Walmart Photo Printing

rexbobcat · May 5, 2012

I guess beggars can't be choosers.

I got some quick black and white photos printed from Walmart to show some people. They didn't need to be professional quality. I just needed prints quickly.
Well, I got the first print and I was honestly impressed. Then the other 4 came out and I was like "sonofa..."

The photos had pure blacks. None of that 'blend all the colors and get approx. black" stuff. It was BLACK. But....everything else was green. Not horribly green, but green enough to notice...

When I went home I printed the same photos with my cheap $75 HP photo printer, and the colors were much more accurate, but the blacks were tinted/faded I guess because of metamerism? I'm not really sure how that works.

So anyways, I just found it ironic how the quality of the print itself is better from Walmart, but the accuracy of the colors is more accurate on my home printer...at least for black and white photos.

If Walmart would get their colors to look, ya know, like the photo actually looks, then I could see myself using them a lot more for simple things. Maybe their printer was almost out of ink....

CowgirlMama · May 5, 2012

It's not their printer. Their prints are always bad.

They used to be better. We used to print family photos there all the time, but they changed their printing process and the new prints are awful. I have prints done before the change, then after and you can see the difference. (Same camera, same editing, just different printing.) If I'm in a rush, I print at Sams Club. Walgreens is tolerable, but not great. With any of those places, you have to make sure to turn off their "autocorrect". That makes a big difference in how they come out. If it's turned on, they add contrast and change the color of the picture. I was getting red prints.

rexbobcat · May 5, 2012

Ah. I turned on autocorrect because on their little screen it just looked like it sharpened for printing which is a fairly standard procedure for a lot of printers. Maybe they did change the color. Sams Club does pretty good? We have a Sams Club here but I didn't know they printed photos. I would use Walmart before Walgreens, however. I printed some 8x10s there one time and every print was banded with faded lines of color. In fact, I would use my home printer before Walgreens lol

CCericola · May 5, 2012

Weird that Walmart and Sams club would be different. They are the same company.

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CowgirlMama · May 5, 2012

Sams is still using the old printing process.

Not sure why. Maybe the new machines can't do the really big prints?

luvmyfamily · May 5, 2012

I have never tried Walmart or Walgreens, only back in the days when I printed my point and shoot photos. I now use NPL nations Photo Lab. I downloaded their ROES professional catalog and I was impressed that the prints came back looking better than on my screen. Maybe in a pinch i would use Walmart??

Orrin · May 6, 2012

CCericola said:
Weird that Walmart and Sams club would be different. They are the same company.

Same company, but different operators. The quality will vary from all these places depending on who's shift it is!

illumiNation · May 6, 2012

I don't like walmarts prints either!

Hackett · May 6, 2012

Walmarts are phasing out in store processing in most areas and resorting to the local labs. Here in LA they use a Fuji lab in Baton Rouge, or at least they do in my region.

mjhoward · May 6, 2012

rexbobcat said:
When I went home I printed the same photos with my cheap $75 HP photo printer, and the colors were much more accurate, but the blacks were tinted/faded I guess because of metamerism? I'm not really sure how that works.

So anyways, I just found it ironic how the quality of the print itself is better from Walmart, but the accuracy of the colors is more accurate on my home printer...at least for black and white photos.

It could also be that you are using a color profile that is different than that of Walmart's printers. A lot of these online labs will provide their printing color profiles for that reason. Then you can be sure to do your PP with the 'correct' color profile. Even if you are using the 'correct' color profile, you must also be sure that what you're seeing on your monitor (or theirs) is what will be represented in print by calibrating your monitor.

Crollo · May 6, 2012

I don't understand how people complain that Wallmart is horrible. Your Wallmart may be of poor quality but that means nothing in comparison to say, OTHER Wallmart stores?
I got my prints from Wallmart and they looked better then they did on my monitor because my monitor wasn't calibrated for proper blacks. My pictures didn't turn out green, red or desaturated or oversaturated. I think you all need to chill out.