Several Top Quality Printers To Try
After a lot of research, I have found a good low cost printer.. As a wedding photographer I have great sources for photo prints that arrive on time every time I order. I use a few different vendors , two of of which require a resale permit but one also has a consumer side which I have not tried but assume would be of the same quality as the professional division. The two I use the most are Millers Lab with it’s consumer side under the name Mpix. The other is White House Custom Color or WHCC for short. Both print all sizes of portraits on traditional photo stock, metal and canvas.
Millers and WHCC require photographers to send in to verify there colors match what the photographer expects before opening an account. In addition to normal photo prints they also do press printed material and provide both fast delivery and quality color reproduction. Both companies focus on short run pieces, usually 25 to 50 so the price is a little higher than printers doing high volume jobs. This is a great alternative if you only need a few pieces for that special promotion.
The turn around time is fast . For traditional lab photo prints and press printed cards they usually print the same day or next day depending on the time the order is placed. It seems to go to the press within minutes of ordering so don’t even think about making changes after you hit the send button . Assuming you sent the order in early they usually package and ship it out the same day. WHCC provides second day delivery and usually the order will come in faster since one of the printing offices is only 1 day ground service away from San Antonio. Millers will ship air service so it is also a quick delivery.Both offer reduced rates and even free shipping for most orders.
For higher volume I tried several of the well known names such as Overnight prints, Vista Print etc. While Overnight prints does a good job they were not what I consider reliable with estimated delivery dates forcing you to pay for high cost rush shipping options that eat away any savings. It looks like many of these discount printers make more off retail shipping than printing. Of course they get shipping discounts due to their volume but charge the customer standard retail list rates. The printers just charge the listed rate and never discount allowing the retail shipping rate to add to the bottom line.
I also tried Vista Print with less than acceptable results. Very slow to ship and my business cards were totally stuck together. Yes, they did a free re-print but the cards came in with the same problem. I found another printer called U-Printing. They have good prices and seem to stand behind their shipping schedule. Of course the rush shipping is also costly but if they ship as listed you should be able to plan ahead and take advantage of the savings ground service provides. They offer a lot of unusual die cut business card styles without additional fees.This alone is a nice option to make your card stand out. I have used them for photo place cards as well as postcards and flyer’s.All the products came in with good color reproduction and on time.
Having tried several photo printers, I continue to use the two listed for my San Antonio Wedding Photographer business. They do all sizes and materials including canvas and metallic photo stock. The other printer, U-printing has done a great job on several business stationary and promotional cards I use for my business.