Printing Photos (US)

[bjarvis]

The last chemical film I'm planning on ever using is currently being developed; I'll collect my prints this afternoon on my way home from work.

The Olympus digital camera Kent gave me for xmas is an absolute delight! Well, except for the damage to sensitive electronics and the DNA of everyone within the blast radius when the nuclear-powered electronic flash goes off. Outside of that, it's fantastic!

Since I like keeping prints & photo albums (albi?), now I have to determine the most economical way of printing my photographic treasures. CVS, Ritz and Moto Photo all seem to charge $0.26-$0.29 USD per print for small numbers, $0.19 USD for batches of 50. Clark (www.clarkcolor.com) is charging as little as $0.11 USD for 4"x6" prints in batches of 50.

Is there some other service I should check out? Anyone have experience dealing with Clark (my current front-runner)?

All advice gratefully sought and will be rewarded in either appropriate or inappropriate ways, as is (in)appropriate.

Comments

[allanh.livejournal.com]

Consumer Reports has published a couple of stories about digital photo print services. The report can be found here:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/photofinishing-705/overview.htm

For example, the top three online photofinishers in Consumer Reports' survey were Shutterfly (0.29/print), Kodak (0.25/print), and Target (0.19/print).

If that article isn't available to nonsubscribers, you may want to consider subscribing to the online version just to get access to their entire catalog of reviews and advice. Highly practical.

[dendren.livejournal.com]

not much by way of advice here, I've been sticking with Walgreens and their .19/.29 prints. It gets damn expensive, I had about 300 pics from the Maine trip last fall, multiplied by getting multiprints for my Ma and Aunt :P I'll definitely be interested to hear if you find something better here.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

My choice isn't the most cost effective, but it works for me. I have a membership to Ritz Camera, so I get discounts on everything. I like to give prints as gifts at the theater, so I can usually be found in the Ritz/Wolfe/Kits Camera Stores in whatever city "Evita" is playing, editing the digital pictures myself. I like to crop, play with contrast and color, etc ...

I've filled 14 albums with photos since the tour started in October 2004, plus I have most of them on my laptop or home computer. I know it's excessive, but it's been my way of chronicling the experience, giving my co-workers a memory of an event and learning to be a better photgrapher. Enjoy!

[trawnapanda.livejournal.com]

Since I like keeping prints & photo albums (albi?)

albumen. so called because the prints were traditionally stuck in place with white-of-egg.

I don't get lots of prints (in the numbers you're talking) so the fairly standard 17-20c per 4x6 print works out fine.

however, if I'm gettign a large print, to put up on a display somewhere (and those exhibition displays have a lot of acreage to cover with pictures), what I do is get the cheap 4x6 prints, and then take 'em to a colour photocopy place, where they blow 'em up to 8.5x11 (or close to) for $2. For a total of $2.20, you can't beat it for a large print. Did that for the group photo of the students several years, and it's relatively cheap.