In today’s digital age, while we capture countless photos on our smartphones, the charm of holding a physical print remains undeniable. Whether it’s for framing, gifting, or creating a photo album, high-quality photo prints keep our memories alive in a tangible way. If you’re wondering, “Where Can I Get Photos Printed online?” you’re in the right place. We’ve tested a range of online photo printing services to help you find the best options for your precious pictures. Not all services are created equal, and factors like print quality, pricing, ease of use, and even packaging can significantly impact your satisfaction.
After rigorous testing and comparisons, we’ve evaluated services like Mpix, Snapfish, Shutterfly, RitzPix, and many more to guide you toward the best choices and highlight services where you might want to proceed with caution.
Top Recommendations for Online Photo Printing
For those prioritizing print quality and options, several services stand out from the crowd. These providers generally offer a wider range of paper choices, sizes, and pay closer attention to detail, resulting in superior prints.
Printique and Nations Photo Lab: Uncropped Perfection
If image composition is crucial to you, and you hate the idea of your smartphone photos being cropped, Printique and Nations Photo Lab are excellent choices. Unlike some services that force cropping to fit standard print sizes, these labs give you the option to print your images uncropped, regardless of the aspect ratio. This is particularly important for photos taken on smartphones, which often have a 4:3 aspect ratio. While they might be slightly pricier than budget options, the ability to preserve your original composition is a significant advantage for discerning photographers.
EZprints and RitzPix: Smartphone-Friendly Sizes
For users who primarily print photos directly from their smartphones, EZprints and RitzPix offer a convenient solution with smartphone-friendly print sizes at a 4:3 aspect ratio. This means less cropping and a more natural representation of your mobile photos. This can save you the hassle of manually adjusting and cropping your images to fit standard print dimensions.
Bay Photo: Quality with Convenient Small Sizes and Robust Packaging
Bay Photo is another solid option, particularly noted for its sturdy packaging and availability of small print sizes optimized for smartphone photos. In blind tests, while not always a top favorite, Bay Photo consistently ranked as a reliable second choice, indicating good overall quality and dependability. Their commitment to packaging ensures your prints arrive safely, minimizing the risk of damage during shipping.
Amazon Prints and Walmart: Reliable Middle-Ground Options
For convenience and accessibility, Amazon Prints and Walmart offer decent options. Amazon Prints is particularly appealing for Prime members already invested in their ecosystem, allowing direct printing from Prime Photos. While print quality is mid-range and packaging could be better, the ease of ordering and reasonable quality make it a viable choice. Similarly, Walmart provides a 4-by-5.3-inch print size, accommodating smartphone 4:3 aspect ratios without cropping, and is readily accessible for many customers.
Services Where Caution is Advised
While many online photo printing services aim to provide quality and convenience, some fall short in certain areas. Based on our tests, these are services where you may want to be more discerning or explore alternatives.
Mpix: Disappointing Cropping Issues
Despite being a popular service with a user-friendly app, Mpix disappointed in our tests due to its inability to print smartphone photos without significant cropping. For photographers meticulous about composition, this forced cropping is a major drawback. The lack of options for uncropped prints or smartphone-friendly aspect ratios makes Mpix less ideal for mobile photography enthusiasts.
Snapfish: Harsh Contrast and Poor Packaging
Snapfish is known for its low prices, but this comes at a cost. Prints from Snapfish suffered from harsh contrast, losing detail in shadows and highlights, and portrait photos exhibited orangish skin tones. Packaging was also subpar, with smaller prints shipped in flimsy envelopes lacking padding. An 11-by-14 print, while shipped in a tube, lacked internal padding, leading to damage during transit.
A close-up of the edge of a rolled-up print from Snapfish that was damaged during transport.
Snapfish’s damaged print highlights the risk of inadequate packaging in online photo services. For important photos, robust packaging is essential to prevent shipping damage.
RitzPix: Damaged Prints and High Shipping Costs
RitzPix also had issues with packaging, resulting in a damaged 11-by-14 print. Shipped in a flat envelope with thin backing boards, the print was damaged in transit. Compounding the issue, RitzPix charged a high shipping fee of $14.95, making the poor packaging even more disappointing given the cost.
A close-up of the corner of a photo print from RitzPix that has been damaged, in front of a green background.
Damaged corners on prints, like this one from RitzPix, are a common frustration with online photo services, often stemming from insufficient packaging during shipping.
EZprints: Washed-Out and Unsharp Prints
Beyond smartphone-friendly sizes, EZprints struggled with print quality. Prints were consistently hazy and washed-out, lacking sharpness and clarity. Clear tones appeared mottled, further detracting from the overall print quality.
Shutterfly: Average Quality and Curled Prints
Shutterfly, while a popular name, delivered only average print quality in our tests, despite being one of the more expensive services. Packaging was also a concern, with small prints in thin envelopes and 11-by-14 prints shipped in tubes, causing significant curling that required flattening.
A large photo print that was shipped in a shipping tube and now has a very defined curvature, resting on a table.
Prints arriving curled from shipping tubes, common with services like Shutterfly, necessitate extra effort to flatten them before displaying or framing.
Zazzle: Tedious Ordering Process
Zazzle, while offering photo prints, is designed for single-item orders and lacks paper options. The ordering process is cumbersome, requiring users to drag each image individually onto a print-size template, making it inefficient for printing multiple photos.
Two large coffee table books, placed on top of a couple pieces of cardboard that are being used to flatten an unseen photo print.
Flattening curled prints, demonstrated here with books and cardboard, is a necessary step when prints are shipped rolled in tubes, as often happens with online photo services.
Winkflash: Negative Reviews and Poor Customer Service
Winkflash faces significant customer concerns, including negative reviews citing lost photo access due to ownership changes and poor customer service. With customer support limited to a web form and no phone or email options, Winkflash is a service to approach with considerable caution.
FreePrints: Too Good to Be True?
FreePrints offers up to 1,000 free 4-by-6 prints per year, but information about the company and print quality is limited. Relying solely on a phone app and lacking detailed online information raises concerns, suggesting it might be wise to be wary of offers that seem too good to be true.
Conclusion
Choosing the right online photo printing service depends on your priorities. If top-notch print quality and uncropped options are paramount, Printique and Nations Photo Lab are excellent, albeit potentially pricier, choices. For smartphone users seeking convenient sizes, EZprints, RitzPix, Walmart, and Bay Photo offer viable solutions. Amazon Prints provides a balanced middle ground for Prime members.
However, services like Mpix, Snapfish, Shutterfly, RitzPix, EZprints, Zazzle, Winkflash, and FreePrints presented various drawbacks in our testing, ranging from print quality and packaging issues to cumbersome interfaces or customer service concerns. Carefully consider your needs and weigh the pros and cons before deciding where to get your photos printed online.
