rmacilroy Loc: pompano beach, fl

i have seen results of costco prints at a camera club was pretty impressive. he won a second place for his print but i dont have a membership and dont want to buy one since i wouldnt use it enough to justify the cost of it. what are the alternatives to costco used cvs but wasnt that impressed with and 8x10.

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

I use to run a photo lab back in the "BDC" days... (Before Digital Cameras) When I moved here I use to print at Costco all the time. HOWEVER, (and this may not happen at EVERY Costco..) Apparently my Costco is one of their BUSIEST in The U.S. This resulted in a LOT of lab technician turnovers, but MORE importantly, having a LOT of unqualified staff print and work in the lab for short periods of time thoughout the day. I started getting VERY inconsistent prints, and (worse that that,) prints with ink contaminations etc.. (Usually caused by lack of preventative maintenance...) Yes they di reprint them, but sometimes after 2-3 reprints, the STILL weren't up to par. And yes I COULD get a credit on them, IF I wanted to stand in line for 45 minutes to an hour. So I started using a professional mail in lab in my state, and was MUCH more pleased with the results. (To test it out initially, I sent in a few orders for images that I already had done at Costco. Each (and EVERY) print by the pro lab was MUCH better. (And the price differences was NOT that much, until I got up to REALLY large prints. (However the quality of the Pro Lab enlargements put Costco's to shame. I guess it's similar to getting a heart operation done at a Heart Institute instead of the local hospital At the Institute, the doctors are not only better, (and have more experience in heart procedures,) but their equipment (state of the art,) and staff (more qualified) as well.....
As Forrest Gump once said.. "and that's all I have to say about that!"

agillot

photo clubs in san diego use costco mostly .

radiojohn

I used to ask my newbie students how many had a darkroom. Very few raised their hands. Then I asked how many darkroom users did color? None.
Then I asked why are you printing at home with your $69 ink jet printer when you can get prints made on a $25,000 printer that will look better and last longer?

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

They are good, fast and reasonable. I needed 43 12"X18" s and had them in 1hr and 15 Min.

Kuzano

From what I have heard, Costco's across the country have chosen to NOT continue to service or replace their equipment. Perhaps those Costco's have gone to on-line, but in our area the Costco stores offer no printing services.

I suggest you make sure your local Costco still offers printing. Apparently it's an individual store decision.

Great $1.50 Hot Dogs and a soda, However. Many reviews say best ever. Pizza by the slice also.

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

While I agree with your comments, these days you can get printers that print up to 19" X 17" on photo or fine art paper, with MORE than 4 colors for less than $500 during sales such as Black Friday, etc... In fact got one for $400 a couple years back. HOWEVER unless you are printing QUITE a few enlargements each and every month, (and selling at least SOME of them,) the cost is not worth it... (If I remember correctly, the cost for each print was from $7-$9) If it sounds like I stop using it, yes I did... Reasons? I printed SO few prints (after the initial excitement wore off,) that I started to get repeated clogs in the print heads, then fooling with that from time to time, caused the printer to start to print off center, and despite help from the manufacturer via phone, I never got it lined up correctly for any length of time...
What's my point??? I forgot!!! Hahaha... (Actually it's USE the commercial labs ESPECIALLY for small prints...)

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

Film at shop: I shoot a wedding on Saturday 1. I review my prints the next Thursday. I pick a set, and resend them out. On Saturday 3 I sit with folk, and discuss choices and packages. On Saturday 4 they get their product. Mail happens- maybe.
Digital at Costco: I shoot a wedding on Saturday. I preview the shots, pick the best ones, post process, send them to Costco- before the reception. Sunday morning I pick up the (4x6) prints and some small photo albums. On Sunday "good bye" brunch the two mothers and the bride get slightly customized albums, as do the maid of honor and the best man. Plus a few extra cameos, etc and some larger ones of the couple. The next convenient (honeymoon?) Saturday the happy couple gets the "big" album, with the CD of all the good (fixed) shots, wedding and reception, plus the captioning lecture. Everybody is happy. Happy-er.
Costco uses a machine I can't afford, prints at prices I can't match, faster and better than I can.

Paradise Pirate Loc: Cape Coral, FL

I have used Sam's for 1 20x30 canvas and first print was way too dark, second time ok. Canvas print was on cardboard that folded up like a canvas wrap but way cheaper looking.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

How do you get the profile? I assume your monitor must be calibrated for it to be useful, true?

Thanks!

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

Actually the question is how do you calibrate your monitor for their profile? (In plain English.. Not Latin!)

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

CVS in Los Angeles sucks these days. Before they would train a few employees on the equipment. Now there's too few employees, and training is reading the instructions on the side. A few years back there was a spate of crooked managers, so now they rotate them. Each manager needs to run his location cheaper than the last guy- cheaper labor, less workers, bad services. The ones near me have a scanner and a card reader- pick up your prints at the register. Techs and maintenance won't happen until a customer calls Corps. All film gets sent out- individually; bring in 10 rolls, fill out 10 forms. There's only one cashier/counter person- if she's handling a film order the line gets longer. Sucks to be in CVS.
Don't like Costco? Try Walmart. Waay better than CVS. And if you use Walmart, they'll do 120 fiml if you check the "send out" box and write "120 format" in the special box.

rmacilroy Loc: pompano beach, fl

thanks will try walmart..

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

A couple of years ago when Walmart only had printers for up to 8x10 I read an article that the ones here in So Calif sent the larger print jobs to the HP commercial printing service which at the time had an excellent reputation.