Hi folks...RMNP's Rich Voninski once told me that he has been satisfied with mid-size prints from Costco, which I found surprising since Costco is really a consumer-oriented rather than "pro" lab. I was curious to check them out given their unbeatable prices...but I'm not able to give them a large .tiff file, or even a large .jpg file. It seems that their in-store kiosks and on-line servers only handle the small native sizes of say a 10MP camera. If any have you have prints done at Costco, how do you submit your files to them? Are you satisfied with them?
What size print are you trying to make and for what purpose?
I am only printing as big as 8x10 and only recommending it for my wedding customers. 17cent 4x6's and they can choose them online. Gets rid of a lot of headaches for me. I apply their profiles from Dry Creek and that is all. I am able to upload the full jpeg from the 5D. That said. I never recommend Costco as a archival fine art image for my customers. For prints up to 44" wide I handle them myself on a variety of papers. I do not print anything for my own personal use (outside of snapshots) at Costco.
I think Tony L has some experience with them he might want to comment.
Others on the site have a multitude of experiences with other places both online and in our geographic locales.
Costco actually has the same or better machines than any "Pro" lab in the state. They have both Noritsu or Frontier machines depending on which one you go to. They also use Fuji Crystal Archive paper. It's just a matter of knowing how to get your files ready and knowing what to write on the envelope or upload that will make the difference as to whether or not you get a quality print.
I now have my gallery open for the Christmas season out here at the Colorado Mills mall. Stop in sometime and I can walk you through the whole process and show you what they're capable of. I'm located near entrance 1 directly across from Saks 5th Ave.
PS. I'm usually here Sat., Sun., Mon., Tues., all day and after 5pm the rest of the week.
Posted by Craig Schultz on December 4, 2007 at 5:55 PM
Kartik,
I took the advice of Tony and Rich some time ago. I always upload my jpgs via the web. You must size them at 320dpi and convert to their profile from Dry Creek Photo before upload. During the checkout process there will be a check box to turn off automatic corrections (that is KEY, make sure to do it as this is what tells them to print your photos as is and on the correct printer (my Costco has two printers and only one is profiled)). Never had a problem uploading files up to 8x12in.
What is the byte size of the files that fail to upload?
thanks for responding. Actually, I live in CA, so I can't stop by at your gallery on short notice :-). I'm stunned by how cheap Costco is...$10 for a 20"x30" print is cheaper than a banner print at Kinko's! With prices that low, I was skeptical that any reasonably good print could be generated by them. I realize they use good machines, but it also takes a good color-controlled workflow to get good prints. Of course, if you are selling prints made at Costco, you've done your homework on their services, so I'll take your word for it on the quality of their stuff. Heck, at their prices, I don't mind spending $$ just to see for myself if I will be satisfied or not. But what I don't know is how to submit files to them. If I want them to print a 20x30" file at 300 dpi, how do I submit a file that large to them? With West Coast Imaging whom I've been using, I simply submit the adobe RGB TIFF file to be printed as-is. How do you submit files to Costco?
Posted by Les Barstow on December 4, 2007 at 6:02 PM
I've also run at least one set of prints at 12x18" at Costco and had no problem. I took the files in on a CD, but otherwise the process is exactly the same as the web process and make sure you mark them as profiled, no corrections. Files were 100% JPEGs.
Posted by Les Barstow on December 4, 2007 at 6:04 PM
Kartik,
The 20x30" prints are a bit different from their smaller images. Files up to 12x18" can be printed by the stores; larger files have to be ordered online, and they use a different process because the Noritsu and Fuji processors they use in the stores won't handle larger paper.
I have no experience with anything done on larger paper by Costco, but I seem to remember they're not nearly as good as the smaller prints.
Les is correct. Costco is only capable of printing up to 12x18. Anything larger than that, they farm out. I would find a "professional lab" locally for anything larger than 12x18. For anything smaller, you won't beat Costco's quality and prices.
For submitting files, Craig is right on the money. Files MUST be 320dpi jpg's converted to the appropriate profile which you can download at drycreekphoto.com. Drycreekphoto.com also has one of the best tutorials for printing at Costco that I've seen. Personally, I like to hand them a CD. I've also uploaded to their website a few times with good results. If you bring them a CD in person, be sure to write in highlighter across the entire envelope "PUG" which stands for professional user group. Also in the special instructions at the bottom, be sure to write "print in real mode" and "no adjustments". If they don't understand this, they need new employees or I'd find another Costco.
Let us know if you have any other questions. Good luck.
Thanks all. It seems that 12x18 is as large as I can go, which is too bad. I'd just as soon buy a 13" wide printer in that case, but I find 12x18" too small. While that is about as large as I can print without visible loss of detail from most of my images taken with a Rebel XT, there are several pano shots I have that easily hold detail up to 18" or wider...not to mention I'm planning to upgrade to a FF DSLR, which only increases the print sizes. It's surprising, but I even have 24 x 36" prints that look great at arm's length, you need to get close to see the lack of tight detail. Ah, big prints...so good, but so pricey :-(
Posted by David Summers on December 5, 2007 at 4:22 PM
Kartik,
For larger prints (via mail order) at reasonable prices, you might try White House Custom Color:
Discussion
9 repliesWhat size print are you trying to make and for what purpose?
I am only printing as big as 8x10 and only recommending it for my wedding customers. 17cent 4x6's and they can choose them online. Gets rid of a lot of headaches for me. I apply their profiles from Dry Creek and that is all. I am able to upload the full jpeg from the 5D. That said. I never recommend Costco as a archival fine art image for my customers. For prints up to 44" wide I handle them myself on a variety of papers. I do not print anything for my own personal use (outside of snapshots) at Costco.
I think Tony L has some experience with them he might want to comment.
Others on the site have a multitude of experiences with other places both online and in our geographic locales.
RichieV
Costco actually has the same or better machines than any "Pro" lab in the state. They have both Noritsu or Frontier machines depending on which one you go to. They also use Fuji Crystal Archive paper. It's just a matter of knowing how to get your files ready and knowing what to write on the envelope or upload that will make the difference as to whether or not you get a quality print.
I now have my gallery open for the Christmas season out here at the Colorado Mills mall. Stop in sometime and I can walk you through the whole process and show you what they're capable of. I'm located near entrance 1 directly across from Saks 5th Ave.
PS. I'm usually here Sat., Sun., Mon., Tues., all day and after 5pm the rest of the week.
I took the advice of Tony and Rich some time ago. I always upload my jpgs via the web. You must size them at 320dpi and convert to their profile from Dry Creek Photo before upload. During the checkout process there will be a check box to turn off automatic corrections (that is KEY, make sure to do it as this is what tells them to print your photos as is and on the correct printer (my Costco has two printers and only one is profiled)). Never had a problem uploading files up to 8x12in.
What is the byte size of the files that fail to upload?
Craig
thanks for responding. Actually, I live in CA, so I can't stop by at your gallery on short notice :-). I'm stunned by how cheap Costco is...$10 for a 20"x30" print is cheaper than a banner print at Kinko's! With prices that low, I was skeptical that any reasonably good print could be generated by them. I realize they use good machines, but it also takes a good color-controlled workflow to get good prints. Of course, if you are selling prints made at Costco, you've done your homework on their services, so I'll take your word for it on the quality of their stuff. Heck, at their prices, I don't mind spending $$ just to see for myself if I will be satisfied or not. But what I don't know is how to submit files to them. If I want them to print a 20x30" file at 300 dpi, how do I submit a file that large to them? With West Coast Imaging whom I've been using, I simply submit the adobe RGB TIFF file to be printed as-is. How do you submit files to Costco?
The 20x30" prints are a bit different from their smaller images. Files up to 12x18" can be printed by the stores; larger files have to be ordered online, and they use a different process because the Noritsu and Fuji processors they use in the stores won't handle larger paper.
I have no experience with anything done on larger paper by Costco, but I seem to remember they're not nearly as good as the smaller prints.
For submitting files, Craig is right on the money. Files MUST be 320dpi jpg's converted to the appropriate profile which you can download at drycreekphoto.com. Drycreekphoto.com also has one of the best tutorials for printing at Costco that I've seen. Personally, I like to hand them a CD. I've also uploaded to their website a few times with good results. If you bring them a CD in person, be sure to write in highlighter across the entire envelope "PUG" which stands for professional user group. Also in the special instructions at the bottom, be sure to write "print in real mode" and "no adjustments". If they don't understand this, they need new employees or I'd find another Costco.
Let us know if you have any other questions. Good luck.
For larger prints (via mail order) at reasonable prices, you might try White House Custom Color:
http://www.whcc.com/