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printing at walmart

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beloved84

macrumors regular
Original poster
i got pictures printed at walmart and they turned out really dark. is it my digital photos that made it out dark or was it walmart? is there any other good places i can print besides walmart, walgreens, sams club, or costco?

sample picture:
358055773_3b3cce24f7.jpg
 
beloved84 said:
i got pictures printed at walmart and they turned out really dark. is it my digital photos that made it out dark or was it walmart? is there any other good places i can print besides walmart, walgreens, sams club, or costco?

sample picture:
358055773_3b3cce24f7.jpg
Click to expand...

It's difficult to know- it looks dark to me though. If you don't pay online though, they will reprint them if you ask.
 
I did answer your question, but hodgjy has very good idea. I never thought of that. But don't go to walmart they stink. They don't take the time to print them up properly. They don't need your business.

Go to a Kodak Kiosk if you want to print it up from a cd, or memory stick.
 
savanahrose said:
I did answer your question, but hodgjy has very good idea. I never thought of that. But don't go to walmart they stink. They don't take the time to print them up properly. They don't need your business.

Go to a Kodak Kiosk if you want to print it up from a cd, or memory stick.
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That depends on the Wal-Mart (like any minilab.) Where I normally get prints, they do a great job and will reprint anything I don't like so long as I don't pay online for the service (you have to pay in-store.) They've got a Frontier, they print on Crystal Archive. The operators run test strips and calibrate everything. All the Kodak kiosks I've seen are Dye Sublimation printers which don't have near the dynamic range of a Frontier, nor do they have the same color gamut. Personally, I like shadow detail in my shots.
 
At Sam's Club when you go to one of those automatic kiosks to upload your images to the printer. There is a check box that says "auto-enhance photos" it saturates and darkens the photos. This drove me crazy for a while until I found that button and clicked it off. The dumb thing is that its default is to checked and you have to uncheck it. So watch out for that.
 
Whatever you do don't use kodak they suckk soooo bad.All of their paper is manufactured in third world countrys and they do not even make photo machines anymore. All Fuji USA paper&film is made at a plant in NC. I think you might have had the enhance button checked. I know a lot of this b/c my dad works at fuji.
 
nickster9224 said:
Whatever you do don't use kodak they suckk soooo bad.All of their paper is manufactured in third world countrys and they do not even make photo machines anymore. All Fuji USA paper&film is made at a plant in NC. I think you might have had the enhance button checked. I know a lot of this b/c my dad works at fuji.
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I don't agree. I like Kodak.

I just bought 11x17 Ultra Premium Kodak paper and it says made in the USA. I checked out some other Kodak papers that I have around and they all say Made in the USA. I did find one older Ultima 4x6 borderless Kodak paper that says made in Canada.

Also, I think it was about a year or more ago that one the magazines (MacWorld?) had an issue with an article dealing with what bigbox printed the best pics and on what paper, etc. And Kodak paper had won that competition.
 
Dave the Great said:
Also, I think it was about a year or more ago that one the magazines (MacWorld?) had an issue with an article dealing with what bigbox printed the best pics and on what paper, etc. And Kodak paper had won that competition.
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Kodak makes good paper, Fuji makes good paper, but if you want gallery sales, you're pretty much stuck using Fuji Crystal Archive or calling your inkjet a French name 😉
 
I've only successfully used the Kodak machines at Sam's Club and Wal-Mart but the photos coming out lack contrast. The paper seems thin but is extra big.

I got better results when I edited the photos beforehand but the machine didn't like that I deleted the originals and added the edited versions onto the card. Still, it works.

It's better to clean up the contrast and/or colour before putting them through a machine.
 
compuwar said:
Kodak makes good paper, Fuji makes good paper, but if you want gallery sales, you're pretty much stuck using Fuji Crystal Archive or calling your inkjet a French name 😉
Click to expand...

I have no problem with Fuji, but I thought his comments on Kodak were off-base.

But, if you are going for gallery sales, I doubt you are going to Sam's club to get your prints done.

bousozoku said:
...
It's better to clean up the contrast and/or colour before putting them through a machine.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree with that.
 
Dave the Great said:
I have no problem with Fuji, but I thought his comments on Kodak were off-base.

But, if you are going for gallery sales, I doubt you are going to Sam's club to get your prints done.
Click to expand...

So long as you've profiled the machine, a Frontier is a Frontier (ok, there are different models sure)- if they run regular control strips, get you in when there's warm but fresh chemicals and you're profiled for them, then Wal-Mart works just as well as any other controlled and profiled source printing to a Frontier on Crystal Archive.

If you're not profiled, then a pro lab does better work, but your margins change. You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in prints from a "pro" lab and Wal-Mart for 8x10 prints if they're both profiled. Paying DryCreek to profile a particular printer is $50, though they're no longer taking orders.

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/using_printer_profiles.htm

Looks like these folks are cheaper though:

http://www.customprinterprofiles.com/

You can find generic profiles at:

http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/colour/generic_profiles/
 
I took the photo and opened it with Photoshop Elements 4.0 and proceeded to change the levels and found that the photo needed some work to really bring out the details. On its own, the details of the clothes are almost completely lost in a sea of dark.

You could probably make these kinds of adjustments on your own through iPhoto or The GIMP or some other software that you might have.
 
FWIW I get my stuff printed at http://www.fineprintexpress.com - 4x6s are $0.25, I've also had 16x20s and other sizes, they use the LED Chromira 5X (300ppi working resolution, 425 visual - highest on the market) printer, and Fuji materials. Either way, you can't beat a 20x30 print for $26!
 
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