Digital Photo Printing: Reviews

Updated March 2011

For printing the occasional photo, reviews recommend using an online service, where you can get prints for less than 10 cents apiece. We looked at expert tests that use several services for single prints, photo books and more. Reviewers consider photo quality, shipping speed and pricing - as well as convenience factors such as in-store pickup. We also found tips for improving your photos so that your prints are as high quality as possible.

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Best online photo printing service

Snapfish

*Est. 9 cents per print Learn More

Experts agree that Snapfish has the perfect balance of quality and price, offering high-quality digital photo prints for one of the lowest prices in the industry. Snapfish offers glossy or matte photos on HP paper.… expandEditing tools include cropping, red-eye removal, color correction, rotation, tinting and auto-contrast. A variety of photo borders are also available. Prints are delivered by mail in three to five days or can be picked up at a variety of local stores, though in-store pricing applies in this case. An assortment of photo gifts is also available. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Lifehacker.com: Snapfish earns 27 percent of the more than 4,300 reader votes in this Lifehacker.com poll.

PCMag.com: This article includes reviews of 13 digital photo printing services.

DigitalPhotos101.com: Digital Photos 101 rates eight online photo printing services, selecting Snapfish as the top choice.

Photo-Print-Reviews.com: Editors call the ordering process at Snapfish "quite simple" and say the print quality is "exceptionally outstanding." They do have a complaint about the customer service, however, noting that representatives were courteous on the phone, but email inquiries were never answered.

Slate.com: Ulrich Boser reviews six online digital printing services by ordering an identical photo book from each.

Macworld: Reviewer Ben Long investigates nine digital photo printing services, selecting Snapfish as the best for high-quality prints.

UPick Reviews: Editors at UPickReviews.com select Snapfish as their top choice, commenting on the site's "well-organized interface" and ease of use.

TopTenReviews.com: This site offers a side-by-side comparison chart of the top 10 of 14 digital photo printing sites reviewed.

Best printing service for photo gifts

Shutterfly

*Est. 15 cents per print Learn More

More expensive per print than many other services, Shutterfly still gets good reviews for print quality and ease of use, but its calling card is its variety of unusual photo gifts. These include a series of exclusive… expandpersonalized children's storybooks with SpongeBob SquarePants and other licensed crtoon characters. Shutterfly's online photo printing service includes prepaid and bulk plans to offset its relatively high prices, although some reviewers say shipping costs negate these savings. Shutterfly offers standard, priority, two-day or overnight shipping, and it offers pickup at Target stores for an additional fee. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Lifehacker.com: Shutterfly earns 16 percent of more than 4,300 votes in this reader poll on Lifehacker.com.

Information Week: Reviewer Don Reisinger rates four digital photo printing services on print quality, price and ease of use.

PCMag.com: Tony Hoffman reviews 13 digital photo printing services in this thorough review, including Shutterfly.

Good Housekeeping: Good Housekeeping evaluates 14 digital photo printing websites in terms of photo-book quality.

Slate.com: Shutterfly comes out on top of this review of six different online digital printing services.

DigitalPhotos101.com: This enthusiast website includes ratings for eight digital photo printing services.

The Wall Street Journal: Katherine Boehret discusses the pros and cons of Shutterfly's new photo sharing site, Shutterfly Share, which has since merged with the general site.

TomsGuide.com: Kerner reviews five online photo sharing sites in terms of their editing, sharing and printing options.

Online photo printing with most flexible delivery options

Walmart Photo Center

*Est. 9 cents and up per print Learn More

Walmart offers a low-priced photo printing service with three delivery options and a variety of features. Reviewers say print quality can be inconsistent because it's done at individual Walmart stores, but the one-hour… expandin-store pickup option is very convenient. Reviewers like Walmart's digital photo prints and service overall, and praise the abundant site features. The cheapest prices are reserved for postal delivery, but you can avoid all delivery fees by picking up photos at your local store in three or four days at a per-print price of 15 cents. One-hour processing costs 19 cents per print for up to 99 prints, or 15 cents per print for more than 100 prints. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Information Week: Reviewer Don Reisinger compares four digital photo printing services and ends up with Wal-Mart as his top pick.

PC World: This older review uses a judging panel to rate the quality of online photo prints from five top online photo printing services, including Walmart Photo Center, which lands at the bottom of the pack.

DigitalPhotos101.com: This regularly updated review includes a summary of the Walmart Photo Center and a useful chart comparing the features of various online digital photo printing services.

Slate.com: This review pits Walmart Photo Center against five other digital printing services, comparing them in terms of ease of use and image quality for a printed photo book.

AmericanConsumerNews.com: This recent review doesn't rank or rate digital printing services in any type of order, but Walmart is included in this roundup of four photo printing services with a basic summary of prices and options.

Walmart Photo Center