Choosing the right online photo printing service is crucial for preserving your cherished memories in high quality. With numerous options available, it’s essential to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each to make an informed decision. This review analyzes several popular photo printing websites, evaluating them based on print quality, pricing, packaging, and user experience to help you find the Best Photo Printing Website for your needs.
Mpix, a widely recognized photo service with a user-friendly smartphone app, unfortunately, received the lowest ratings from panelists in print quality comparisons. A significant drawback is Mpix’s inability to print smartphone photos without forced cropping. This is a considerable issue for those who carefully compose their mobile photography. Services like EZprints and RitzPix offer smartphone-friendly 4:3 aspect ratio print sizes, while Printique and Nations Photo Lab provide uncropped printing options regardless of aspect ratio mismatches. Currently, Mpix lacks these flexible options.
A close-up of the edge of a rolled-up print from Snapfish showing damage from transport, highlighting issues with inadequate packaging from a photo printing service.
Bay Photo provides small print sizes suitable for smartphone photos and utilizes robust packaging. However, its print quality was assessed as average in tests. Participants in blind tests often ranked Bay Photo as a satisfactory second choice, rather than a top or bottom pick, indicating decent but not outstanding performance as a photo printing website.
Snapfish stands out as one of the most affordable services, but this comes at the cost of print quality. Both 8×10 and 4×6 prints exhibited harsh contrast, resulting in loss of detail in shadows and highlights. Portrait photos displayed undesirable orangish skin tones. Packaging was also a concern, with small prints shipped in flimsy cardboard envelopes lacking padding. An 11×14 print, while shipped in a tube, lacked internal padding, leading to bending damage during transit.
Damaged corner of a RitzPix photo print against a green backdrop, illustrating shipping damage from an online photo printing service.
RitzPix also experienced packaging issues, with an 11×14 print arriving damaged. Shipped in a flat envelope with thin backing boards, the print was damaged due to insufficient protection during shipping. The $14.95 shipping fee, significantly higher than average, made the inadequate packaging particularly disappointing. Better packaging, like that used by other photo printing websites, could easily prevent such damage.
EZprints, similar to Snapfish, delivered subpar print quality. Prints were consistently hazy and washed-out, lacking sharpness and exhibiting a mottled appearance in areas of consistent tone. These prints were considered among the poorest in overall quality when compared to other online photo printing services.
Shutterfly, while being the second most expensive service tested, offered only average print quality. The primary concern was packaging. Small prints were shipped in thin, flat envelopes, and 11×14 prints arrived curled from being shipped in a tube. Uncurling prints from tube packaging can be cumbersome and potentially damaging, a drawback for a premium-priced photo printing website.
A curled large photo print from Shutterfly, demonstrating the effect of tube shipping on prints from online services.
Zazzle provides photo printing services but is better suited for single-item orders due to its user interface and limited paper choices. The ordering process, requiring individual image dragging for size selection, is inefficient for larger print orders. This tedious process makes Zazzle less ideal for bulk photo printing needs compared to other best photo printing website contenders.
Coffee table books flattening a photo print, illustrating a method to correct curling from shipping tubes used by photo printing services.
Winkflash faces significant negative customer feedback, including issues with lost photo access due to ownership changes and poor customer service. Customer support is limited to a web form, lacking phone or email options. These factors make Winkflash a less reliable choice when seeking a dependable photo printing website.
FreePrints offers up to 1,000 free 4×6 prints annually (excluding shipping costs). However, the service provides minimal online information and operates primarily through a phone app. The lack of transparency and limited online presence raises concerns about reliability and service quality, suggesting caution despite the attractive “free prints” offer.
Amazon Prints, while offering competitive pricing for 4×6 prints at 17¢ each, has increased prices from previous lows. Amazon Prime members can directly order prints from their Prime Photos storage. Print quality is mid-range – not exceptional, with slightly orange skin tones, but not the worst. Packaging, using a thin flat mailer, resulted in corner damage to some prints, indicating room for improvement in protective shipping.
Walmart offers a 4×5.3-inch print size, accommodating smartphone 4:3 aspect ratios without cropping. However, its overall print size selection is less extensive than leading photo printing websites. While convenient for uncropped smartphone prints, the limited size variety may restrict options for other printing needs.
Ultimately, choosing the best photo printing website depends on individual priorities. Factors such as print quality, cost, ease of use, and packaging reliability should be carefully considered to ensure satisfaction with your photo prints.
