deciding where can you get photos printed.
Amazon Prints offers 4×6 prints at a competitive price. Amazon Prime members using Prime Photos can directly order prints. The order process is straightforward, and print quality was mid-range – not exceptional (skin tones were slightly orange) but not terrible. However, packaging, a flat mailer with thin cardboard, was disappointing and resulted in corner damage to a print, echoing packaging issues seen with other services and important to note when considering where can you get photos printed with safe delivery.
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 extensive than top competitors. While Walmart offers a no-crop option for smartphones, the limited size variety might restrict your choices if you need diverse print sizes when deciding where can you get photos printed.
In conclusion, choosing where can you get photos printed requires balancing print quality, price, convenience, and packaging. Services like Snapfish, EZprints, and Winkflash showed significant drawbacks in print quality or service. Mpix’s cropping issue and Shutterfly’s curled prints are also points to consider. RitzPix and Amazon Prints’ packaging problems highlight the importance of secure shipping. While budget options like Snapfish and FreePrints may seem appealing, the compromises in quality and service might not be worth it for your cherished photos. Consider services that prioritize print quality and robust packaging, even if they cost slightly more, to ensure your photos are printed beautifully and arrive safely when deciding where can you get photos printed.
