In the digital age, while we capture countless photos on our smartphones, the charm of holding a physical print remains undeniable. Whether you’re looking to decorate your home, create personalized gifts, or simply preserve precious memories, finding a reliable photo printing service is key. But with numerous online options available, Where Can You Print Pictures that truly stand out in terms of quality, service, and value?
This review dives into a comprehensive test of various online photo printing services to help you make the best choice. We evaluated services based on print quality, packaging, user experience, and value for money, to answer the crucial question: where can you print pictures that you’ll be truly happy with? While services like Mpix are popular and offer convenient apps, our tests revealed some significant drawbacks, particularly for smartphone photos.
Mpix, despite its popularity and user-friendly app, ranked lowest in our panelists’ preferences. A major issue we encountered was Mpix’s inability to print smartphone photos without forced cropping. This is a significant problem if you pay close attention to your photo compositions. For those seeking uncropped prints, services like EZprints and RitzPix offer smartphone-friendly 4:3 aspect ratio prints, while Printique and Nations Photo Lab provide the option to print images uncropped regardless of aspect ratio mismatches. Unfortunately, Mpix currently offers neither of these options.
Bay Photo presents itself as a decent option, offering small print sizes suitable for smartphone photos and robust packaging. However, in our blind print quality tests, it consistently landed as a middling choice. Participants rarely ranked Bay Photo as their top or bottom pick, generally considering it a reasonable second-tier option.
When it comes to budget-friendly options, Snapfish boasts the lowest prices among the services we tested. However, this low cost comes at a significant compromise in quality. Prints, both 8×10 and 4×6, exhibited harsh contrast, resulting in a loss of detail in shadows and highlights. Portrait photos also showed noticeable orange skin tones. Packaging was another letdown. Smaller prints were shipped in flimsy cardboard envelopes lacking padding, offering minimal protection during transit. Even the 11×14 print, while shipped in a tube, lacked internal padding, leading to damage.
A close-up of the edge of a rolled-up print from Snapfish showing damage from transport.
Snapfish’s inadequate packaging resulted in damage to our 11×14 print. The lack of internal padding inside the protective tube meant the print creased along the top edge after hitting the end cap during shipping.
RitzPix shared Snapfish’s packaging woes, with an 11×14 print also arriving damaged. Shipped in a flat envelope with thin backing boards, the package offered insufficient protection. The envelope, barely larger than the print itself, resulted in corner damage when crushed in transit. This inadequate packaging is particularly frustrating considering RitzPix charged a hefty $14.95 for shipping – more than double the average of other services we tested.
A detailed view of a damaged corner on a photo print from RitzPix, set against a green backdrop.
Our 11×14 print from RitzPix sustained corner damage due to being shipped in an envelope that was too small and offered insufficient protection when crushed during shipping.
EZprints, similar to Snapfish, also delivered subpar print quality. Prints from EZprints consistently appeared hazy and washed out, lacking sharpness and exhibiting a mottled appearance in areas of solid color. These were noticeably the least sharp photos among all the services tested.
Shutterfly, the second most expensive service we tested, provided only average print quality. The primary complaint with Shutterfly was its packaging. Small prints arrived in thin, flat envelopes, while the 11×14 print was shipped in a tube, causing significant curling that required flattening before display. While a shipping tube offers better protection from bending, it often leads to curled prints.
A curled large photo print, shipped in a tube, resting on a table showing its pronounced curvature.
Prints shipped in tubes, like this one from Shutterfly, often arrive with a significant curl that needs to be flattened before displaying.
Zazzle offers photo printing, but its interface is geared towards single-item orders and lacks diverse paper options. Ordering multiple prints becomes a tedious process, requiring users to drag each image individually onto a print-size template on separate order pages. This cumbersome process makes Zazzle unsuitable for larger print orders.
Two large coffee table books are used to flatten a photo print sandwiched between cardboard pieces.
The safest method to flatten a curled print, like those from tube packaging, is to sandwich it between cardboard sheets and weigh it down for 24 to 48 hours.
Winkflash is plagued by consistently negative customer reviews. Beyond reports of customers losing access to stored photos due to ownership changes, numerous users have reported difficulties contacting customer service. Winkflash only offers customer support via a web form, lacking phone or email options, making it a service to avoid.
FreePrints offers an enticing deal of up to 1,000 free 4×6 prints annually, requiring only payment for shipping. However, their website provides minimal information, suggesting all interactions are app-based. The lack of transparency and limited online information raises concerns, echoing the adage, “If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”
Amazon Prints provides 4×6 prints at a competitive price of 17¢ each. Amazon Prime members who utilize Prime Photos can conveniently order prints directly from their stored images. The ordering process is straightforward, and print quality is decent, though not exceptional, with skin tones tending towards orange. However, packaging was again a weak point, with prints arriving in a flat mailer with minimal cardboard protection, leading to corner damage in some cases.
Walmart offers a 4×5.3-inch print size, accommodating smartphone 4:3 aspect ratio images without cropping. However, their overall print size selection is less comprehensive compared to top-rated services.
Conclusion:
Our tests highlight significant variations in quality and service among online photo printing services. While some services offer tempting prices, they often compromise on print quality and packaging, leading to disappointing results and potential damage. When deciding where can you print pictures, it’s crucial to consider factors beyond just price, prioritizing print quality, reliable packaging, and a user-friendly experience to ensure your precious memories are preserved beautifully and safely. Choose wisely based on these detailed reviews to find the best service for your photo printing needs.
