In today’s digital age, while we capture countless memories on our smartphones, the desire to hold a physical photograph remains strong. But Where Can You Print Photos with quality and convenience? Numerous online photo printing services promise to deliver your digital images as tangible prints. This review dives into some of the most popular options, examining their print quality, ease of use, and overall value to help you decide where to best bring your digital photos to life.
Mpix, a widely recognized service with a user-friendly app for smartphone ordering, unfortunately didn’t impress our expert panel. Their prints were ranked as the least favorite, primarily due to a significant drawback: the inability to print smartphone photos without forced cropping. For photographers who meticulously compose their shots, this automatic cropping can be a deal-breaker, altering the intended framing and composition of your cherished images.
Fortunately, several services address this smartphone compatibility issue effectively. EZprints and RitzPix, for instance, offer a print size specifically tailored to the 4:3 aspect ratio common in smartphone photos, ensuring no unwanted cropping occurs. Printique and Nations Photo Lab go a step further, providing the option to print your images uncropped, regardless of the aspect ratio mismatch between your photo and the chosen print size. As of this review, Mpix lacks both of these crucial options, potentially limiting its appeal to smartphone photographers.
Bay Photo presents itself as another option, offering small print sizes optimized for smartphone photos and commendable sturdy packaging. However, in our comprehensive tests, their print quality landed in the middle ground. Participants in blind print comparisons rarely ranked Bay Photo as their top or bottom choice, generally considering it a satisfactory second option. While not delivering outstanding quality, Bay Photo provides a reasonably good service with attention to packaging.
When price is the primary concern, Snapfish emerges as one of the most budget-friendly services we tested. However, this low cost comes at a noticeable compromise in print quality. Both 8-by-10 and 4-by-6 prints from Snapfish exhibited harsh contrast, resulting in a loss of detail in both shadow and highlight areas. Furthermore, portrait photos displayed an undesirable orangish tint in skin tones. Packaging also fell short; smaller prints arrived in a flimsy cardboard envelope lacking adequate padding, offering minimal protection during transit. While the 11-by-14 print was shipped in a tube, the absence of internal padding led to damage during shipping, as illustrated below.
A close-up of the edge of a rolled-up print from Snapfish that was damaged during transport due to inadequate packaging, showing a visible crease.
Snapfish’s attempt to protect larger prints with a tube was undermined by the lack of internal padding, resulting in shipping damage. Photo: Amadou Diallo
RitzPix also encountered packaging issues, resulting in damaged prints upon arrival. Their 11-by-14 print was shipped in a flat envelope, merely sandwiched between thin sheets of backing board—the kind commonly found in inexpensive photo frames. The envelope’s barely-larger dimensions than the print itself led to corner damage when the package was crushed during shipping. This damage could have been easily avoided with a larger envelope or, ideally, a more robust box, as employed by several other services. The inadequate packaging is particularly disappointing considering RitzPix’s hefty $14.95 shipping fee, more than double the average cost of the other services we evaluated.
A close-up of the corner of a photo print from RitzPix that has been damaged during shipping due to insufficient envelope size, set against a green backdrop.
RitzPix’s 11-by-14 print suffered corner damage due to undersized and flimsy envelope packaging. Photo: Amadou Diallo
EZprints, similar to Snapfish, stood out for its subpar print quality. Every print exhibited a hazy, washed-out appearance, as if obscured by a veil. These prints were the least sharp among those tested, and areas of consistent tone presented a somewhat mottled texture. The overall impression was one of diminished clarity and vibrancy.
Shutterfly, while being the second most expensive service in our tests, delivered only average print quality. Our primary concern with Shutterfly was their packaging. Smaller prints were shipped in a thin, flat envelope, while the 11-by-14 print arrived in a tube, causing significant curling that necessitates flattening before display. While uncurling prints is possible, as detailed below, it adds an extra step and potential risk of damage.
A large photo print from Shutterfly exhibiting a pronounced curl after being shipped in a tube, resting on a table.
Shipping tubes, while protective, often result in curled prints that require flattening before they can be displayed. Photo: Amadou Diallo
Zazzle offers photo printing services, but its user interface is clearly designed for individual, single-item orders and presents limited paper choices. The print size selection process is cumbersome, requiring users to drag each image individually onto a print-size template on its dedicated order page. This tedious approach makes ordering even a small number of prints a time-consuming task.
Winkflash is plagued by a consistent stream of overwhelmingly negative customer reviews. Beyond numerous reports of customers losing access to their photos hosted on Winkflash servers due to ownership changes, many users have encountered significant difficulties contacting customer support. Customer service is limited to a web form, with no phone number or even email contact option available. These serious issues made Winkflash an easy service to dismiss from our recommendations.
FreePrints, as the name implies, promotes free 4-by-6 prints (up to 1,000 per year), requiring only payment for shipping. However, their website offers minimal information, suggesting that all ordering must be done through a phone app. The lack of readily available information about the company, print quality, and the order process raises concerns, echoing the adage, “If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”
Amazon Prints provides 4-by-6 prints at a competitive price of 17¢ each, although they previously matched lower-cost rivals like Snapfish at 9¢. Amazon Prime members who already utilize their Prime Photos service for image storage can conveniently order prints directly from their stored photos. Amazon’s ordering process was straightforward and simple. Print quality was decent, falling in the middle range—acceptable but not exceptional (skin tones tended towards orange), and certainly not the worst we encountered. Photos were delivered within six business days. Packaging, however, was disappointing, consisting of a flat mailer with two thin cardboard sheets inside. Unsurprisingly, one print arrived with a corner ding.
Walmart offers a 4-by-5.3-inch print size, which accommodates the 4:3 aspect ratio of smartphone images without cropping. However, their overall selection of print sizes is considerably less comprehensive compared to our top recommended services.
For those seeking the safest method to flatten curled prints from tube packaging, sandwiching the print between sheets of cardboard and placing weights on top, like coffee table books, for 24 to 48 hours is recommended.
Two large coffee table books are placed on top of cardboard sheets, effectively flattening a photo print underneath.
The most reliable method for flattening curled photo prints involves using weights and cardboard to gently straighten them over a day or two. Photo: Amadou Diallo
In conclusion, when considering where to print photos, the optimal choice depends on your priorities. Services like Printique and Nations Photo Lab stand out for uncropped printing and potentially higher quality. For budget-conscious consumers, Amazon Prints and Walmart offer reasonable options, but be mindful of potential packaging issues and average print quality. Services like Mpix, Snapfish, EZprints, Shutterfly, Zazzle, Winkflash and FreePrints presented various shortcomings in print quality, user experience, or reliability in our tests. Carefully evaluate your needs for print quality, smartphone compatibility, and acceptable price points to make an informed decision for your photo printing needs.
