Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

I had an opportunity to take a private tour of Bay Photo Lab in Scott’s Valley, California yesterday. Steve Kurtz, their first customer in 1975, is now a retired volunteer at Bay Photo who took me on the tour.
They bought two buildings from Seagate Technologies a few years ago, connected them with another building they built ... and now have a lab of 100,000 square feet. Yes, 100,000 square feet! And they use every inch of it!
I could not believe how much equipment they had invested in. Everything imaginable. They print on every media imaginable. He showed me several new printers and machines they had recently gotten that they test for months before they put in production. It made my head spin. In one area I saw a huge table with hundreds of print images with time stamps on them. He said on certain printers they recalibrate every “six hours.” He said they do that so they know when to change chemicals.
In one area I had an opportunity to talk to two of their engineers who were printing on glass, from a new (huge) machine. They weren’t happy with the contrast and were tweaking the settings.
They employ between 280 and 400 people at that facility (depending on the time of year). I wasn’t allowed to take any photos in the Lab itself, but did manage to shoot a couple of quick shots just outside the Lab with my iPhone. I’ve been using Bay Photo for the past two years and just think their products are wonderful. A little pricey, but the quality speaks for itself.
A truly impressive Lab. If you’re ever in the area, you could always call ahead a couple of days and ask for a private tour. Mine was about 40 minutes. It helps if you’ve used them at least once, and therefore have an account number with them.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

I'll have to give them a try. Pretty impressive!

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

They have always received good reviews on UHH.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

They've done excellent work for me!

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

Very interesting info. I moved to that area in 1975 and they had a little facility in Soquel, absolutely tiny. More than 6 or so people would not have fit in the customer service area, shoulder to shoulder!. As best I recall that was a branch facility and the main one was in Santa Cruz but it was nothing in size compared to now. But, one thing is clearly the same - they did excellent work then as now.

Thanks for posting this.

Dossile

The tour sounds fun. I just printed several photos on aluminum at Bay Photo. I made artistic groupings for one of my offices. 16”X16” and 15X20 were the largest prints. Results were excellent, cost was reasonable. I definitely will use them again.

Gitchigumi Loc: Wake Forest, NC

Bay Photo = 👍🤓👍

peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA

They've always done excellent work for me. They are also close to my home so I get overnight delivery. Watch for sales for lower prices.

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

Quite an impressive installation. Thanks for the tip. I will visit their website.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

I used Bay Photo once. I ordered a large number of 11x14s; every one of them had a visible crease on the same corner. The technician probably used their finger nail to separate the photos and pick them up. I'm not writing about a little thing, but a very visible crease that was in a place that my mat could not cover up. I called and complained because I spent a considerable amount of money on these photos. They said they would redo the order and send them out -- I'm still waiting for my photos to arrive. I'll never do business with them again.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

I visited the one on Soquel Ave, mistakenly thinking that’s where they were going to give me the tour. When I walked in and saw a couple of printers in the back I said to them I’m here for a private tour, and they laughed! They sent me to their headquarters in Scott’s Valley. Steve Kurtz told me the one on Soquel was their first retail store. They created 23 of them in the area, which mainly developed film. Over the years film processing basically died, so now they only have two small retail stores, the other one being in Capitola, CA.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

Wow, I’m very sorry to hear you had a bad experience with them. You don’t say how long ago this occurred? That would upset me, too.
All I can say is that companies go through transitions when they’re growing, and their products and services get better ... or they fade away as a company. I was an Exec at four different startups over the years in Silicon Valley, and know first hand that if a company doesn’t treat their customers right, they go somewhere else. Bay Photo has grown into a great company. I rank their products up their with Miller/MPIX, White Wall, and White Hall.
A suggestion would be to give them another chance. Maybe start by calling their headquarters in Scott’s Valley, ask to speak to Steve Kurtz (who’s in sales and who I found to be a great guy). Explain what happened to you with your prints, and ask him to make it right. You’ve got nothing to lose but one phone call. I have a feeling they’ll do right by you. Good luck.

hiker60 Loc: Northern Idaho

Bay Photo is definitely my go-to place for quality processing. Over the years, their printing has really been exceptional; pricing reasonable; and service excellent. My experience with their customer service has ALWAYS resulted a more than satisfactory solution. No issue is too minor.

tandac01

I’m looking for alternatives to Bay Photo. I had a project that had a time deadline. Based on their estimate there should not have been a problem. Paid for expedited shipped. They missed-badly. I did the chat function and I was told they would try and get it out faster- didn’t happen. Because of their casual attitude about delivery estimates I had to comp the job. I like their product but until they can deliver what they promise, I will pass.

tandac01

I am happy to add an amendment. As soon as customer service was made aware of the issue, they made it right.