Digital Photography: Where to Get Prints

By Michele Blandino

Digital photography has quickly caught on as the new method of taking and sharing pictures. While it is possible to print your photos at home, the high cost of ink makes printing large quantities cost prohibitive for most people. As a result, many people turn to one of the many online photo finishing services available. But, just as there are many types of digital cameras to choose from, there are dozens of online photo finishing companies that can print your photos for you. With so many available options, choosing the company that best suits your needs can be almost as complex as picking out the camera.

Don't Risk Losing Your Photos

One of the first things to keep in mind when choosing a company is that while they may boast the ability to offer permanent online storage for your pictures, you should not rely on this as your only method of safeguarding your photos. Be sure to back-up all of your photo files so that you do not lose them should the company you choose go out of business at some point in the future.

Other Considerations

As you begin to evaluate the various companies, there are a number of things you may want to consider. For most of us, at the top of the list is price. However, with prices ranging from $0.12 to $1.25 for a 4x6 print, it quickly becomes clear that there are other ways in which the photo finishing services are attempting to differentiate themselves.

One way companies are attempting to do this is by offering different types of services, either a wide array of print sizes, the inclusion of special effects, photo sharing ability, or other services. For example, perhaps you want to order and pay for prints, but have them sent to another person. Surprisingly, this seemingly simple request will not be honored by all providers. If this is important to you, be sure to see if it is an available option before you place your order.

The ability to easily download your photos will also be important to most people. Some services require you to download entire files before selecting the individual photos you want printed while others will allow you to download one photo at a time. While downloading entire files is good for ensuring all your photos are in one place, as discussed earlier, it is still important to have your pictures backed up in another file. Similarly, if you do have your photos securely stored, then only downloading those you want printed probably makes the most sense - unless you plan on sharing access with others. In the end, only you can decide which method is right for you.

Next, you will most likely be interested in how long it takes to receive your photos. In some cases, it can take up to ten days to receive your completed order while in other instances, the photos will arrive in as little as 2-3 business days.

Finally, you will also want to know what the company's return policy is. Some companies will re-print your photos if you are not satisfied, others will return your money, and others will do nothing. Be sure to ask.