How we decided:
Because I'm impatient and want to get my pictures ordered, I did an initial review after the first four sets of prints were received. Costco and Shutterfly did not make it past this round. Costco photos were too dark and the finish, they have a non-glossy option called "lustre", was still too shiny for my liking. Shutterfly photos had a very aggressive orange tint and showed every flaw. (This may be a sharpness issue, I'm not sure, but the result is I didn't like the photos.)
The Pro Photo and Creative Memories sets moved to the second round and were compared with the ScrapbookPictures.com and Snapfish sets once they were received. In a blind test, the photos were randomly laid out on the table, we recorded our favorites separately, and then calculated the results. I did not like the matte finish on the Snapfish photos so that set immediately moved into last place. Admittedly, there were a few of the Pro Photo photos that were a touch on the bright side but that didn't bother me as much as it did Darr, who always selected the darker photos when presented with the option. When all was said and done, Darr had selected seven of the ScrapbookPictures.com photos and I had selected seven of the Pro Photo photos. The remaining photo favorites were a combination of the other sets. Ranking for us is as follows:
1st place: Pro Photo Supply and ScrapbookPictures.com
3rd place: Creative Memories
4th place: Snapfish and Shutterfly
6th place: Costco
So, where will we go? Pro Photo Supply, silly. Yeah, it costs me an additional $0.05 per photo but I've got a history with PPS - they developed our wedding pictures. And I know if I'm unhappy with a photo, they'll redo it for me. Plus, it's printed on Kodak paper and has, I think, the best matte finish out there. Well, maybe not in the world but definitely the best matte finish of the six sets I reviewed.
3 comments:
You guys are impressive in your thoroughness. Thanks for posting all that, I am really interested. What didn't you like about Snapfish?
I honestly never knew there could be that much difference between photo companies. I know I have little things that I like and don't like about certain places but the photos you show all lined up there on the table really show some major differences. Thanks for all your research so we can be wiser consumers! BTW, the bumbo should be coming home with Dad today.
And they're local, right? That's always a good thing. =)
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