Prints from Mpix

[chadott]

I think you will find that Endura paper will last longer. Also, I would not trust Costco to color balance my prints.

In the US, Shipping from Mpix Pro is only $4.00 per order regardless of order size.. Yes, it's $30.00 in Canada

Express shipping is only $10.95, and if you place your order on time, often you will get it the next day.

Christina, I loaded my order in both carts to compare. Miller's was $429 and Mpix was $230 (including express shipping.) I went with Mpix!

nfp - I've often wondered about Nations Lab. Maybe I'll have to try them some time.

 

[spacefuzz]

I have printed with mpix and bay photo, the results were ok but not out of this world amazing like I was expecting. I get twitchy when other people tweak my work though so I print out everything 11x17 and smaller on my own printer.

 

[CCericola]

Christina, I loaded my order in both carts to compare. Miller's was $429 and Mpix was $230 (including express shipping.) I went with Mpix!

If color correction is not a concern, then by all means go with Mpix. If it is for a client can you afford another $230 if the color is off? I guess it all depends on the job. My personal stuff I use Mpix and Mpixpro, proofs, I use Mpixpro, client orders I use Millers. It's differant for every job.

 

[chadott]

If color correction is not a concern, then by all means go with Mpix. If it is for a client can you afford another $230 if the color is off? I guess it all depends on the job. My personal stuff I use Mpix and Mpixpro, proofs, I use Mpixpro, client orders I use Millers. It's differant for every job.

Is Miller's color correction so much better than Mpix? I mean, worth twice the price. Unfortunately, our print pricing is based on Mpix pricing, since that is our primary source of prints. So doubling the cost kind of throws off our (already bleak) profit margin.

 

[CCericola]

Mpix does not offer any color correction. Your pictures are printed as is.

 

[chadott]

Mpix does not offer any color correction. Your pictures are printed as is.

That is not true.

 

[CCericola]

Mpix does not offer any color correction. Your pictures are printed as is.

That is not true.

I stand corrected. I just visited mpix new site and their color information was deleted and they do list color correction. I'll have to e-mail Millers to have them explain the difference. I'll keep you posted on what they say.

 

[chadott]

Mpix does not offer any color correction. Your pictures are printed as is.

That is not true.

I stand corrected. I just visited mpix new site and their color information was deleted and they do list color correction. I'll have to e-mail Millers to have them explain the difference. I'll keep you posted on what they say.

I hope that didn't come across as snippy!! lol! I wrote that much and got distracted...and forgot to add more to make it not seem so harsh!

Yes, let me know what you find out! I'm guessing Miller's does do a better job of correcting, but it's tough for me to justify paying that much more, especially when our clients are used to the quality of mpix prints. Don't get me wrong, I would switch in a heartbeat if the quality justified the price tag. It isn't like we search for the cheapest print lab, or that we are trying to "dupe" our clients or anything like that. We want to provide the best quality we can. However, we don't charge the highest prices around for our prints, so there has to be a trade off somewhere! If we pay more, our clients will need to pay more as well, plain and simple. That's just business.

 

[CCericola]

Oh don't worry, You didn't sound snippy at all. I'll post the e-mail I get back from Millers.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

I just ordered two prints from MPIX. I also put them in my print cart on Smugmug. Both not to be re-touched. Will report back.

 

[Kerbouchard]

Well, I'm officially done with Mpix. Ordered a second set, to be delivered at my work, which I specifically mentioned by use of entering the feaking address into the 'shipping address'.

Instead they came to my billing address. Wouldn't normally be a problem, but the prints were for somebody at work to get out as Christmas gifts. Also would not normally be a problem, except my wife went into labor today and I won't be back at work for several days. So, now, instead of spending time with my family, I'll have to make a 45 mile round trip into work to drop off the prints. AND it was after I paid for Next Day Air.

Completely fed up and done with Mpix. BTW, and the prints were okay, but not better than Costco and not worth the price. FWIW, I was impressed with the Metallic prints. The regular ones were a bit 'bleh'.

Mpix just lost a customer. Completely, and entirely unexcusable.

 

[RubyGloom]

Well, I'm officially done with Mpix. Ordered a second set, to be delivered at my work, which I specifically mentioned by use of entering the feaking address into the 'shipping address'.

Instead they came to my billing address. Wouldn't normally be a problem, but the prints were for somebody at work to get out as Christmas gifts. Also would not normally be a problem, except my wife went into labor today and I won't be back at work for several days. So, now, instead of spending time with my family, I'll have to make a 45 mile round trip into work to drop off the prints. AND it was after I paid for Next Day Air.

Completely fed up and done with Mpix. BTW, and the prints were okay, but not better than Costco and not worth the price. FWIW, I was impressed with the Metallic prints. The regular ones were a bit 'bleh'.

Mpix just lost a customer. Completely, and entirely unexcusable.

Sorry to here you had a bad experience but thanks for sharing, I was considering using them but may re-think. Congratulations on your new baby!

 

[willis_927]

I am done with Mpix (mpix pro) as well. They sent me a bunch of client chirstmas cards, which got held up in Winnipeg because Mpix did not give them the address inwhich to send the photo cards. I ended up having to call fedex (because the photo cards were so delayed) and then had a 20$ fee because the photos were "Held" by fedex. Not to mention they were supposed to be shipped to my house, and I had to go pick them up myself at fedex to avoid further delays (about a 2 hour drive).

All in all after a 30$ shipping fee, and a 20$ added fee, I would say I would be lucky to have even broke even on this order.

I have to say once I got the photos, I was very happy with the quality.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

Later today I will have received my 4th and final test and will report back. So far I have the prints from Costco, Mpix, Blue Cube Imaging and the lagger is from Bay. Pretty interting so far....

 

[GeorgieGirl]

Ok here we have it..The same 5 Portrait images, all the same size at 5x7. All jpegs from processed/edited raw files on a Spyder Express3 calibrated monitor:

Costco - Printed on Fujicolor Crystal Archive
Mpix - Printed on Endura Professional Paper
Blue Cube Imaging - Printed on Fujicolor Professional Paper
Smugmug/Bay - Printed on Endura Professional Paper

Shipping - I paid for expedited shipping for Mpix, Blue Cube and Smugmug/Bay, got all of them on Monday but for Smugmug/Bay that came today. Costco was a pick-up.

Packaging - For the shipped orders Mpix, and Blue Cube packed well in glassine or parchment sleeves and in a shipping box. Smugmug send in a bendable envelope, think fed-ex type, and the envelope was indeed dirty, bent and creased and so are the photos. They are unusable. In the past they have shipped in a round tube, but those photos were larger so that might be the cutoff.

Results -

1. Overall there was a striking difference in color and clarity with a split between Mpix and Costco being dark and soft and Blue Cube and Smugmug/Bay being bright and clear.

2. Fabric, Hair, Eye ball, Eyelash, jewelry, and other important details were lost in Mpix, Costco and Blue Cube.

3. Flesh tones were dark and oversaturated in order - Costco, Mpix

4. Overexposed was Blue Cube.

5. Smugmug/Bay was the cleanest, sharpest and with the most natual looking skin and contained crisp and clear overall important detail. It was the clear winner.

I have contacted their email help and I can only hope they can get me a replacement set by Saturday as the prints are creased and unusable due to their poor packaging.

I will be happy to asnwer any specific questions anyone may have.