Finally realized why I was so disappointed in my post processing & prints. Because I was using the WRONG printer (a "pro lab" that a lot of professionals in my area use). Then I was introduced to WHCC and did a little test.

I sent the SAME five 8x10 digital files to the "pro lab", WHCC and Costco.

Pro lab: muddy, poor saturation, flat, thin paper and warped/wet upon delivery
printed on: Kodak Royal Digital Paper
my take: I will never use these guys again, no matter what

Costco: clear, nice saturation, better contrast, twice as thick paper that is sturdy
printed on: Fujifilm, fujicolor crystal archive (largest in-house is 12x18 or 12x36)
my take: I will use for 4x6 proofs or when I need something PRONTO (within 2hrs)

WHCC: sharp, better saturation/contrast/shading/paper/DPI overall (delivered)
printed on: Kodak Professional Endura with "do not copy" & "professional images are copyright protected"
my take: I will use for enlargements, customer orders and mounting

Has anyone else done this?

I tried a bunch of printers (10+)... WHCC beats them all.

I got good results with some of the 'cheaper' labs but my experience is that they are not consistent. I know what I will get with WHCC, always... that's very important.

Thanks for sharing this info I just got some prints back from a supposedly good lab & I'm rather disappointed...Guess I should give WHCC a go!

I did a similar test.

WHCC was the winner, hands down.

However, I must add that the prints from my large format HP inkjet (largest size is 13x19) using the highest quality SATIN paper are the best for framing under matting and glass or UV acrylic.

10+! Now that's a comparison!


I'm glad to help - wish I had this info earlier LOL.


If only I had my very own printer

I tried a bunch of printers too (with the same images) - though never WHCC.
Can anyone PLEASE tell me how they compare to McKenna Pro?

Also, is the (much) extra you pay for a pro lab always worth it? Especially for 5x7 or smaller prints, I just don't see a viable difference in quality between pro labs and Costco. (I know I'm gonna get blasted for that!)

Thanks for sharing, Shannon!
-Eddie

You're welcome, Eddie. I'm going with Costco on the 5x7 and smaller (their wallets are GREAT priced and look super) if I have to print fast but I feel the extra quality of WHCC makes up for the price if the client is paying for it. Seems unfair to charge professional prices but deliver from Costco (the client can compare their family vacation prints with the ones you deliver and realize you're not using a professional lab). Seems like cheating.

Not only are the prints fantastic, but if you order is large enough you get tootsie pops.

and GREAT customer service, no Matter What!

haha! I got the 'tootsie pops' too and was like WHAT is THIS! LOL!

Rumor has it, that during the holiday season you get GODIVA CHOCOLATES if you do a lot of business with them.

Guess I don't print enough, 'cause I've never gotten chocolate. Tootsie pops, yes. Chocolates, no. *pout*

We haven't even gotten Tootsie pops yet.

McKenna Pro anyone?
-Eddie

I used to be with McKenna but I thought there ordering system was soooo complicated. Maybe it's changed in the last 2 years.

HAHA, I've gotten that before. I thought it was strange at the time. But now, it's kinda funny.

On a side note, any know where I can get a wallet die cut with rounded corners. I get wallets from costco sometimes and would like to give them that die cut look.

I love WHCC for press printed products.. like their 5x5 trifold and post cards. I also use them for their spiral proof books. But I get my 4x6 proofs from http://www.alphafotoworks.com/. i like their colors better than what i got from whcc.

Yeah - it's much easier these days.
How do you feel the quality compared to WHCC?
-Eddie

I prefer WHCC

MPix.com...haven't done a comparison vs. WHCC, but the customer service rocks.

Laurie

Union Brothers (search for their horrible website) have a one- up wallet die cutter that is pretty good. Mine has cut thousands of wallets & it's only about $300.

one thing about Costco... if you do use them for short/quick run stuff... make sure you tell them to turn off the auto corrections (if you make corrections before sending to print)

+1 From what I hear, WHCC is the creme...

Good point! I think the local "pro lab" auto corrected even though I didn't ask for it (and they know I'm a pro) - especially on my cross-processed images.

You're right, what a horrible web site. I was hoping for a cheaper solution though

Wonder if a craft store would have a die-cutter that would work (less than $20 I'd guess). Imagine it'd be in the "scrapbooking" section. If I see one I'll let you know

I recently got some test prints from WHCC, and they're AWESOME!

As for Costco, and those places, I think it really depends on where you are, and sometimes, when you take the pictures in (ie, how recently did they calibrate the machine?) Some Costcos have great printing, and they calibrate often....others, not so much. So, if you have a good one, and they're consistent, I don't see why you shouldn't use them, particularly for smaller prints.

When I was in a photography class, there was one CVS nearby that most of us used to have 4x6 prints done of our rolls of film. Since lab space was limited, having the 4x6s made doing our class enlargements quicker since we could see where problem areas might be. Since so many people used the CVS from the photo classes, they were pretty on-top of things as far as calibration goes since they wanted the steady supply of students!

Good point! I'll have to watch for that. Sure like WHCC paper that says "copyright" and "do not copy" all over it.

Hey Lucky! Tell me the local lab! Now I'm nervous!

Lucky aka. Shannon-

It's so true! WHCC is unbelievable! I have never been dissapointed once. LOVE THEM!

And I've totally been pleased with Costco. I print all my personal stuff there and I am always impressed with the results.

And the pro-lab....Yes, I know of which one you speak. Yucky Yucky! There is nothing worse than that waxy paper they print on. I'm soooo glad I switched to WHCC!

I just started using this lab......they are awesome, the prints look just like
what I have on my computer, the prints are printed on Kodak Endura paper as well.
Check them out!!

http://www.nationsphotolab.com/about.asp

I used Costco a lot this last year to see how it wold work for us. For quick jobs we will continue, however we started having some real color issues with them a couple months ago and havent gone back. i've printed our own pics here at home even though the in/paper is more than Costco.

If you use them, not only do you want to trn off the auto correct but be sure to use the feature to control the printing on the back.

We just signed up with WHCC and I need to send them my 5 calibration prints. When I do that I'll prob do the same compariuson test with Costco - great idea!

I would love to hear about the results!
-Eddie

and costco calibrates their printers... how often?

WHCC is known for their consistency in all aspects of printing. that's what sets them apart from consumer and drugstore labs, as well as many pro labs.

i guess if you needed something really fast i could see going to costco, but i personally don't even have a membership there, and prefer to print exclusively with WHCC. that being said, i always make it clear to clients that it takes a minimum of 4 business days to receive prints once they are ordered. that gives me some wiggle room if something goes horribly wrong, or if i happen to be out of town when the prints are delivered to the studio.

Yeah, WHCC is pretty good. We've been sending a lot more there lately. But their wallet prices are killer. We've use Miller's for years and really like them, but they're really falling behind in their offerings.

Does anyone know how WHCC compares to Adorama?

I love WHCC. I love ProDPI more. Same/better service (hard to believe, but true), plus they print on my favorite Fuji paper. They don't do press, though!
Cory

I've been using MPIX, but I'm now switching over to WHCC. I get my collages and storyboards mounted, and more time than not, the mounting was off leaving a very visible sticky edge. Especially noticeable when my collage had a back background and the mount board is white. MPIX was always good about sending me a corrected print, but it's get tiring when I have to do this with just about every order, and when it happens on the second try as well.

I also like the WHCC has the copyright info on the back of the prints with my business name.

did you mean that your are "now" switching over to WHCC?

Thanks for that info....I haven't had any problems with MPix, but I haven't ordered very much either. They are fast, and I've been pleased with the prints. I'm eager to order from WHCC to do a comparison. I have a friend that swears by the "linen" paper. She says that her customers love it, and it is hard to scan.

Laurie

Just checked out Adorama. Their site and interface looks very consumer-ish... kind of reminds me of shutterfly or something like that.

oops, sorry, yep, I mean now. Just corrected my typo, thanks!

I had quite a few problems with Mpix, and I was never super-impressed with anything I got from them. It's a ripoff to have to pay shipping on every order, their ROES program sucks, and almost every mounted print I got from them was sloppy around the edges. Their customer service is kind of a joke too... who e-mails customer service with an urgent question? Mpix sometimes took days to return my e-mails. No joke. Once I got my prints from Mpix, many of them looked flat and the color was off - Not true with WHCC, since you're in control of your color.

I can call WHCC when I need them, and one of their nice customer service agents will answer the phone almost immediately, answering any questions I have quickly and politely.

WHCC also prints 24/7. I have submitted orders at 1:45am Pacific Time, only to check my order status 15 or 20 minutes later and see that it's in production. It will ship that day and be to me in two days flat. Mpix takes their sweet time, usually letting your order sit around the lab for about a day before shipping it to you via USPS. UPS Two-Day shipping is built into the print cost at WHCC. Sure, there's a $12 minimum order unless you use their PF but I hardly ever have print demands below $12 cost.

Annnnyway, I could go on and on about how much I love WHCC (and not so much Mpix) but I'll stop there. I think it's pretty obvious. Mpix certainly is not a pro lab, and most likely will never be either... since they are a part of millers.

Here is my take on Costco...

First, I want my stuff printed on PROFESSIONAL paper. I don't know if the customer notices, but it is not worth saving a few pennies to me. I don't ever want anyone to question my professionalism if I am not using a professional paper.

Second, this is just what I have heard... and I don't know a lot about it, but I will pass it along. Sometimes a discount place (like costco) might not change their chemistry as often. If the chemistry isn't changed as often, the prints will fade quicker. I know my pro lab will change their chemistry when they are suposed to. Like I said, this is just what I have heard, and I don't know anything about it.

Third, Here is one experience I had when trying costco. I wanted to make a poster for my daughter. I made it in PSCS2 as a 20X30 at 360 resolution. (according to Scott Kelby's book.) I tried uploading it to Costco. In their uploading area, you can check or uncheck a box to upload the full size file, or a smaller version for smaller prints to speed up the upload time. I "suposedly" was uploading the full size file. It took about 1 minute to upload the file. Then, when I tried to order it as a 20X30, it said my resolution was too low. I tried a couple times, making sure that I was uploading the full file. I gave up. I uploaded it to a pro lab, and it took 15 minutes to upload the file. So, I know it wasn't uploading the full file size. I even went to my local costco store, and they didn't have an answer for me... they didn't print that big. Only thier mail order service did. This was enough to turn me off.

I use a pro lab that is local to me. I love using them, because I can have my stuff shipped, or if I am in a hurry, I can go pick it up. I have a great relationship with them, and if there is ever any problems (which there rarely is) they take care of it right away.

I use W H C C almost exclusively and occasionally M P I X for bulk orders.

To me, color management is one of the most important aspects of being a photographer, and I've gotten the same image printed by them weeks apart and the images came out exactly the same. Now that's color management!

By the way, who got Godiva? I ordered $200 in gallery wraps and all I got was a tootsie pop!

I have a local "pro" lab, but I honestly don't know how any of the "pros" around here use him because the quality is awful. I shoot mostly babies and their skin came out looking like they had foundation on. When I tried to discuss this with the owner, he told me that I needed to spend $1k on calibration equiptment to get it right. Switching to W H C C was a much cheaper fix and their products are fantastic.

I agree with the Costco remarks so far. I only used them last year for a time to check them out. I also know that what you get varies a LOT from store to store depending on the skill level of the techs there.

I know they all (or should) have the Fuji machines. I do like their wallets.

We stopped using them because their color consistency was off. Worth the extra $$ for a pro lab.

We have a few big jobs coming up in a few months, and will likely go with WHCC this wedding season as we have only heard great things about them.

Now that everyone has raved about WHCC, for those of us who want to switch to them are there any glitches or things we need to be aware of when using them?

so far I haven't run into any, but I'm only receiving my second order from them today (not counting the test prints I had done). But so far I've been VERY happy with the results, the ROES ordering process and customer service when I've had questions.

The only glitch we have run into is that their wallets are extremelly pricey. We sell a lot of them to seniors, and just can't justify getting them through WHCC, so we are still ordering them through Millers. Also, the wallets cannot be textured, which I don't like. We have finelinen texture put on all of our prints. It really makes a bad scan.

ummm considering that you get beautiful die-cut wallet prints for $2.00 a sheet, i don't think that's pricey at all considering the quality that you get. when you're selling a set of 8 wallets for $10 or so per set, the cost is hardly an issue.

as for glitches with WHCC? Honestly... none. i had to get a re-do of ONE order of 4x6s, because i had them textured and the texture looked really funky and way too heavy. no questions asked, WHCC re-printed my order without the texture as i requested, and shipped it to me overnight at no charge.

as far as i'm concerned, they have a customer for life!

the only other thing i would say is that their gallery wrap canvases are a little pricey. their quality is not bad, but it isn't the best in the industry, from what i've heard form other people. i have one gallery wrap from them and it looks great - the color is just a tiinny bit funky (keep in mind these are not photographic prints, but inkjet prints, so naturally, the color will be a tiny bit different from photo prints.)

for canvases, i am now using Pixel2Canvas. their prices are better, and they UV coat canvases at no extra charge. they also offer 3/4" "Standard" canvases, which means they are wrapped on a 3/4'' frame and not a 1-1/2" frame... i can't wait to order one!

Yes, but when you sell large quantities of wallets frequently, that adds up really quickly. I can get 48 die cut wallets for $6.75 at Millers and each additional 4 is only $0.57. WHCC is really expensive compared to that.

Pictage anyone???

Here's an example of what I experience when printing. I do most of my quick 4x6s at Sams but we just signed up with Pictage. We're trying to find a printer (or mac monitor calibration) that prints what we see on the screen. We print in srgb. Does a higher quality paper make a big difference? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Everything makes a difference. Printer calibration, the temperature of the machine, the age of the chemicals, the paper. I had a lot of problems with color management in the beginning, but now that I switched to a real pro lab I can just use the mac display calibrator that you find in your utilities and the colors are perfect.

For bulk stuff, even MPIX does a great job with color management (support isn't like a pro lab, but the quality is very good)

-Jess

pro lab! pro lab! pro lab!