I saw someone ask in the comments about a pro developing lab and I lost it, so I thought I would post! :)A friend of mine did this comparison of a few non-pro labs and the results she got from getting the same file developed at five different places. (Used with permission)
If you are working professionally it's a good exercise to do yourself to demonstrate to your clients what a bad lab can do to good pictures.
I have had good luck with Costco for my own person prints. I choose for them not to do any auto-correcting, and they look great.
For my clients I use a few different labs depending on the products I need, how fast I need them, and who's having a sale :)
My favorite is MpixPro.com - love the overnight shipping, satisfies my need for instant gratification, also makes me look REALLY good to my clients who are only in town visiting for the week :) If you aren't pro, their pro-sumer side: MPIX.com is great too.
I also use:
www.prodpi.com
www.cpq.com
and Canvasondemand.com and BlackRiverImaging.com for canvases.
thanks for the comparisons!
ReplyDeleteI just got 5 test prints today for WHCC....
I was really disappointed because what i am seeing on my brand new monitor(s) - {yes I got 2 - it was my husbands idea - and I LOVE it!} but, what I am seeing is not the same as what the prints show! aaaaaa!
well, so now to figure out how to color calibrate my monitor??? - and as quickly as possible. I need to get this wedding edited so I can move on!
any ideas for me on this one?
Whcc recommends buying either eye on e display or Monaco Optix XR ....wasn't looking forward to paying for more stuff - has anybody used these and do you like them?
I have the Pantone Huey Calibrator. I like it a lot - really easy to use. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CR78C4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cardasphotog-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=B000CR78C4
ReplyDeleteHere is a really interesting video from Kevin Kubota that just came out today about color and printing...check it out here: http://www.framedshow.com/archives/2366
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas Angela! I have test prints from Walmart, Costco, mpix.com and my press, colorinc.com. I take these with me to consultations and when delivering the disc to clients to show them just how much of a difference there is in printing. It's HUGE! I use color inc. for everything except press printed products and I use WHCC for that. They both amaze me and have AWESOME customer service which is hugely important to me. I can't say enough good about both of them. In my post session packet I give a whole two pages on caring for the disc of digital negatives and how/where to print including how to turn off auto correct which is a big "no no" :) Auto correct is bad! Making sure your clients are properly informed is very important even if they're just family and friends.
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