Barry Schwartz, the psychologist and author of The Paradox of Choice, once said: ?With so many options to choose from, people find it very difficult to choose at all.? That?s how I feel when I want to print a few vacation photos. The Internet is rife with companies willing to print your digital snapshots for little more than the cost of a cronut. But which sites produce the most eye-catching prints?
To find out, I uploaded the same 50 images to the websites of many companies to see how each would handle various conditions?photographs taken at night, during sunset, from a plane. The shots included landscapes, portraits and details, along with a few images that were blurry or low-resolution. My order was the same to each one: a set of glossy 4×6 prints and two 11×14 prints. The prices may vary, depending on where you live and what you order.
The list includes professional-quality labs as well as the usual suspects, Snapfish and Shutterfly. You can edit photos on these sites, but to keep things simple, I didn?t (though I allowed for colour correction if given the option). Obviously, a technician can have an off day, or maybe one store is better than another at making prints,so this is an unscientific experiment. Nonetheless, it revealed a few rules of thumb:
l The quality you get from sites like Shutterfly and Snapfish varies, depending on whether you have prints mailed to you or pick them up at a store.
l Quality varies from store to store, even within the same chain.
l In general, you?ll get more consistency?and better depth and more detail?from professional developers.
Before I delve into the results, one tip: coupons for many of these sites are available on RetailMeNot.com (or just go to Google and type the name of the company and the word ?code?). Doing that saved me a lot, including 25% on a Snapfish order.
AdoramaPix.com
Adorama is a venerable New York City camera shop, but you need not be a resident to visit its website.
Pros: The site is smart and easy to use and prevents you from enlarging images that are likely to print poorly. Some sites warn that you have selected a low-resolution photo, but allow you to buy the enlargement. AdoramaPix won?t let you. Another standout feature is that you don?t have to crop your smartphone images to fit 4×6 paper?just select the ?full image? option.
Cons: The prints, while sharp, were a bit dark compared with the results from other companies.
Bottomline: A smooth shopping experience in the store and online, which makes it a good bet for those who want hand-holding and customisation. If you simply want a stack of small prints or prefer yours on the brighter side, keep reading.
Cost: 4×6 prints, 24 cents each; 11×14 prints, $3.99 each.
Mpix.com
Owned by Miller?s Professional Imaging, this photo-printing operation has been around since 1968 and is among the largest professional labs in the US.
Pros: The prints were sharp and vivid, yet not overly saturated. And the Fujifilm Fujicolor Professional paper looked and felt sumptuous. Like AdoramaPix, the site prevents you from ordering enlargements of low-resolution images.
Cons: Mpix doesn?t prompt you to choose how you want your images to be cropped to fit 4×6 paper, so be sure to click the ?edit crop? link. Also, the site doesn?t accept that traveller?s staple, American Express.
Bottomline: The prints had excellent depth and gradations of daylight, and the E-surface standard paper was lovely. If you like to pore over the details, this is the way to go. But coupons are hard to come by.
Cost: 4×6 prints, 29 cents each; 11×14 prints, $7.49 each. You can pinch pennies on 4×6 prints by forgoing colour correction, but one look at the ?uncorrected? toddler with the ghostly pallor on the company?s website and you?ll crack your wallet.
Shutterfly.com
I?ve used this site for years to create photo books. Others like it for photo gifts, including phone cases, pillows and lunch bags.
Pros: The site often has great discounts.
Cons: The cluttered site makes editing and ordering feel complicated.
Bottomline: A site best suited to book creators and mug decorators. Fine for small prints and, as it turns out, night shots.
Cost: 4×6 prints for home delivery, 15 cents each; 11×14 prints, $7.99.
Snapfish.com
This site, from the technology company HP, has won over many consumers with its low prices.
Pros: Rock-bottom prices. Nicely-coloured prints.
Cons: Photos can be slightly oversaturated and not as sharp as you desire.
Bottomline: Good prints at some of the lowest prices. Just don?t expect consistently crisp images.
Cost: 9 cents for a 4×6 print; $6.99 for an 11×14.
Walgreens.com
I recently developed some film at the Times Square Walgreens. The order was not ready on time, and there was no one at the desk when I went to pick it up. But I believe in second chances.
Pros: The colour and clarity of the prints was better than I expected, as was the thick paper for the 11×14 enlargements. You can get 4×4 and 8×8 prints of your Instagram photos, as well as Facebook photos that include your ‘likes’ and comments (but why would you want that?).
Cons: Slightly expensive for bulk 4×6 prints.
Bottomline: Its nice work on same-day 11×14 prints makes it a go-to destination for that very thing.
Cost: 4×6 prints to be picked up in-store (prices are lower for mail orders), 29 cents each (20 cents each if you order more than 50); 11×14 prints, $10.99 each.