Favorite Print Shop

[jdotwhite]

Just wondering where other professionals are getting their printing done and if they have any recommendations. I am planning on opening up shop at the beginning of the new year and am looking for the most economical way to print and deliver orders.

Thanks

[Ensleygirl]

Are you looking for an online option? I use WHCC and could not be happier.

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by jdotwhite

Just wondering where other professionals are getting their printing done and if they have any recommendations. I am planning on opening up shop at the beginning of the new year and am looking for the most economical way to print and deliver orders.

Thanks

There are about four gazillion threads about this very subject on this forum and you'll get that many answers multiplied by the number of thread participants, but . . .


I fired WHCC with the exception of holiday cards because I hadn't found a vendor to replace them in time this year. Their printing is good (not great) but unless you always use standard ROES, their shipping and packaging can get crappy fast.

MPIX, Millers, MPIX pro are all basically the same lab. They are well regarded.

I'm using Starmark imaging now for standard prints. Their printing is WAY better than WHCC and they package their shipments with care. You get better than WHCC PF pricing and better packing and shipping too.

[Ensleygirl]

Originally Posted by Jim Poor

There are about four gazillion threads about this very subject on this forum and you'll get that many answers multiplied by the number of thread participants, but . . .


I fired WHCC with the exception of holiday cards because I hadn't found a vendor to replace them in time this year. Their printing is good (not great) but unless you always use standard ROES, their shipping and packaging can get crappy fast.

MPIX, Millers, MPIX pro are all basically the same lab. They are well regarded.

I'm using Starmark imaging now for standard prints. Their printing is WAY better than WHCC and they package their shipments with care. You get better than WHCC PF pricing and better packing and shipping too.

I'm not the OP, but I want to thank you for the other recommendations. I will have to look into the others you mentioned. I have an account with Mpix, but I haven't really been that impressed with them. Starmark is a new one for me. Thanks!

[kelvin51]

Wow, Im shocked. I have been extremely pleased with Millers and Mpix both. Never had a problem and the quality has always been excellent. I don't care about pricing since that is passed on to the customer and it is minimal. I'll have to check out Starmark.....

[ShenaLuke]

I like to use a mixture of alot of different ones, they all offer something different and i was able to put together different packages and products by using different print companies. It works for me. I think the best thing to do is just shop around. Good Luck.

[asoupley]

Originally Posted by kelvin51

Wow, Im shocked. I have been extremely pleased with Millers and Mpix both. Never had a problem and the quality has always been excellent. I don't care about pricing since that is passed on to the customer and it is minimal. I'll have to check out Starmark.....

+1 for Millers. Have used them multiple times, and been very pleased each time. They were especially helpfull when FedEx delivered my order to the wrong house in my neighborhood but the driver could not remember which house it was... needless to say, Millers reprinted the order and had it FedEx'd that day. They said they would sort out the issue with FedEx.

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by kelvin51

Wow, Im shocked. I have been extremely pleased with Millers and Mpix both. Never had a problem and the quality has always been excellent. I don't care about pricing since that is passed on to the customer and it is minimal. I'll have to check out Starmark.....

I didn't say anything negative about Millers / MPIX / MPIX Pro (They are the same people and even mostly the same equipment).

Here's my beef with WHCC:

A 5x7 through regular ROES costs $1.15, whereas through their Print Fulfillment ROES it costs $.54. This is the same exact print, run on the same printer.

The difference in ordering systems is the amount of options available (plus PFROES only goes up to 11x14).

You can ship to the "studio", or drop ship to your customer from either system.
Regular ROES requires a $12 minimum order and you get free 2-day shipping to the studio.
PFROES has no minimum requirement and you pay for shipping no matter where it goes.

So far, I'm fine with all that. The big problem for me is that PFROES orders are put into flimsy envelopes at sizes up to 8x10 and a bad cardboard piece folded over for 11x14.

I constantly had prints arriving damaged, which WHCC was happy to replace, but that cost me delays in delivery to clients.

For the dog sport world, 90% of my prints are 8x10 or smaller and the savings of going with PF ROES is significant. If only they'd PACK THE DAMN THINGS WELL.

I order twice per week usually and I normally order around 60-100 prints at a time.

60 x $1.15 compared to 60 x $.54 is a HUGE difference over the course of a year. I'd be happy to pay MORE for shipping to get the prints in good condition.

So, Enter Starmark.

The prints look GREAT (better than WHCC) they are priced at or around the WHCC PF ROES pricing and they are shipped via UPS 2-day (which usually means overnight for me since I'm close to the lab) for $8.00.

Because I can get such great prices and service (CS is great from Starmark too!) for my dog sports work, who do you thing will get my portrait orders as well from here on out?

[prince]

I use Mpix and Shutterfly for online orders and Ritzpix for local in case I need them same day.

Shutterfly is mostly used for personal photos since they have their name at the back of all prints and they don't offer dropship.

Mpix - I am happy with their regular prints but not happy with their greeting cards quality. Their packaging and delivery time are very good. Customer service is quick in responding.

I am planning to try few other labs too. Just need to short list a few

As ShenaLuke suggested, try a few different ones for different types of prints (regular, greetings, etc.) and see which one works best for you or may be a combination of few.

[jdotwhite]

Thanks for all the response. I have used WHCC a couple of times in the past but I've never had large quantity orders or very frequent orders. I'll be sure to check out all the recommendations.