pinkhorizons

Hi............I'm new to photography and want to print my first color as well as black and white photos. I'd love recommendations on labs that do excellent printing. I'm shooting with a Nikon D 5500.

Thank you.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

I use Costco.They offer luster or glossy. I have also had them make Canvas prints.Quality i excellent.

bbportraits

I was a professional family portrait photographer after a 35 year career in the computer business. I checked around and settled on using Miller's Pro Lab in Kansas because they offered a wide range of services that would cover any conceivable need I might have, and they came highly recommended to me from my professional photographer friends in Washington,DC. My experience with their customer service organization was outstanding and their prices were as good as any of the other pro labs. Any kind of finish or media are offered - the benefits are way too numerous to mention. Sure, there are other pro labs but I stuck with Miller's for all my needs for well over 15 years until I retired from photography 3 years ago. Check out their website at www.millerslab.com for much more information than I could begin to include in this response.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I have been happy with Nations Photo Lab. I have had them make enlargements and mount them on 1/2-inch "Gatorboard". I then glue two pieces of 1"x2" wood on the back and string a wire between them for hanging. This brings the photos out from the wall a little and makes a striking presentation.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

My personal preference is Tempe Imaging Center. The only word of caution I'll offer, regardless of where you ultimately choose to have your images printed is make sure your monitor is calibrated, and that you are using the color space recommended by your printing company.
--Bob

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

I like Millers, great product and they are really fast!
Just got a test print ( on aluminum) back from Nations and am impressed with them now too. Great communication.
Locally, Costco does a pretty good job.
Some of the people there are quite knowledgeable.
Have also had prints made through Adoramapix.
Very happy with them for the price.

Roger Lee

I also heartily recommend Millers.

mikeschwartz Loc: Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago

Costco is in the process of closing it's store based photo labs throughout the country. It's already started doing so in Chicago.

PaulBrit Loc: Merlin, Southern Oregon

Just wanted to add that this information is useful to me as well. Shame about Costco's decision as we have a Costco store down at Medford, about 30 miles from here.

canon Lee

I use an on line company located in CT called century color labs. excellent on line service. use their ROES app. For a less expensive way would be Walmart. They have upgraded their photo equipment. not bad.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Bay Photo. Be sure to download their ap (and their profile) to get access to their full menu of available services and prices. If you use a calibrated monitor, download their profile and soft proof, you can dispense with their color correction service and save about 40%, but you need their ap to access that service.

OneShot1 Loc: Wichita, KS, USA

I've had good luck with Nation's Photolab over the years, especially the metalic prints which really pop. I will look into Miller's, per the above comments. I entered a photo contest in our local paper, and they made their own 8x10 prints for the show. I thought they looked great and asked about them. The columnist whispered to me that they used Sam's Club.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Do a search for professional color labs and find one nearby. You've already received some good responses. The only one I don't like is Costco, because their quality varies from store to store, and they are closing a lot of in-store labs. Millers, mPix, Bay Photo, Full Color, American, Nations Photo Lab, White House Custom Color, H&H, Simply Color, Master Color Lab... These are old standards who have been around a long time.

Pro lab quality is very good these days. But you need to establish a relationship with your lab. Here's what you need to know:

What file format do they PREFER? (It's usually JPEG.)

What ICC color space profile do they default to? (It's most often sRGB.)

What other file formats and profiles will they accept? (i.e.; can they work from 16-bit TIFF files in Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB color space?)

What paper surfaces do they use?

Can you download their profiles for each paper/printer combination? (You should use these as SIMULATION or PROOFING profiles in your post-production software.)

Do they have a test target image kit you can use to check your monitor calibration and profiling skill? (That's a kit with a print, the file the print was made from, and the printer profile used to print it.)

If you need it, will they help you over the phone to set up your system for proper color management?


The other thing you should do, if you haven't done it already, is purchase a monitor calibration and profiling kit from DataColor or X-RITE. For best results from ANY lab or your own printer, you must correctly calibrate and profile your monitor with such a device. Then you must adjust and evaluate images on your monitor in reference to the printer profile that will be used to make prints...

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

I've had good luck with B&H.

RRS Loc: Not sure

Where about are you? There's a great lab in Spokane WA, R&R Color Lab, that you can send files in on line and either you can do your own color corrections or have the lab do it. I have been with them for over 30 years. Look them up on line.