Ever wonder who does the best internet photo prints?

[motleypixel]

Now I know where to send my digital files to have printed 

http://modifiedphoto.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/the-big-lab-throwdown-final-results/

[DigitalScape]

Very interesting research - I have been using MPIX for most of my large prints (and have been pleased with the results), and was going to try Bay Photo.  I may now look into H&H.  My neighbor has used Costco and found there is a significant difference between stores on the same image.

[ModifiedPhoto]

Thanks for sharing the link. (I wrote the original article.)

For what it's worth, I tried to do the test to be as unbiased as possible by measuring empirical data whenever possible. After all, what good is a print from your lab when the dimensions you receive are too large or too small to fit into a frame and stay properly. (Considering you are paying a premium for pro-labs, you should be getting EXACTLY what you pay for.)

Different labs have different "standards" for quality. H&H has been known for quality for a very long time, and has been in business over 40 years for a reason. Millers similarly has been around for a long time but in my opinion, has migrated much of their business to "pump it out" considering the volume of work they do in comparison. And the fact that I was shorted a print in my FIRST ORDER with Millers pretty much validates the fact that they don't QC the work that goes out as well as they *should*. (Again, it shouldn't be my job to go over my order with a magnifying glass in order to spot problems that shouldn't have even shipped.) For the sake of comparison here, MPix is a subsidiary of Millers Lab.

Their are NUMEROUS other labs around the country that could do a nice job, but considering I payed for the test prints out-of-pocket (with the exception of a few donations from readers), I had to limit my testing to just a handful of more well-known labs at the time. I've considered revisiting the same test again with more labs, but being cash-strapped as always, it's not really something I could afford to do unless I could get the labs to supply the prints for free, which then would give them a heads-up on the test and could skew the actual results as they would clearly double check the orders before shipping them, rather than process it like an actual order from any other customer.

Regardless, find a lab that suits your needs and can provide the products and quality you expect at a fair price. Don't let "speed" dictate every decision. As much as I like seeing my order "next day" from a lab, I'd rather wait a week for QUALITY prints than get JUNK back in 24 hours that I then have to dispute with the lab, reprint at my expense or *gasp* sell to my clients, which then directly impacts me and my business. (Though I did find that even H&H and several other labs were able to send my order out quickly without sacrificing the quality.)

[motleypixel]

Good stuff, thanks again.

[ModifiedPhoto]

Thanks, I figured that someone had to do it... It might as well be someone who understands how labs work, having worked in numerous labs around the country.