lee74
newbie
Reged: 29/04/2007
Posts: 34
Loc: Yorkshire
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Hi
Just wondered what are the best online print services to use? I am using photobox at the moment, and was wondering if they are any better ones out there, as when i look at the photos on my monitor they look pretty good, sharp and detail present but when I get the prints back they look ok but not quite as good.
Any ideas
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Fen
BAD WOLF
Reged: 12/03/2002
Posts: 20019
Loc: Currently Unknown!
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Could be down to your system/setup.
Before sending any photos to print... Are you colour profiled? If not, then there is no guarantee that what you are seeing on your monitor is what the image actually looks like, in terms of colour/contrast/tones.
As for printing, I use a place called Loxley Colour Labs
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Fen .......... My Galleries - My Blog - My Flickr
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Coz
Reged: 02/04/2002
Posts: 395
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I've used DLab (through 7dayshop) and they were good quality and sharp.
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DaveG40
enthusiast
Reged: 21/07/2007
Posts: 245
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I've used photobox for a few years now & have only encountered one problem which they bent over backwards to correct, having read countless reviews & user opinions there are a lot of decent online photo labs & IMHO there is very little difference between them, photobox are quick & cheap, their gift ideas are also excellent (have ordered several photo books as presents). Is your monitor calibrated & did you get a thumbnail/calibrated sheet from photobox with your first order ?. Simple solution is to try another photo lab & see how the photos compare.
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lee74
newbie
Reged: 29/04/2007
Posts: 34
Loc: Yorkshire
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Thanks for the replies, my monitor isn't calibrated so will have to do that have been thinking about doing it for a while.
Have tried another print lab and these prints are different again!
Got two photos printed one of a mill in black and white and one of some daises in colour;
from Photobox the B&W print had a slight pink tinge to it and wasn't that sharp and the daisy print was ok, nice and colouful .
Got the same photos done at Bonusprint and the B&W print was very good very clear and sharp and it was B&W no colour tinge to it, on the other hand the daisy print was not that good at all, the grass was brown instead of green! but it was sharp.
Any ideas?
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LargeFormat
old hand
Reged: 24/10/2006
Posts: 1056
Loc: Buckinghamshire and Cumbria
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I've used Photobox for some time without any complaints. They also score well in AP's reviews. They will send you a calibration print before your first order.
One thing to bear in mind is that labs apply different amounts of sharpening. Photobox seem to do a fairly small amount. Monochrome can be difficult as most labs are geared for colour.
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Terrywoodenpic
A whiff of silicon...
Reged: 21/01/2006
Posts: 266
Loc: Saddleworth UK
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I use truprint
http://photos.truprint.co.uk/index.htm
"What ever they do" matches "whatever I do"
and all my shots are developed from raw and adjusted by me.
So I am well pleased.
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63 happy photo years from amateur to professional and back to amateur
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Fen
BAD WOLF
Reged: 12/03/2002
Posts: 20019
Loc: Currently Unknown!
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Quote:
I use truprint
You don't like photographing concorde as well do you?
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Fen .......... My Galleries - My Blog - My Flickr
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Benchista
Wich Tyler
Reged: 11/08/2000
Posts: 36824
Loc: Everywhere and nowhere, baby
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Quote:
Quote:
I use truprint
You don't like photographing concorde as well do you?
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Nick
www.nbrphoto.com
Light and Shade II - the new blog
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Terrywoodenpic
A whiff of silicon...
Reged: 21/01/2006
Posts: 266
Loc: Saddleworth UK
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Quote:
Quote:
I use truprint
You don't like photographing concorde as well do you?
I only ever did that once when it went to Leeds Bradford airport.
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63 happy photo years from amateur to professional and back to amateur
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sjaszczak
A Real Gentleman
Reged: 08/06/2005
Posts: 1071
Loc: York
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I have a question... does it make any difference which colour space your photos are saved in? (yes, as you may tell from my other recent posts, I have "issues" with colour space)
Anyway... supposing the photos that come out of my camera are sRGB and I am editing in PSE6 as sRGB...and I merrily send it off to an online lab... am I selling myself short by using that colour space or should I be using something else? And are the prints likely to come back looking better if I do use something else?
Steve
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Steve
My Flickr
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Terrywoodenpic
A whiff of silicon...
Reged: 21/01/2006
Posts: 266
Loc: Saddleworth UK
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As far as I know all amateur labs use srgb. So I doubt a wider gamut would help.
Though that is an interesting question, as to what the labs do when presented with other spaces.
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63 happy photo years from amateur to professional and back to amateur
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Nod
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 08/04/2006
Posts: 4156
Loc: Devon, UK.
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Steve, IMO, you should first try e-mailing/phoning the lab(s) and asking what colour space they use (and how they process images in other spaces) then send them a few images to see how you like the results from that lab. What one person might like in a print could be someone else's idea of hell - look at HDR!!!
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MATWSIJ.....
To avoid being offended, please insert apropriate smiley.
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markjs
newbie
Reged: 25/04/2008
Posts: 4
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First profile your monitor with at least adobe gamma loader but use a spider etc if you can afford. A3 prints for 95p at http://www.dscolourlabs.co.uk/ here you can upload your prints results excellant fast turn around. Or if you put your pics on a cd and drop in the post http://www.proamimaging.com Both give great results fuji crystal archive paper and deliver large prints flat not rolled up
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