COSTCOS PRINTING

[bobbyz]

Recently I have tried some 11x14 at local costco. I upload the night before from my home and then stop by during lunch ($1.50 hotdog/soda) to pick them up. My only issue so far as been that when I uploded jpeg file saved at quality 12 in PS CS2, I got very good print. The next 2 times, when using quality 10 jpeg, the prints didn't look great. I am going to try same print at 2 different settings to make sure if there is an issue or not.

[One on one]

Itried Costco for the first time yesterday. I had an 8X10 some 4X6's and some wallets printed. Two of the images were shot against a white muslin background. These came out unacceptably dark in both the 4X6's and wallets. The other prints, 8X10's and 4X6's, shot outside came out beautiful. Color and density were perfect.

The photo lab tech reprinted the dark photos for me and now they look great. When I asked about them being dark but looking great on my monitor, she said that all monitors aren't calibrated the same and suggested that I look into Dry Creek Photo to calibrate my monitor to their equipment. I will look into this further.

Back before digital cameras, I managed a few mini-labs. We quite often had to make adjustments for subjects against light or dark backgrounds. Now with digital cameras, I thought that with the image already correct on my monitor that I would be able to get good color and density all of the time.

[dougsmit]

Originally Posted by One on one

Two of the images were shot against a white muslin background. These came out unacceptably dark in both the 4X6's and wallets. The other prints, 8X10's and 4X6's, shot outside came out beautiful. Color and density were perfect.

Were these printed 'No Corrections" as discussed earlier in this thread?

[One on one]

Originally Posted by dougsmit

Were these printed 'No Corrections" as discussed earlier in this thread?

No they weren't. I hadn't read this thread until after the fact. But next time...
Do you know if it is possible to request the "No Corrections" online?

[One on one]

I just answered my own question regarding "No corrections" when placing order online. Just before placing your order, there is the options section to select back printing and AutoCorrect It states:

"AutoCorrect is a feature that most amateur photographers use. If you are a professional photographer and use an editing tool such as Adobe PhotoShop to adjust your images or select printer profiles, you should turn off AutoCorrect to make sure that your prints are not altered."

[Marc Kurth]

I am particular about my prints and Costco does a good job for me, at bargain prices. Get to know the folks running the machines and they will take good care of you. They do most of my color print work up through 12x18 – I just wish they went larger because I’m doing more and more big prints these days.

In my experience, two things are critical:
- Be SURE that you check Drycreek regularly for new profiles - they do change often.

- Make sure that they DON’T touch any image adjustments. It took me awhile to get them to do this, even though I requested it. The guys meant well, but their ideas don’t often match mine.

If you want a real bargain for higher volume 8x10 printing, you can get two of them out of one 12x18 – assuming you have a decent cutter. That’s downright cheap.

[me2]

Ditto on Costco. We have 6 "economy" photo printers in my area. I made up a test print and sent it to each of them. Costco was the best by far, even better than the more professional places that charge 2 or 3x more.

I agree on the no corrections comment.

I've found the Costco people great to deal with too.

[Unkl Buck]

I don't have a Costco in my town, but, even if I did, I wouldn't use them. I use my regular pro lab for everything, except passports. I don't trust the minimum wage person running it. I would bet you that the operator at a pro lab will know how to operate that printer much better than anyone at Costco/Wal-Mart/Walgreens/etc. ever could. Price isn't always the determining factor for me.

[blumesan]

Originally Posted by Unkl Buck

Price isn't always the determining factor for me.

I believe that's true for most of us. The subject of this thread is the quality of Costco's work and most of us find it to be excellent. The price is just a bonus.

[One on one]

Originally Posted by Unkl Buck

I don't trust the minimum wage person running it. I would bet you that the operator at a pro lab will know how to operate that printer much better than anyone at Costco/Wal-Mart/Walgreens/etc. ever could. Price isn't always the determining factor for me.

I would agree to that if this were the old days and I was having C-41 or E-6 processing. Were talking prints here from digital media. We don't even have to worry about having negatives scratched anymore. The end result either looks good or it doesn't. If it doesn't look good, you go somewhere else. Nothing is damaged, you still have your digital image stored either on your computer, Cd or other storage media.

If I can get the image looking great in my eyes on my computer and then have it printed somewhere to look how I want it, I will use that lab. If they happen to be inexpensive, all the better.

[Unkl Buck]

Originally Posted by One on one

I would agree to that if this were the old days and I was having C-41 or E-6 processing. Were talking prints here from digital media. We don't even have to worry about having negatives scratched anymore. The end result either looks good or it doesn't. If it doesn't look good, you go somewhere else. Nothing is damaged, you still have your digital image stored either on your computer, Cd or other storage media.

If I can get the image looking great in my eyes on my computer and then have it printed somewhere to look how I want it, I will use that lab. If they happen to be inexpensive, all the better.

There's a lot more that goes into producing a good print than having a good exposed image from a media card. It's only the capture that has changed. The process of printing a good photo hasn't changed much. Talk to someone at a pro lab, they'll tell you the truth.

[Unkl Buck]

Originally Posted by blumesan

I believe that's true for most of us. The subject of this thread is the quality of Costco's work and most of us find it to be excellent. The price is just a bonus.

You get what you pay for. Cheap price, more than likely, cheap quality. I'll stick with my pro lab. Thanks.

[me2]

You get what you pay for. Cheap price, more than likely, cheap quality. I'll stick with my pro lab. Thanks.

Do yourself a favor, make some test prints. You might be surprised.

As far as minimum wage labor, I've spoken to the techs running the photoprinting several times. They aren't young and they aren't inexperienced. I was impressed.

[dougsmit]

Originally Posted by me2

Do yourself a favor, make some test prints. You might be surprised.

As far as minimum wage labor, I've spoken to the techs running the photoprinting several times. They aren't young and they aren't inexperienced. I was impressed.

Please do us a favor and keep buying overpriced prints somewhere else. Lines get long this time of year and we don't need more people there complaining about getting what they pay for instead of paying more for less.

According to this link, the average Costco worker makes $16/hr. Somewhere in the store you will find a large board with pictures of employees with over 10 years service. I know one employee that makes more from their outside business but keeps on at Costco full time because of the good benefits.
The Costco Challenge: An Alternative to Wal-Martization? (July 5, 2005)

If you get the idea that the person printing your photos owns stock, you may well be correct. This makes no difference. The only thing that does is finding a place that prints what you want how you want it. I would prefer Costco used double weight paper for 12x18's even if it doubled the price to $5.98. Meanwhile I'll mount them on card and pocket the difference.

[blumesan]

Originally Posted by Unkl Buck

You get what you pay for. Cheap price, more than likely, cheap quality. I'll stick with my pro lab. Thanks.

I have no desire to change your habits. If you have found a pro lab whose quality meets your needs, you should certainly stick with them. However I have already stated that I find the quality of Costco prints to be excellent. If you are suggesting that I can't discern good quality from "cheap quality", you are much mistaken.

[jfrancho]

I have great results using WHCC, but I also have Scott's Photo (local) and Wegman's (grocery store) in my back pocket, just in case. They both offer excellent, uncorrected prints on Endura Paper. They may not have all the finishes and services I like, but they can get me prints in about 20 minutes if I ask.