Digital Photo Printing Review

Surveying digital printing options

For those who don't want to print their own digital photos at home, online photo printing services enable you to order selected digital photo prints, print photo albums and create a number of novelty and gift items with images printed on them.

Reviews of digital photo printing services are increasingly rare, and few sources have been updated in the last year. The most recent review we found is a February 2011 article from Good Housekeeping, where 14 websites are tested for photo-book quality, although the review includes descriptions of only the top four contenders. A more thorough source is a January 2010 poll at Lifehacker.com, where more than 4,300 readers vote on the best online photo printing sites to identify the top five, each of which are reviewed by the author for pricing, print quality, editing and delivery options. In a 2008 roundup at Information Week, reviewer Don Reisinger evaluates four photo printing services for overall quality, cost and ease of use. There are a few older reviews at PCWorld.com, Digital Photo Magazine and PCMag.com, but we still found these reviews useful because the online photo printing services included are still in operation. These reviews all compare the quality of digital photo prints, price, ease of use and editing tools of various sites. Digital Photo Magazine's review focuses on photo sharing capabilities, although printing options are evaluated as part of the review. Real Simple magazine takes a look at the best sites for photo sharing in a brief article.

A 2006 roundup from Slate.com compares six photo sharing sites on the quality of a printed photo book, including photo quality, cover quality, website/software and service. Sites that allow users to rate services, such as OlegKikin.com and PhotographyReview.com, offer helpful information, but the volume of reviews varies. TopTenReviews.com looks at 16 online photo printing services, with a detailed breakdown of services offered and evaluations of print quality and price. Which? magazine, a U.K.-based consumer site similar to ConsumerReports.org, reviews online photo printing services, although most of the sites included in this roundup serve only European countries.

Reviews say that using online digital photo printing services generally costs less than printing your own photos at home, but doing it yourself offers a better level of control and immediacy. Printing at home will generally cost between 25 cents and 61 cents per photo, not including the cost of the printer itself. If you're interested in printing snapshots at home, check out our report on photo printers for our top picks; these small-format printers are simple and easy to use. Of course, you can also print photos with a full-size inkjet printer or multifunction printer.