SmugMug print issue

[Jason Hermann]

I just wanted to give a heads up about SmugMugs printing in case you are unaware. I recently purchased about $500 dollars worth of prints from them and a lot of them came out looking a bit dull IMO.

I optioned for the luster coat which I thought was a nice shinny finish like the luster coat you get from Mpix. Totally my fault for not researching it more as it is a satin finish that is not very shinny at all. Also I had the color correction option set to auto instead of true-color.

Again, thats my mistake, but I assumed Like Mpix, that an auto color option meant it would be looked over by a Pro on a calibrated system like Mpix claims to do. I've gotten pics from Mpix before and there were incredible!! My Canon Pixma Pro 9000 prints are totally on par with the SmugMug prints I got. I was not expecting that even with the options I selected?

In any event, SmugMug sent me an email back within an hour trying to help me in any way possible!! Then the had there Pro Lab dude, email me to see what they can do for me. He looked over my prints and said that I should have chosen True Color for sure and that they would re-print everything at no charge and send it out ASAP. I then received an email about 1 hour later with the new order of prints being processed already free of charge.

That is some quality service in my book!! Bravo SmugMug

Any thoughts about what prints look best from Smugmug? Glossy? Luster? I didn't see a metallic paper option anywhere, but would love to try it out on some of my stuff

Thanks,
Jay

[awilliamsny]

Originally Posted by Worm324

Then the had there Pro Lab dude,

That'd be me

So, coupla things.... first, Our Guarantee covers all customers, no matter if the order is $5, $50, $500, $5000 or even more.

Our Auto Color is best for files that haven't been perfectly adjusted by the photographer. It's really quite amazing, it's i2e by Colour-Science. We love it so much, we made it part of ClubSmug. More on our Auto Color, here.

IMO Lustre finish is the best finish we have. Glossy and Matte are quite nice, but they're more the consumer grade. Lustre is da bomb and I only use it for my own prints.

It's my pleasure to help in any way at all. If you need any more assistance, just holler to our Support Heroes and ask for me

[jfrancho]

Nice job again, smugmug!

[Ham1]

Originally Posted by Worm324

I just wanted to give a heads up about SmugMugs printing in case you are unaware. I recently purchased about $500 dollars worth of prints from them and a lot of them came out looking a bit dull IMO.

I optioned for the luster coat which I thought was a nice shinny finish like the luster coat you get from Mpix. Totally my fault for not researching it more as it is a satin finish that is not very shinny at all. Also I had the color correction option set to auto instead of true-color.

Again, thats my mistake, but I assumed Like Mpix, that an auto color option meant it would be looked over by a Pro on a calibrated system like Mpix claims to do. I've gotten pics from Mpix before and there were incredible!! My Canon Pixma Pro 9000 prints are totally on par with the SmugMug prints I got. I was not expecting that even with the options I selected?

In any event, SmugMug sent me an email back within an hour trying to help me in any way possible!! Then the had there Pro Lab dude, email me to see what they can do for me. He looked over my prints and said that I should have chosen True Color for sure and that they would re-print everything at no charge and send it out ASAP. I then received an email about 1 hour later with the new order of prints being processed already free of charge.

That is some quality service in my book!! Bravo SmugMug

Any thoughts about what prints look best from Smugmug? Glossy? Luster? I didn't see a metallic paper option anywhere, but would love to try it out on some of my stuff

Thanks,
Jay

Thanks Jay for the nice words. Yes, like everything in the 'techie' world, nothing is as it seems. We know Mpix well and had to change our thought process when ordering from there as well.

Markham

[Rense]

Yeah smugmug is really good.

[kc7dji]

Well here is my 1.5 cents. I've been a smugmug customer for a long time. I've had 2 instances as you have in the past. Maybe my fault... I dunno. Either way.... Andy and the guys over there are 1000% on the customer service. They are always willing to redo something or whatever it takes to ensure you as their customer is completely satisfied!

So I too can say kudos to those guys for breaking their backs to give the best support on the planet.

Now the only cons I have about their lab is they have the Fuji paper supporting glossy, matte, and lustre textures. That's not bad on them it's just that I have never been a fan of the Fuji paper. Personally I'm a huge fan of Kodak Endura. The Endura paper is the absolute BEST in my own opinion. It's just my preference. As a wedding photographer I think the Endura paper gives a beautiful elegant appearance to wedding images.

As someone else mentioned already, they don't offer metallic paper. I don't print metallics very often but in some cases they are beautiful for the right image. Endura Metallic is awesome for those special occasions.

So with all that mumbo jumbo... I still say hats off to Smugmug. They provide a great customer service.

All of my backend business currently is hosted with Pictage. They have given me the best bang for the buck and the best product that I've been able to find. I tried collages.net, lets not go there. They are a complete waste for customer service. The product is buggy and it's a desktop application meaning that I can only see and work on my events from my "ONE" computer. If I'm on a different computer or out of the office then I'm screwed. Ok I said lets not go there... I'm stopping cause I'm just getting fumed.... LOL

Have a great evening everybody!