Where can I print glossy photos?

[Zagreus]

Looking for a little help please...

I often print my own 10x8 photos and bring them to the shows to get signed. I used to use Snapfish but in recent years they seemed to crop the images badly, and darken them down too. I then moved on to Tesco who have a faster turnaround and more realistic colours in their prints. Unfortunately, the paper does not have the gloss that you would have on professional photos. It's shiny, but not gloss and scratches VERY easily. Black sharpies also seem to have issues writing on them. The time when I did use Snapfish to get a nice glossy print last year, they printed the photos on the same cheap looking paper.

 

So, can anyone recommend a place that does particularly good glossy prints for 10x8 photos?

[adriangill]

Personally I use http://www.dscolourlabs.co.uk/

 

Not a shop though so sorry if that's what you are after.

[adam.anouer]

In Boots I believe their Kodak Instant Print machines has the option of a glossy cover. However, that may only apply to selected stores.

[Zagreus]

Thanks guys. Tesco offers the convenience of being able to order the photos at the last minute and pick them up the following day. That's ideal but sadly the choice in actual high street shops is not great. If there was an online store that didn't mess about with the photos while printing and did glossy, that would be fine.

 

Have you had any issues with them cropping your photos badly or being too dark when you receive them? When using Snapfish I ended up having to brighten the photos pre-emptively to ensure it looked ok when printed. And I've had to avoid having any detail near the edges in case they get cropped off (this is after I have already sized it up for 10x8 print!).

[adriangill]

I will have a look later to confirm its still an option but DSCL used to offer various options, one where they auto enhanced colours and one where the images were left alone (I.e. as in colour managed by you the customer no further adjustments made). I think the latter was classed as the professional option. No difference on cost from what I recall.

 

No issues with cropping.

[Coles84]

Artscow is my life saver. I think it is based in China but they often do free postage special offers.

[gobo1979uk]

Hiya.I use snapfish and they have been really good - even print pix of the glamour models. Trick is to make sure the image you upload is the same size/shape as the print size you are ordering (8x10 normally for me) - I adjust my image size on photoshop elements. This means no cropping will occur at snapfish. This will also sometimes make the image clearer if the original image you have got on your computer is bigger than 8x10. You can check the resolution on photoshop (and I imagine most other photo programmes) needs to be greater than 72 pixels per inch for decent resolution.I also lighten the image by between 10-30% depending on how dark the original is - comes out right shade then. Also check that you tick gloss paper not matt - easy mistake to make as its just a tickbox at the top of the page. Im not great on photoshop and I can do it - just have a play.

 

Looking for a little help please...

I often print my own 10x8 photos and bring them to the shows to get signed. I used to use Snapfish but in recent years they seemed to crop the images badly, and darken them down too. I then moved on to Tesco who have a faster turnaround and more realistic colours in their prints. Unfortunately, the paper does not have the gloss that you would have on professional photos. It's shiny, but not gloss and scratches VERY easily. Black sharpies also seem to have issues writing on them. The time when I did use Snapfish to get a nice glossy print last year, they printed the photos on the same cheap looking paper.

 

So, can anyone recommend a place that does particularly good glossy prints for 10x8 photos?

Edited May 30, 2013 by gobo1979uk

[Squirtchy]

I use the same as 1of2, DSCL has always proven me well!

[Zagreus]

Thanks gobo1979uk, but I have been designing and getting photos printed for many years now. I do make them 10x8 before submitting them, and always ensure I've selected glossy. So if other people are still getting glossy prints from Snapfish I can only assume they sent me the wrong prints that last time. I only accepted them as they were the same sort of non-gloss photos that Tesco claim to be glossy, and assumed this was now the way they were doing things. As for the cropping, it's not excessive, but when you are specifically making a photo composition to get signed, you want to be able to use the whole 10x8 template without worrying about the symmetrical look being ruined, or detail at one side being cut off because it's within 2cm of the edge.