Walgreens versus the pro lab

As a consumer, we want the best price for what we are looking to buy. It's natural, it's totally normal. As far as selling prints, this means that I sell very little because when it comes to price, I just can't compete with big box stores. And that's okay! I always tell my clients that they have a print release, which allows them to print anywhere they like, but I remind them that I am not liable for the quality of consumer lab prints. Sometimes they turn out fine, and sometimes they turn out like absolute crap- it's hit or miss and that's not something worth saving a few bucks for. I know it's hard for people to make that judgment call without proof, so this week I decided to put a few images to the test. I ordered prints from my lab, and prints from Walgreens. I've also placed a Snapfish and Shutterfly order to add to later this week! Any other labs you're wanting to see side by sides of? Comment and tell me!

In the meantime, let's start running through what we have.

Here's the first image. Here's what I received, my lab left, Walgreens right.

TERRIBLE!!

What did they do to the colors? It's a mess! And before anyone asks, I had autocorrect turned off, this is literally their attempt at my image WITHOUT changing it.

Here's the next. This one is harder to tell, but I can see it. Here's the image:

Here are the prints, my lab left, Walgreens right.

This one is in the tones to me. It's saturated more, which is less noticeable without a skin tone to see but you can tell in the wood, and the oranges are closer to red on the Walgreens photo.

Here's another image.

My lab left, Walgreens is the smaller one.

This one I not only notice more reds in the skin, but I'm starting to notice that Walgreens is giving me less detail where the sun is in the sky. It's almost like they have less colors to choose from, the professional lab is giving me more detail in the background (I hope that can show up in these photos, but that may be something you can only see when you're here holding it)

Last comparison, this image.

This one Walgreens got way wrong. I'll let you guess which is theirs.

All of this to say, where you print matters. It really does. My grandma, bless her, has images of Cameron from Snapfish and it looks like he's wearing lipstick. Shutterfly, CVS, Walmart, Costco, they're all going to vary because there just is no quality control, simply put, you tend to get what you pay for in this type of product. Consistency is what is worth paying for. True to color, true to the original consistency. If I've ever photographed you before, you've probably heard me say "It doesn't really matter if it's small, but if you're going to go big in your home, go professional- you have to love what you're looking at on the walls." I hope this post helps you guys see how much it matters!

These are prints from my lab, I love how true the colors are to what I created. They are EXACTLY the image in its original form, and there is no variation on any of them!

The colors, the details, it's just spot on perfect.

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT PAPER TYPES AND BACKING TYPES.

I offer three paper options: lustre, glossy and matte linen.

Lustre is the common paper print. It has a little bit of sheen, but it's not intense. It doesn't reflect like a mirror. This is a lustre print (everything I order for myself is lustre).

Also lustre:

The backing on this image is called a single weight matboard. It is fairly thin, it allows the image to stand up on it's own and still be framed later if you'd like to frame it. This is great for images that you want to present outside of a frame, like on a shelf, but still retain the option to frame them later. It's thin enough to frame and sturdy enough to stand- I love this backing. I love the solid construction and thick feel of an image with a single weight matboard. It just really takes it up a notch!

Now we are going to see glossy paper and foamcore.

This second type of backing is called a 3/16" white foamcore. It is lighter than the matboard, it's also thicker. I would not recommend this for really any purpose, because the styrofoam is visible on the sides, which doesn't allow you to really showcase it outside of a frame, and the image is now much thicker than the matboard, which might limit you with glass fitting. I do like that it is lighter, but I just don't see the purpose otherwise. That's me! I won't be offering this for sale, only the matboard. This is just to show everyone! This image is glossy paper, be looking for the light hitting the image. That's the reflection off of the paper, a high sheen gloss. I do not recommend glossy paper when framing behind glass- glass is already going to add this for you.

You see the sheen? That's gloss. Totally a style preference. Less sheen= lustre.

Here are my matte linens, these come on a solid paper with no reflection/sheen at all. I can't say enough about the quality of these. These are a more expensive option, and a lot of what makes them amazing and special goes away when you frame them (since you can't feel them), so I don't really reccommend these unless you are going to have lose prints on a table, or a presentation box. Once these get behind glass, the magic is a bit lost and the price isn't as justifiable. These are the best prints you can touch though, so if you plan to keep them out, this is a wonderful option. Otherwise, if framing, go lustre.

I hope this helps everyone!