Prints from...Walmart?

[djl4]

Has anyone tried getting prints from Walmart? I have some photos that I want to print out, possibly 8 x 11 or bigger.
If anyone has any other great experience at any other places, please let me know.
Thank you.

[KmH]

How about any image up to 24x36, as long as your image is at least 100 ppi (2400x3600 pixels) Mpix.com

Three choices of paper, framing, canvas wraps, and a slew of other products. Though they are an online consumer photo finishing source they are used by working pro photographers too.

An 8x11 would need to be 800x1100 pixels.

[SureFire]

I actually had to use the local WM for a fast shoot a few weeks back and their Fuji gave me awesome results. The bad news? They were ripping that Fuji out the next week. I haven't been back yet to see if the new machine is any good.

Moral of the story? Check around. Sometimes you can find local places that still have good (and if maintained well) high quality machines like the Fuji chem machine. If this machine had been staying, I would probably be using it much more. It's always worth looking around. Sometimes, you find a hidden gem.

And in re: to the larger sizes, you just have to ask. I agree with the other post about just getting it online through Millers, WHCC, etc, but you never know unless you ask. If you're in a large city, you might have local access to the same sizes and quality.

[jgillmanjr]

I've done 8x12s at Walmart and the quality was good I thought. Of course I'm not a pro, just going off my eye.

[aram535]

I highly recommend costco for both quality and price. 8x12 is only $1.99 for glossy or lustre print.

The local costco photo lab (as well as many others as I have talked to other members) are very professional people, with professional equipment and actually care what the printed material looks like before they hand it to you. Rather than the walmark $6.25 an hour bored teenager.

[jgillmanjr]

Don't have any Costcos around here, so I wouldn't know how they compare.

[Mark McCall]

Every June, right before the Kerrville Print Judging, I'll have WalMart print 8 4x6 prints for the TPPA folio competition. (BWC in Dallas prints all my top-shelf competition prints).

I do this for one reason:
To show that WalMart can print competition level machine prints.
I've hung a merit on each one for 5 years, with the exception of two years when I didn't attend.
Simply disable the kiosk's auto correct feature and you've got beautiful images from the Fuji Frontier.

[SureFire]

Originally Posted by Mark McCall

I do this for one reason:
To show that WalMart can print competition level machine prints.
...Simply disable the kiosk's auto correct feature and you've got beautiful images from the Fuji Frontier.

Exactly.

[aram535]

I guess different walmarks use different printers. The one around here the images look like it was printed with a dull crayon.

[SureFire]

I highly doubt it's a Fuji Frontier then. FF are what many of the larger labs use as well. Many WM's have been swapping to some new digital sytem over the past year, but I do not know what that system is as I have not been by the local WM since that previous printing when they told me the Frontier was leaving in a week or two.

[Mark McCall]

I believe WalMart and Sams have an agreement to run Fuji's exclusively.
Could be wrong about that but I remember reading something about it in a trade magazine awhile back.

The Frontiers at the retailer are the same Frontiers at your pro lab.
The only difference being the RIP software (and personnel) running the machine.

Although the Frontier model 79000 can print up to 12"x35", the store usually has a paper roll loaded for smaller, standard print sizes.
The customer side menu only shows standard print sizes up to 8x10.

To get the best possible prints, get your color down before sending prints in.
White balance your camera, calibrate your monitor, disable the auto correct feature at the Kiosk.

I'm not recommending using WalMart over a pro lab....just the opposite.
But for quick turnaround for an anxious client...it works great.

[djl4]

I have a Nikon D200; it has 10MP. What's the largest I can print?

[aram535]

@ 300 dpi without sampling 12.91" x 8.64" but really you can really almost double that for 200 dpi and some sampling just using photoshop. If you have one of the nicer resampling plugins probably more than that.

Just as a sample, my 16MP 1Ds Mark II which is rated for 16.40" x 10.88" @ 300 pdi I have used the onOne's Genuine Fractals 5 and with that I have done 40" prints without a problem.

[djl4]

I'm trying to order prints online. I uploaded a picture. When I try to pick what size or how large I want the prints to be, it says that there will be a "resolution error" when I pick a size larger than 8 x 10. It says I can lose quality and my images will be blurry.
On my Nikon D200, I shoot Large and JPEG Normal. I thought I would be able to print sizes larger than 8 x 10. Should I just go for it?

[aram535]

I don't know Nikon, but in Canon Small, Medium, Large are not full images... so 10MP in probably "Fine" in your camera, where Large is like 7 or 8MP. Either way it should not be a problem.

Have you "edited" these images? Maybe you converted them to 72ppi by mistake when you were saving them. That would cause the "resolution error" you're seeing. The image should be above 250 ppi... I usually leave it on 300.

[Mark McCall]

dj14,
I regularly get the message when I use LabPrints ordering software when ordering through BWC in Dallas, yet I don't get the message when ordering the same print from WHCC. (Same file).
(BWC is my primary lab, I haven't used WHCC in awhile).
Yet both prints look terrific.

I think you'll be fine.

[djl4]

Thank you everyone.
I found out what I was doing.
When uploading to Costco, there are two options. One is for faster upload (but shrinks your photos) and the other is full resolution upload. The default selection is the faster upload option. I wasn't aware of this.
Thank you all for replying.
I hope the prints come out nice!

[djl4]

Someone has recommended MPix. How are the prints from that site?

[TheRileyFactor]

I get all of my prints from Mpix, and they have all turned out great. In case you're not satisified, they also have a good return policy (or so i've heard, I haven't ever had to use it tho). I'm not a pro by any means, but I have spoken with a number of pros that use mpix

[djl4]

Okay great. I think I'll try it out. It's like $20 for a 20x30. I don't want to waste $20 if the print is turns out to be crappy.
Thank you.