livin4lax09
06-13-2006, 12:51 AM
OK, so here's the deal. lately I did a little comparison test because I wanted to see which online photo processor did the best job.
I looked into four different companies: Adoramapix (which I have been using for a while) snapfish, clark color, and york photo. While clark, york, and snapfish are basically the same companies, I found slight variation in their printing and shipping.
First off, shipping costs. since the three are owned by presumably the same corporation, their shipping costs are the same (very cheap) I was only charged a dollar for 10 4x6 prints. compared to other labs (like adoramapix) which charges a 4.95 flat rate, this is very inexpensive. But if you are ordering a LOT of photos, adoramapix will be the better choice. But not unless you are ordering large or bulk quantities of photos.
As far as print quality goes, they are all around the same, but after very close examination, i found that clark photo has more detail, smoother lines, and handles noise much better.
As far as the quality of paper printed on, adoramapix wins, and they use kodak gold paper. It's really nice stuff.
So let's see. One of the biggest things to look at. Price. snapfish is 12 cents per 4x6. york - 10 cents. clark? 11 if you order normally, 9 if you pre-purchase lots of prints. Adorama? 19 cents. so clearly at adorama you are charged for the better paper. But another thing to consider is other print sizes. adorama charged 50 cents for a 5x7, while the others charge around 25 cents more, on average. So with bigger prints, it may be cheaper to go w/ adoramapix.
And last but not least, the way in which the photos are shipped. snapfish ships them the worst way, just in a paper envelope stuffed inside another paper envelope, sealed shut and saying "photos enclosed, do not bend." we all know the PO can't control that that much, so my photos arrived bent. york sends in the same way, but they put a piece of cardboard in with the photos to keep them straight. clark does the cardboard technique, but also uses another cardboard envelope for the outer envelope. Adorama ships in a thin cardboard box, sealed with adorama tape so you know if your prints have been tampered with. the prints are also sealed airtight so humidity doesn't affect them.
Another thing to consider is that york, clark, and snapfish all offer 10 free 4x6 prints at sign-up, but adorama does not.
so the bottom line? Adorama is good, but costly, and york and snapfish are good as well but lack in small areas. the best value for the money is clark color labs. they have great quality and make sure your photos get to you in pristine condition
adoramapix - www.adoramapix.com
snapfish - www.snapfish.com
clark color labs - www.clarkcolor.com
york photo labs - www.yorkphoto.com
I looked into four different companies: Adoramapix (which I have been using for a while) snapfish, clark color, and york photo. While clark, york, and snapfish are basically the same companies, I found slight variation in their printing and shipping.
First off, shipping costs. since the three are owned by presumably the same corporation, their shipping costs are the same (very cheap) I was only charged a dollar for 10 4x6 prints. compared to other labs (like adoramapix) which charges a 4.95 flat rate, this is very inexpensive. But if you are ordering a LOT of photos, adoramapix will be the better choice. But not unless you are ordering large or bulk quantities of photos.
As far as print quality goes, they are all around the same, but after very close examination, i found that clark photo has more detail, smoother lines, and handles noise much better.
As far as the quality of paper printed on, adoramapix wins, and they use kodak gold paper. It's really nice stuff.
So let's see. One of the biggest things to look at. Price. snapfish is 12 cents per 4x6. york - 10 cents. clark? 11 if you order normally, 9 if you pre-purchase lots of prints. Adorama? 19 cents. so clearly at adorama you are charged for the better paper. But another thing to consider is other print sizes. adorama charged 50 cents for a 5x7, while the others charge around 25 cents more, on average. So with bigger prints, it may be cheaper to go w/ adoramapix.
And last but not least, the way in which the photos are shipped. snapfish ships them the worst way, just in a paper envelope stuffed inside another paper envelope, sealed shut and saying "photos enclosed, do not bend." we all know the PO can't control that that much, so my photos arrived bent. york sends in the same way, but they put a piece of cardboard in with the photos to keep them straight. clark does the cardboard technique, but also uses another cardboard envelope for the outer envelope. Adorama ships in a thin cardboard box, sealed with adorama tape so you know if your prints have been tampered with. the prints are also sealed airtight so humidity doesn't affect them.
Another thing to consider is that york, clark, and snapfish all offer 10 free 4x6 prints at sign-up, but adorama does not.
so the bottom line? Adorama is good, but costly, and york and snapfish are good as well but lack in small areas. the best value for the money is clark color labs. they have great quality and make sure your photos get to you in pristine condition
adoramapix - www.adoramapix.com
snapfish - www.snapfish.com
clark color labs - www.clarkcolor.com
york photo labs - www.yorkphoto.com