Why do we need it?
For argument's sake I am going to assume that we all know that printing our own photos from home is not feasible. With the high costs of quality photo paper and the low quality of our printers there is no reason to suffer with poor prints any longer. I suffered for years trying to print my own photos while looking back now, I realize that all those prints I made have been thrown away or shoved in a drawer and forgotten. I knew that to get film quality prints I would have to spend a lot more money or do something completely different. The University that I attend has computer kiosks at their film developing station but who wants to drag everything over to a location that has horrible parking?
What is out there?
How easy would it be to just upload a file of pictures from your home computer and wait for them to arrive in the mail? This is ideal but the only problem is knowing who to have process them. There are endless numbers of sites that have appealing pictures and look really professional. The frustration comes when you trust them based on the design of their website and they have nothing to support it. Poor customer service and a lack of quality usually ruin your first experience with them. Your first experience is often your last. In searching for a reliable company with good customer support to process all of my digital photos I have tested most major online developers. Most leave something to be desired but there are many that are well run, reliable stores that are consistent in giving you great pictures with every order. A review of these companies can be found on my information site referenced below.
How do you do it?
With a good company online, processing photos is easy. From you memory stick or card you simply put the pictures on your computer as normally do. When uploading the files from the Online photo service's website simply browse to those files and select the pictures you want to have printed. After selecting the picture sizes and various other options you click to upload and wait for them to come in the mail. We have used various large chains that offer on site pick up but the pictures are such low quality that they end up being thrown away or stuffed in a drawer as if I were printing them from home. The great thing is that if you want to spend less money there are many that offer the high quality for the same price as some low quality, national chains. With the ease of getting the photos out of your mailbox compared to driving to a location to get them I was happy to see that this service is offered for free on most sites.
Who should you use?
When deciding which service to use please keep in mind that there are many different options that are unique for each online photo printer. Some specialize in high volume orders and offer great prices. Others offer memberships with free prints for signing up. If you are a web nut like me and you want to have a place for your friends, family and colleagues to see all of your very best pictures, there are plenty of great companies that offer online photo albums with your membership.
To view our list of recommended sources for digital photo printing online,
visit this page: Photo Mugs.
Mindi Haehl is the owner of an informational site about printing your digital photos online.
