Cosco Metallic Prints???
JayClark79
Registered Users Posts: 253 Major grins
Has anyone ever used cosco to do metallic prints? My partner wants to have smaller prints done here because they are 1/3 of the price of Mpix and Bay Photo.... We have not done an apples to apples comparison yet I just wanted to see if anyone else has ever done it.... My partner said a friend that he has helped do weddings with gets her prints done there....
I know I know... its Cosco... im just asking im not condoning it lol
I know I know... its Cosco... im just asking im not condoning it lol
My Site http://www.jayclarkphotography.com
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But, for 12x18 and lower they are great. And how many places will actually sell you an 8x12 print anymore.
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***(so long as you never ever ever ever do a apples for apples comparision with Bay photo)
Thanks,
Kevin
(At least at my local Costco anyway...)
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That guarantee is one of the things I love about SmugMug. But to be fair, Costco has it too.
I've never heard/seen metallic prints offered at CostCo, might be time to look again.
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
My Site http://www.jayclarkphotography.com
Canon Rebel T1i | Canon 50mm 1.8 | Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 | Canon 75-300mm EF f 4.5 III | Opteka Grip | Canon 580exII | 2 Vivitar 383 Flash's and a home studio setup.
+1
And what was great is that before I sent in my images for printing I was able to get some more experienced eyes on the image and some help from the Support Heroes and the prints turned out great. Biggest problem I have with it, my wife hung it up in her office and wants more and more metal prints.
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What subjects are best for metallic? Ive seen some great black and white prints in metallic, and color fireworks. But is it good for portraits, and if so, what kind of portraits, color or black and white?
http://wowmephotos.smugmug.com/
I just posted a blog entry that compares the quality I got at Costco vs Bay Photo.
http://blog.atmtxphoto.com/2010/09/02/printing-photographs-costco-vs-bay-photo/
boy, in that image you've posted, I can really see the difference! Did you accent the colors or is that pretty accurate?
I sharped the photograph and did a minor levels adjustment but I did not change the color or do any manipulation to make any particular photo look better. The changes I mentioned were done to the entire photograph. It was taken with the Sony TX5 point and shoot.
I would say the photo captures the feel of the color differences in general but the difference seems more exaggerated. This might be because the Costco prints are slightly curled instead of flat like the Bay Photo prints. The curled paper may make the photos look a bit less saturated (because of the way the light bounces off the prints). The differences in the Broken Spoke image looks more exaggerated than in reality however the photos of the light trails on the bridge look pretty close. You can tell the blues on the image on the right are more saturated, which was the Bay Photo images.
On the large church photos, you can tell the one of the top (Costco) is a bit more pinkish.
I wasn't intending for the picture to necessarily be an accurate portrayal, it was more to illustrate how I looked at the prints for my blog. I tried to be as accurate as I could in the text of the blog. I hope it helps.
I am somewhat biased, as I am a former fulltime photographer who is now employed in a Costco photo lab. Most of the labs now have samples of professional metal prints done from stock photos owned by Costco. The metal prints look remarkable and IMHO, of equal quality to what I have seen from Bay Photo, my former lab. I can't tell you yet how to best prepare your images prior to sending them, i.e. color calibration, but again, it's Costco, you don't like it, you don't pay for it, and you don't pay for metal prints until you pick them up. Win Win.
Stop by your local Costco and have a close look at their samples, I think you will be impressed.
RE: Banding issues
Hi, I work in a Costco photo lab and daily use the big Epson printer for 16x20 and 20x30 (and sometimes larger) posters and poster boards. We run a cleaning on our printer almost every day, and more often if we see issues. If you are seeing banding very often, then you need to immediately bring it to the attention of your Costco Photo Center employees. If you see banding, they aren't running a cleaning often enough. If you HAVE banding on a print, ask them kindly to reprint it, and again kindly - point out the reason for the request. At our lab, we love it when people actually CARE about the quality of our product. If you don't get reasonable results, maybe try another nearby Costco if there is one.
Costco photo centers nationwide just began offering Metal Prints online. Not a lot of sizes available yet, but I think that will come....and the prices are very reasonable. Find them online under "Metal Wall Decor". Most of the labs are just now getting samples put on display. If you don't see one at yours, then ask them to get some.