In Search of Mr. Goodprint
January 18, 2007: Looking for a good service to print your pictures? PC Magazine is looking out for you.
Reporter Tony Hoffman printed ten test shots at a variety of online services, chain stores, kiosks, and two personal 4×6 photo printers.
His results were surprising (at least to me). His favorite among the online services were the number one ranked Sony Imagestation (which I’ve never even heard of), dotPhoto and Shutterfly. Kodak Easy Share Gallery, and MPIX, both of which I’ve gotten great prints from, ranked in the middle of the pack. The poorest performers were Yahoo! Flickr and Yahoo! Photos!
Yahoo, indeed.
CVS had the highest rated kiosks. Surprisingly, fashion-forward Target took last place.
Of the two personal photo printers he rated, the Epson Picturemate Flash just edged out the HP Photosmart A716 (hey, catchy name, HP!)
Overall, the online services and personal printers trounced the kiosks, which Hoffman found “disappointing.”
Scott
January 20th, 2007 at 6:44 am
I bought the Epson Picturemate for my wife for Christmas and it’s been a big hit. The picture print quality is very good and it’s insanely easy to use and replenish. I recommend it to anyone who wants to print snapshots from time to time.
January 22nd, 2007 at 5:09 am
This information is valuable to me. One other thing that is driving me nuts right now is trying to find the best way to share my photos online, especially after upgrading to a dslr. I checked out your phanfare site and I love it, but can’t really rationalize the cost since I am such a hobbyist. I would love to find out how you guys organize and share your photos. Forgive me if this has been covered in a previous podcast as I am just jumping on board.
January 23rd, 2007 at 1:49 am
I’ve used the kodak site, and we’re reasonably happy with their quality. These days I do most prints from a Kodak Easyshare printer dock (http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2251&pq-locale=en_US)
that is by far the most convenient system I’ve tried for making 4×6 prints at home.
@Dana: I like the Kodak gallery. I’m sure it depends on your expertise, but it’s great for a point and shooter like me.
January 24th, 2007 at 4:48 am
I have found that a test like this is somewhat difficult. On a local level, it all depends on what kind of printer the store has. For instance, a large scale CVS store in an upscale city might have a really good printer, while a smaller CVS in a small town might have a below average printer.
Also, making sure your monitor is calibrated could make all the difference in the world. If your monitor is not calibrated, you are not correctly judging the print.
Not that my opinion counts, but I love Mpix.
January 24th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Dana, I’d recommend Flickr. They’re $25/yr and they allow you to upload 2 GB of Photos a month. They never delete your photos either!
They also have a free service but it’s very limited.
http://www.flickr.com
January 26th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Dana I’d recommend Sony ImageStation since it’s free. Prior to getting a year’s subscription to Phanfare for Christmas this is the site that I used for storing, sharing and printing my photos. I also used Yahoo photos for storing and sharing, but wasn’t very happy - but it’s easier for my family to see in South Africa.
See my post on the podcast page too.
January 27th, 2007 at 4:47 am
I’ve used Winkflash.com a lot using the matte finish and the pics come out great (I use a Nikon D50). Great price (.10 4×6 prints) and great shipping (.99 cents fixed) and turn around time has always been great. I’ve believe they have a special now giving 100 free prints too. The other thing cool about them is you can ask for cd to put your pics on and mail it to them if you prefer (or if you have a lot of 2Meg pics and don’t want to wait to upload).
January 29th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
From DealMac:
“Sony’s online photo service ImageStation offers new customers 20 digital prints for free when uploading photos. (Click “Join Now”.) Coupon code “15FREEJAN07″ adds 15 more prints for free. Coupon code “FREE8X10JAN07″ adds a free 8×10″ print. That’s 35 4×6 and one 8×10 for free, with shipping around $2. Not a new customer? The coupons still work; you just won’t get the 20 free ones again. Coupons end February 28″.
http://www.imagestation.com/
January 31st, 2007 at 12:30 am
We use Shutterfly almost exclusively. The prints are a little more expensive, but the interface they have developed is totally worth it. Being incredibly easy to use, the wide array of products, and the superb quality of prints mean we’ll be staying with them for the foreseeable future.
http://www.shutterfly.com