Base on John, The best you can do is get your own printer and do it yourself.
Oscar Matos Linares
3221 West Pierce #2R; Chicago, IL 60651
Telephone: 773-315-6842
E-mail: lpstudio@yahoo.com
Website: www.lpstudios.net
________________________________
From: john castronovo <jc@technicalphoto.com>
To: artshow_photo@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, January 23, 2011 3:29:55 PM
Subject: Re: [artshow_photo] Re: Printing Prints
The operator is certainly the weakest link in the chain after the image
files themselves, however the equipment can be locked such that even a
good operator isn't able to produce good work. Agfa made the very best
print engine which was also used in Kodak and Durst equipment, but Agfa
photo is out of business so only certain better quality labs still have
them, and even among those you need to have a good operator who is
allowed to run it in the highest quality repro modes if you want the
best results. Good luck. Most often, you will run into Fuji Frontier or
Noritsu labs which are on a par with one another. Whether they use Kodak
or Fuji papers and chemistry is a toss up these days, they're both good,
but I think Fuji invests more effort at this time. Both companies make
much better papers than you can get at Costco or Sams. The better stuff
costs a lot more, but it yields nearly 2/3 stop more color potential.
Also, many labs are converting to 'dry' labs which are actually inkjet
and not photographic. I'd steer clear of those for now.
There are a lot of labs that will simply just charge more for the same
thing you can get at Costco, but you can get a lot more if you're
willing to pay more, but only at the right places. Unfortunately,
they're getting increasingly more difficult to find. We closed our
custom lab for good at the end of the year, R.I.P., so I can speak
without having anything to gain or lose. As any of my former customers
could tell you, there's a huge difference between labs and it has little
to nothing to do with equipment or materials.
If you really think a Costco or Sam's can do the same work as a top
level lab you're just deluding yourself. Forget about wedding labs like
Millers because they have a mind set that's perfected to one result and
they can't think outside of that box. Mpix, which is their online
offshoot, competes on the low end for the masses so it's very much what
you're getting at Costco only at a higher price. There are others, so
I'm not picking on Millers, they're just a convenient example. For
something better, find a custom/commercial lab like Duggal or Laumont in
New York or any similar lab that's used to doing work for top ad
agencies and world class fine artists and you'll see what I mean.
Unfortunately, labs like that only exist in major cities now because the
push to mediocrity and places like Costco have wiped out the rest where
there isn't a big enough volume of high end clientele.
I understand that budgets are more of a consideration than ever these
days, so I understand the need to get the most you can from a place like
Costco, but never make the mistake of believing that it's all you can
get.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Pearlman" <mike.pearlman@gmail.com>
To: <artshow_photo@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2011 1:11 PM
Subject: Re: [artshow_photo] Re: Printing Prints
> Most of the labs including the big professional ones use the same
> equipment
> for smaller size work. There really isn't a hugh demand for photo
> finishing
> equipment and the manufacturers are limited. What you get out really
> depends on the training, skill and care of the operators. Volume has
> a lot
> to do with it because this equipment really demands a high volume to
> be
> affordable and keep the chemistry up to standards. A lot is actually
> checked on line. Most of the chemistry and paper comes from the same
> source.
>
> On Sun, Jan 23, 2011 at 10:00 AM, judy_nicholls_texas <
> judy_nicholls@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> I agree that if you have a Costco nearby, give them a try. Even if
>> you
>> normally send out, there are times when you just need something
>> printed
>> now... When I first looked into using Costco locally (not their mail
>> service) I found that satisfaction with local Costco's varied. That
>> makes
>> sense because it probably relates to how well the various stores
>> maintain
>> their equipment. My closest Costco is in Austin and may get a lot of
>> use by
>> more professional users and not just print my family photographs at
>> 4x6. I
>> get extremely good service there.
>>
>> If Sam's is your only option, maybe you can train them to take better
>> care
>> of their equipment. If you can get the ones with orangy cast printed
>> elsewhere, even at 4x6, and then show them the difference and talk to
>> them
>> maybe they will pay more attention to maintenance schedules or
>> whatever they
>> are supposed to do to keep their equipment running up to spec.
>>
>> They may use some different equipment but it all should work very
>> well if
>> they maintain it properly. My Costco prints are on Fuji Crystal
>> Archive
>> paper, so I presume they are using Fuji equipment.
>>
>> Judy
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> *Michael*
> ChristopherMichael.com
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
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