Originally posted by prncess674
Ofoto is a Kodask company. since they are owned by Kodak they have trained technicians that print high quality photos on Kodak paper which is the best in the business. The small machines used for one hour photo shops are mediocre at best. They do not balance the pictures, they stick them in the processor and hope for the best. I tried wal-mart and the pictures all seemed inferior to me. I have used Eckerds but only for the off site service because the prints printed from the one hour photo are such inferior quality. The film sent off to a trained lab are beautiful vibrant prints on Kodak paper, which last longer.
Sending pictures to a trained lab will yield a better quality print because they have a larger lab with trained technicians.
Look at the person that you drop off your film to. This is the person who will be processing your photos. Ask what there qualifications are. This will give you a sense of who will be developing your pictures.
You are absolutely correct regarding the training.
Wal*Mart trains their technicians very very well. Their machines are top of the line Fuji Mini Labs.
http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/ep...arent=PRODUCT_CATEGORY_467364&product=6202005
http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/ep...arent=PRODUCT_CATEGORY_475416&product=6012500
The color and the density can be corrected. Most labs at Wal*Mart and Sam's do not use auto run, they scan each and every picture and correct as necessary.
Eckhart is a Kodak lab. They use kodak paper and chemicals. Target leases space to Kodak and they are all traded by Kodak.
Having toured two different "out labs" I was not impressed with the quality of the prints or the processing. Your film along with 50 other rolls is attached and processes at the same time. Naturally each role has it's own twin check and the only time a human sees the film is at the end, when the package it. Yes, they are trained, but, it is not a difficult trade to learn.
I have had photos processed at Walgreens and that is a different story totally. They have mini labs that are completely automated, and they cannot correct color or density, those to me are totally useless and I would not consider leaving my film there or at BJs for that matter, same process.
Kodak and Fuji are both exceptionally fine products. I prefer Fuji.
I also prefer their film. But, that is one of those personal choice issues.
And.....for the record, in my past life I was a photo lab manager (salaried member of management) for Wal*Mart and I did undergo very extensive training for the position and in turn, extensively trained my associates. We put out a superior product and redid a lot of "out lab" photos (including Wal*Mart's outlab provider) for a lot of people. This, btw, can be proven very very easily.