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Digital Photo Printing: Ratings of Sources
Total of 23 Sources

For an explanation of how we rank reviews, see our ratings criteria page.

1. Information Week
July 19, 2008
Online Digital Print Services Buyer's Guide
by Don Reisinger
Our Assessment

Although this review only evaluates four printing services, it is the most recent information we found. Reviewer Don Reisinger rates the services on print quality, price and ease of use, and Wal-Mart emerges the winner. He cites Shutterfly as a service with a wide variety of options and dubs RitzPix the worst choice. He likes Kodak Gallery's print quality. This reviewer focuses on the user experience more than any other aspect.

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2. PCMag.com
Dec. 20, 2006
Photo-Printing Services
by Tony Hoffman
Our Assessment

This article includes reviews of 13 photo-printing services. The author's top pick, Sony ImageStation has merged with Shutterfly since the article was written. Tying for second place are dotPhoto, Shutterfly and Snapfish. dotPhoto has very good quality, but a long turnaround time. Shutterfly also has very good quality, but costs more per print than the other two. Snapfish has the best turnaround time and very good quality. CVS is said to have the best quality of the chain-store kiosks.

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3. ConsumerReports.org
July 2006
Photofinishing: Online vs. in-store?
by Editors of Consumer Reports
Our Assessment

Consumer Reports' testing process involves sending numerous images to each service over a period of weeks, comparing price, quality, editing tools and website features. This review also includes tips on how to choose a service, essential features and other options for retrieving prints from a digital camera. Ratings are provided for 12 online photo services, seven in-store printers and five kiosk printers.

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4. DigitalPhotos101.com
As of Nov. 2008
The Best Online Photo Processors
by Editors of DigitalPhotos101.com
Our Assessment

This enthusiast website includes ratings for eight digital photo printing services. A detailed list of features is included for each service and recent, thorough reviews are available by clicking on a provider's name. All reviews have been updated in the past three months with features and pros and cons for each service. Snapfish is a "top pick" on this site due to superior image quality. We're not sure who's writing these reviews, however.

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Which Photo Sites Are Best?
by Burt Helm
Our Assessment Several photo sites are evaluated in various categories such as print quality, price, features and speed of delivery. Snapfish is rated best for quality of prints. Kodak and dotPhoto are a close second. Although Shutterfly is the easiest site to use, its prints are "blurry and dark." While the article has not been updated since 2005, recent reader posts are helpful.
6. Photo-Print-Reviews.com
As of Nov. 2008
Vendor Comparison – Digital Photo Printing Service Provider Review
by Editors of Photo-Print-Reviews.com
Our Assessment

This site offers a side-by-side comparison of seven photo-printing services, with a table for quick reference and links to more thorough reviews. All sites have been reviewed during 2008. The ratings are individually explained and the service is evaluated overall. Top picks on this site include Snapfish and SmugMug, which receive top scores in both ordering process and quality of prints. We aren't sure who is behind this website, however.

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7. Macworld
July 6, 2005
Turn pixels into prints
by Ben Long
Our Assessment

This reviewer tests and evaluates nine digital printing services. Snapfish is the favorite for "excellent image quality." A close second is Mpix for its high print quality. Ben Long chooses Wal-Mart as the best option for quick delivery, but a poor choice for print quality. While Long hoped to find a "clear winner," he notes that "the frustrating truth is that most services produced good prints at some times and bad prints at other times."

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8. The Wall Street Journal
Aug. 1, 2007
How the Big Photo-Sharing Sites Stack Up
by Katherine Boehret
Our Assessment This site gives an overview of the five photo-printing sites suggested by Yahoo! Photos when it terminated service. While the review offers comments on the pros and cons of each site, there is no clear winner picked and no real comparisons made, making the review less valuable than some others we found.
9. TopTenReviews.com
As of Nov. 2008
Digital Photo Printing Reviews 2008
by Editors of TopTenReviews.com
Our Assessment

This is a good overall comparison report, with a chart showing the top ten (of 14 services reviewed). Each printing service links to a review with a detailed breakdown of services. Snapfish is the top pick, with points for quality and price. York Photo and Clark Color, less popular, low-priced services, come in second and third. Popular site Shutterfly rounds out the top four. We don't know who is behind this website, however.

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10. UPick Reviews
As of Nov. 2008
Digital Photo Printing Service Review – Side-by-Side Comparison
by Editors of UPick Reviews
Our Assessment

Offering ranking and reviews for six services, this site assigns point ratings for the top three contenders. Clicking on the name of a service brings up a lengthy review of the service, but the reviews are more informational than objective, covering how to print photos and detailing features of sites. The side-by-side comparison is a plus, but the lack of critical reviews makes this site less valuable than others. The top pick is Snapfish, followed by PhotoWorks and Kodak Gallery. No information is given as to the expertise of the author or authors.

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11. Which? Online
Not dated
Digital Printing: Best Buys
by Editors of Which?
Our Assessment

Which? magazine is the British equivalent of Consumer Reports. While this article mostly offers reviews of British printing services, some familiar U.S. sites are included in the evaluation. The best choice overall is Snapfish, with a 73 out of 100 rating. Snapfish is praised for ease of use, photo quality and speed of upload and turnaround. The only other online service rated is Kodak Gallery, which received a score of 44 out of 100 for inconsistent print quality.

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12. PCMag.com
June 1, 2005
Good Digital Prints, Cheap
by Jim Louderback
Our Assessment

Columnist Jim Louderback pits online printing against a home printer and in-store printing kiosks. Snapfish delivers photos quickly and cheaply, and they look nicest. Kodak EasyShare Gallery sends nice photos, but they cost more. None of the in-store kiosks are recommended; the hardware was usually broken or employees weren't helpful. We wish Louderback would post a more recent follow-up to this article.

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13. The Wall Street Journal
July 30, 2008
Shutterfly Makes Shared Photos More Welcoming
by Katherine Boehret
Our Assessment

Although this article briefly discusses the features and virtues of Shutterfly's main site, its primary focus is the new photo-sharing site, Shutterfly Share. The review discusses pros and cons of the new site, but it is unclear how closely linked it is to the Shutterfly main site. We would have liked more information on whether photos stored on Shutterfly can be directly transferred to the Share site and whether prints can be ordered from the Share site or only from Shutterfly's main site.

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14. Consumer magazine
June 9, 2008
Photo Printing Kiosks
by Editors of Consumer
Our Assessment Consumer.org.nz is the New Zealand equivalent of Consumer Reports. This article investigates the efficiency and quality of various photo-printing kiosks. While it offers some good pros and cons regarding kiosk use, the review does not identify a best choice, saying quality seemed to vary among kiosks and none offered ideal quality. Both Fuji and Kodak kiosks were tested with inconsistent results.
15. StarReviews.com
As of Nov. 2008
Photo Printing Reviews
by Editors of Star Reviews
Our Assessment

This site offers a ranking of six photo-printing services. Ratings are given for selection, customer service and ease of use. A more detailed review is provided for each service with features and pros and cons outlined. User reviews are also available and contribute to a service's overall score. Snapfish is listed as the top pick, with Shutterfly touted as most popular. The site's editors aren't identified and there's little information about the site's owners.

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16. First Glimpse Magazine
Oct. 1, 2006
Want Prints?
by Editors of First Glimpse Magazine
Our Assessment This article considers several digital photo printing options. Generally, it doesn't provide rankings although it does compare a few printing services. Interestingly, the article does so primarily to say that the editors find no discernible difference in quality between the various services. They do, however, identify their favorite online services as Kodak Gallery, Shutterfly and Winkflash.
17. CNet.com
Oct. 6, 2005
Online Digital Photo Printing and Sharing
by Eamon Hickey and Aimee Baldridge
Our Assessment

Aimed primarily at professional photographers, CNet briefly reviews nine online digital photo printing services. Features and tools, prices and print sizes are listed for each service and each is assigned a print-quality rating. The information is abbreviated and the quality ratings do not offer a wide range of variety. Additionally, many mainstream consumer services such as Snapfish and Kodak are overlooked. The services receiving the highest print-quality rating are Shutterfly and dotPhoto.

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18. The Wall Street Journal
July 7, 2006
Mugs on Mugs
by Melissa Schorr
Our Assessment This article focuses on photo mugs. Five photo-finishing sites are reviewed here, including Shutterfly, PhotoWorks, Snapfish, Kodak EasyShare Gallery and Sony ImageStation. At the top of the list is Shutterfly for the best image and most durable mug, but the others fall short for one reason or another.
19. Shot Addict
As of Nov. 2008
Online Digital Photo Printing Services
by Editors of Shot Addict
Our Assessment A table is provided on this site ranking five photo service providers. Unfortunately, many of the picks are more obscure choices and all receive similar ratings (four or five stars), which leads us to doubt the objectivity of the ratings. Full reviews are also not provided, although limited comments are available for each service in a column on the table.
Almost-Instant Albums
by Editors of Good Housekeeping
Our Assessment Good Housekeeping's editors look specifically at photo albums generated by online photo sites. The 11 x 9-inch Snapfish album was best overall, but ClubPhoto's small 4 x 6-inch spiral-bound album is a good value. Photo quality was good from Shutterfly, but only fair from Kodak, although both of these sites won high marks for creativity and design options.
21. Shopping Mommies.com
Nov. 17, 2005
Mom's Guide to Digital Photo Printing Services
by Editors of ShoppingMommies.com
Our Assessment

In this article, seven online printing services are reviewed and rated on ease of use, quality and price. Shutterfly earns high marks for quality and ease of use, but low marks for price. Wal-Mart scores highly for quality and price, but receives a low rating for ease of use due to its limited photo storage. Kodak EasyShare Gallery scores well for ease of use and quality, with a low score for price. The photo quality of Snapfish is not tested. The editors note that some of the digital photo printing services that are rated here have not actually been tested.

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22. PrintRates
As of Nov. 2008
Digital Photo Printing – Printing Sites Prices and Reviews
by Contributors to PrintRates
Our Assessment PrintRates is a hodgepodge of information on features and prices at various digital photo printing sites, and includes customer reviews. Many of the reviews are fairly old, however, and tend to be primarily negative.
23. Epinions.com
As of Nov. 2008
Online Services Photos
by Contributors to Epinions.com
Our Assessment Epinions has some user reviews for digital photo printing services, but many are fairly outdated, ranging from several months to a few years old. The sites with the most comments include Snapfish (242 reviews), Shutterfly (138 reviews) and Kodak EasyShare Gallery (40 reviews). There are mixed reviews for every service.

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