Printing Digital Wedding Pictures

[lurkyloo]

I know a lot of us have (or will have) received our wedding photos on disc from our photographers, so I thought I'd share the results of my side-by-side comparison of two different online printing services.

I ordered prints from Shutterfly (http://www.shutterfly.com) and from Mpix (http://www.mpix.com/). The latter was recommended to me by my photographers.

I ordered matte finish prints from Shutterfly to replicate the appearance of professional photographers' prints. Mpix is a service for professional photogs, so they offer matte, pearlescent, and "true digital" black-and-white print paper.

My Shutterfly prints are like the ones you'd get at the drugstore. The colors are bright but kind of soft and look like they bled into each other slightly. My Mpix prints are the same crisp, professional quality as the prints I ordered directly from my photographers, but cost a lot less.

Prices

4x6: Shutterfly - $.19 Mpix - $.29

5x7: Shutterfly - $.99 Mpix - $.99

8x10: Shutterfly - $3.99 Mpix - $1.99

11x14: Shutterfly - $7.99 Mpix - $6.99

16x20: Shutterfly - $22.99 Mpix - $15.99

Mpix also offers professional color correction of photos (if your photographer didn't do this already).

I'm so excited to have found a high-quality, inexpensive way to get copies of my pictures, so I wanted to share!

 

[JaxTeach]

This is good news! I'm eagerly awaiting my photos from mPix. I ordered from them based upon reviews on a photography message board, but I didn't even notice the price difference once you get into the larger prints. Higher quality, lower price... gotta love that!

 

[PrincessBride010103]

Thanks Carrie!! I will definately be using mpix!

 

[caryndisneydiva]

mpix it is then!

don't they have a .19 deal? i don't really understand that on their site, but it says that 3x5, 4x5 and 4x6 are .19 if you order them from some file thing?

does the bulk discount only occurr if you order 10 or more of the same picture, or 10 or more pics from the same album?

also, if anyone has any info on their metallic paper, or picture samples, i'd be interested to see them...

i'm trying to get my pics ordered asap so i can get my albums DONE!

lurky, thanks for posting the price comparison, especially when you are doing your own album and need many 8x10's, mpix prices can't be beat!!!

 

[Keira1387]

Thanks for sharing! That's good to know!

 

[lurkyloo]

mpix it is then!

don't they have a .19 deal? i don't really understand that on their site, but it says that 3x5, 4x5 and 4x6 are .19 if you order them from some file thing?

does the bulk discount only occurr if you order 10 or more of the same picture, or 10 or more pics from the same album?

also, if anyone has any info on their metallic paper, or picture samples, i'd be interested to see them...

i'm trying to get my pics ordered asap so i can get my albums DONE!

lurky, thanks for posting the price comparison, especially when you are doing your own album and need many 8x10's, mpix prices can't be beat!!!

The way the $.19 deal works is if you order prints that don't need color correction you get them at that price. I don't know if Randy color-corrected your photos, but what you could do is order one pic both ways and see what the difference is. You could do the same with the metallic paper - it's pretty cheap to just get one made to see, and they come really quickly - it was just a few days for me.

Also, you're right - it looks like you have to order multiple copies of the same print to get the 11+ discount ...

 

[cseca]

Wow!
That is excellent news Carrie. Thanks for sharing!
Do you know what are the differences in final product between the matte, pearlescent or metallic papers?
I've never heard of those papers before... only matte and glossy before.

 

[M&M126]

Thanks for the information! I remember the Roots mentioning mpix but I had never heard of it before. I'm glad to hear they produce good quality pics!

 

[dmslush]

Thanks so much for posting this. I need to get a few 8x10s.

The 4x6s that I ordered from Shutterfly were okay, but I can say that I was not impressed with the 5x7. It was very shiny, glossy.. kind of cheap looking.

Now, I did love my 20x30 poster that I had done there.

 

[DaPookie]

Thanks for posting this! That's great to know for later!

 

[Janet2k]

I ordered prints from Shutterfly and from Mpix...

Thanks for the info, Lurkyloo. I use a couple of different places for my photo printing needs, but I haven't tried Mpix yet. I think I'll give them a whirl the next time around since you were pleased with their work.

Now, I did love my 20x30 poster that I had done there.

Dmslush, thanks for the info. I haven't tried Shutterfly's posters just yet. I'm glad to hear you were pleased with that service.

 

[Bouncy bounce]

carrie,
thanks for sharing that is great info.
Renee

 

[lurkyloo]

Wow!
That is excellent news Carrie. Thanks for sharing!
Do you know what are the differences in final product between the matte, pearlescent or metallic papers?
I've never heard of those papers before... only matte and glossy before.

I haven't seen them in person, but they have pretty good pictures of images printed on those papers on the website. I think I may order a couple just to see what they're like.