Reviews: Online Print Services

Dan Bachmann's Update: July 2004

PhotographyBLOG visitor Dan Bachmann has recently tested some more UK digital labs and has kindly allowed me to publish his findings, which are summarized in the table below. Dan says "Thanks for your great UK digi lab comparison. I've done some research myself and added Digi-Lab/Club35, Ofoto and Snappy Snaps. I've found what you said to mostly be accurate, but I have to add that I have been very impressed with Ofoto (though I have yet to try Peak)."

		Digi-Lab/Club35	Ofoto	Snappy Snaps	PhotoBox	Peak Imaging	Bonusprint	Fontango	Jessops	TopFoto	Colab
Quality Source		Dan Bachmann	Dan Bachmann	Dan Bachmann	Dan Bachmann	https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_online_print_services.php
Price Source		web site	web site	store	web site	web site	PhotographyBLOG
Speed (1-10; 10 highest)		9	9	9	10	10	8	10	2	never arrived	8
Quality (1-10; 10 highest)		6	10	7	9	10	6	6	6		8
Quality Comment		not sharp/washed out	sharp		sharp
Hue/Saturation		odd	warm (perfect)		green-yellow enhanced		yellow	yellow	yellow
Calibration Provided					print	print
Upoad Method		application	web	web or drop off	web	application	application	web	application	application	application
Cost (6x4)		£0.14	£0.24	£0.65	£0.19	£0.79	£0.15	£0.49	£0.34	£0.75	£0.12
Cost (12x8)		£1.00	£2.49	high	£3.99	high
Shipping		£1.50	£0.99	£0.00	£1.50	£1.80	£0.90	£1.07	£1.50	£1.50	£2.22
Discounts					on 5+ enlargements
Pros		cheap	top quality gloss	store pick pickup	top quality matt prints	top quality	cheap
					many print options
					discounts/promotions
					fast response
Cons		blurry images	limited shrink to fit	expensive	shrink to fit makes border	expensive			bad crop
		over saturated greens	matt not offered	requires pick up	green a little too bright	poor interface
		washed out highlights
Use Again?		one more try	yes		yes	will try					will try
Conclusion		cheap winner?	winner for gloss		winner for matt	quality winner					cheap winner?