Where do you print your photos?

[Raach]

600D Hi everyone, I'm knew to this forum and have been trying to find where to print photos? I'm a beginner but i have clients and i put their photos on a disc. In the new year i am looking at offering printed photos, my question is, where do you print your photos? online or a local shop? My local photography shop is a tad expensive for my liking so I'm looking at printing online. I don't want to use kmart or something, one of the photographers in my area sends hers off to Melbourne (Im assuming kodak as this is what is on the back of the photos) but i cannot find anywhere to send it to online, does anyone have any ideas?

[ricktas]

Welcome to AP. Firstly beginners do not have clients. So we have upgraded you to intermediate. If you photography is good enough that you are offering your services as a photographer, you are definitely not a beginner.

Re printing, look on yellow pages and seek out a good photo lab near you, not Harvey Norman, KMart etc. Somewhere you can go and talk to the printer about your requirements. Someone that understands DPI and image print quality, someone who can work with you as a supplier.

Kodak on the back of the print just means they have used Kodak paper, not that Kodak printed them.

You say you do not want to use Kmart but you do not want somewhere expensive. I would say go with the more expensive option. The prints are your advertising, cheap prints, makes you as a photographer look cheap.

[nimrodisease]

I use a local print lab. However I know some pros who swear by http://www.rgbdigital.com.au/

[farmmax]

I've used photoenlargements.com.au for years.

Normally I only get photos for competitions printed, because I don't have any other use for printed photos. Their 18" X 12" prints are $5.00 each if you only want a few, or $2 each if you want 20+. Postage very reasonable, and phenomenal service. If I don't have 20, I email a few friends and we combine photos into one order, particularly as the postage is a flat rate.

They do only have a limited amount of sizes, because photo printing is not their main business. They are commercial photographers and I think the printers are mainly for their use. As far as I know the outside printing is to make sure the machines get lots of work and keep the chemicals very fresh.

If you do try them, read their instructions on colour space. Do not send photos in anything thing but sRGB, particularly not Adobe RGB. I had to learn that the hard way

The only other place I've tried for printing is The Edge, and that is because about 1 day a year they run a special on poster size prints for $10, or in metallic for $15. The quality of the last lot I had done was excellent.

[ktoopi]

I use http://www.rgbdigital.com.au/ to print my images. They are based in Qld but courier the pics to you. If you submit your order before 11:00 am the prints are on your doorstep 3 working days later. Definitely DO NoT use places like Harvey Norman, K Mart or even worse Office works to print images for paying clients. They are not good enough quality. RGB Digital is great and not expensive. They are also very helpful when you call them if you have any questions. Feel free to pm me

[etherial]

My website is hosted by Zenfolio and they have a partner agreement with Nulab and Nushots in Melbourne so I now do all my prints and client orders through them. Brilliant quality, great service and very fast. A couple of weeks ago I placed an order for a heap of prints the biggest 20x16 and they arrived just two days later. I've even had one case where a print was very slightly damaged by Auspost, they reprinted and sent me a replacement free of charge. Highly recommended.

[Raach]

Thankyou to everyone for your recommendations! I would never use kmart etc for clients, never have done, i had to print a picture once for a client as a promo and went to my local printer place but it was expensive for what it was and i don't want to have to raise my prices much at the moment just to cover printing.. Thankyou!!

[ricktas]

Based on the fact you have clients etc, and are thus selling yourself as a professional photographer, we have upgraded you to Advanced level.

[Mark L]

Some useful info here.
Wouldn't mind seeing a few of your photos Raach. Feedback may help you improve, if you think you need to?
Or maybe you could CC some photos posted by beginners to help them get to the stage of wanting to get some prints from the above recommended, um, printers.
Hope you get involved on AP.

[sufran]

It's worthwhile sending the same test digital files to your short-listed photo printers. Aim to include photos that will show the print range of the lab e.g. a black and white, image with strong highlights, image with strong contrast, image with strong colour (e.g. sunset tones, yellow tones from late afternoon). I was quite surprised at the different results I obtained from different labs with the same test files. Just a note on Nulab. This was one of the printers in my test field. They have a short questionnaire at the start which is used to decide whether you get their prolab or consumer service. Even though I wanted a prolab test on my files, I didn't make the grade!

You should also be aware that the paper you select for your prints can have a significant effect. So include the papers you are likely to use long-term for your test samples.

Another (Qld) printer that's highly regarded is InkFx.

I use (and can recommend) RGBDigital. Their prints most closely matched what I saw on my screen, and I have now calibrated my screen to their prints to ensure consistent results. I have been using them for several months now and have sent a variety of images for printing and have always received good service, accurate colour, good definition and consistent results. Brilliant Prints (again in Qld!) do excellent canvases.

I would also recommend PixelPerfectProLab in Sydney. They charge more, and for me in Qld, postage cost is an issue, but their print products are beautiful.