Today, there are several online photo printing services. These online printing platforms offer several advantages, such as high-quality printing on a variety of papers. Meijer Photo is one such service provider. This review finds out the good and the bad about Meijer Photo, so you can make an informed decision when designing your photo book and other photo creations. What to look for in an online photo printing service The magic of having actual physical photos in a photo book or gift cards is irresistible. Every summer, I make it a point of converting back to analog all my vacay photos. Things are flowing smoothly now, unlike in the past where one batch would come off discolored or messed up in some other ways. Poor print quality should not be a significant concern, but when you face challenges asking for a reprint, that’s a big red flag. I needed to entrust the service of preserving my memories to a reliable provider. Here are some of the criteria I used to find the right online printing service after too many frustrations with my original provider. You deserve a superb print quality It can be frustrating when your wedding photos come out messed up after a long time of waiting. It happens that with some digital printing services, their pictures come out under-saturated. Such images are a bit grainy and unclear; they won’t do any good in a photo book or on a mug. Before you make up your mind about a particular provider, find out how they do their printing. The type of printer they use can determine the quality of the output. Canon printers generally produce the best quality. Cropping can drastically reduce the quality of your output There are many digital printing services out there that have rigid requirements when it comes to picture size. These might require you to crop your small or ultra-wide pictures into their standard formats, offering no degree of customization. During cropping the pixelation changes interfere with the quality of the output. Most a time, cropping leads to muddy, grainy, and low-resolution images. The right digital printing provider should warn you when resolution gets too low during cropping. Color correction should be on the menuMishaps happen when capturing photos, but that doesn’t have to be a life sentence for you to end up with forever flawed images. The right digital printing service provider should offer an easy to use editing tool that allows you to add or minimize color on your photos before they go into printing. You should also be able to play around with contrast, brightness, and orientation, among others. Go where there is a quick turnaround on your ordersSome online photo printing service providers might take frustratingly long on your requests. You can avoid unnecessary stress by choosing a provider that has a quick delivery policy. The printing provider should also give you several options for shipping or locations where to pick your final photo products. Excellent customer care is a must The workings of online photo printing sometimes get complex. When you get lost during editing, uploading, or choosing a particular product, it will help if there is a team of customer care reps ready to help you. Exceptional customer service also spills over to how the company listens to your requests. Check whether they are willing to do reprints, or make customizations that are in sync with your tastes and preferences. Meijer Photo Review Meijer is a superstore chain with several branches in the Midwest and headquartered in Walker, Michigan. The company has a digital printing service known as Meijer Photo. You can make your order by submitting your digital files and later on pick up your photos at the store. The company can also ship the orders directly you. This online photo printing service is suitable if you are after high quality prints of your digital photos. The on-demand service can be cost-saving in that you don’t have to acquire your own printer installation. The service is also less costly when pitted against brick and mortar photo printing stores. However, if you need control and speed when it comes to printing your digital photos, this service might not be the best option. Meijer Photo has the following on their service menu:
Printing of standard size photos Enlargement of photo prints Creating photo booksPrinting of photo cards and photo collages Customizing calendars and other creations using your photos
This broad range of services offered by the same provider is a major convenience when you have simultaneous requests. The printing technique At Meijer Photo, the printing technology employed is the Photo Ditto. This machine made by Pixel Magic Imaging entails a PC synchronized with an Epson and Nikon scanner together with a Sony Dye Sub printer. The setup includes inbuilt drives for media cards, CD, Zip Disk, and floppy disks. This printing mechanization produces better quality photos than the Kodak Picture Maker used by alternative providers such as Walgreens and Kroger. Print qualityI have been able to get high-quality prints with this Meijer Photo before, most likely due to their Photo Ditto installation. You can get neutral or black and whites with surface texturing. Such photos are what you would want for your photo book. However, beware that Meijer Photo’s surface texturing might make the prints thin and prone to scratches as compared to RA-4 prints. Another cause for concern here is that some photos prints come out darker or lighter than they should be. Most often, however, that happens when your screen is not calibrated, but with the accurate filters over at Meijer Photo, the actual color of your digital photos comes out. The photo books from this provider come in many paper styles. The cover image features either a smooth textured or matte hardcover binding with a pasteboard flyleaf to protect the inner pages. The photobook pages are a little thicker with accurate picture quality. Background optionsMeijer Photo online photo printing service offers a variety of photo backgrounds for your selection. They total to 183, a number that will give your photo book plenty of character. In addition, the company has around 80 pre-customized photo books on the site. Users can choose among these and add their photos on the pages that include pre-selected backgrounds and graphics. Be that as it may, this number might fall below what competitors such as Shutterfly have to offer. Cover options and book sizes There are a total of 3 cover options for your photo book on Meijer Photo. These include softbound, window cover, and hardbound. The book dimensions are limiting too; you have to choose one of 12×12, 10×10 or 8.5×11. This limitation in the size of the book and type of covers encumbers design flexibility, which is needed for great photo books. Ease of use When making a photo book, one of the things to look for in an online prints service is ease of use. Meijer Photo has the same photo editing interface as its competitors. Where the rubber meets the road is the controls. They are a little complicated and would have been better if they simply involved dragging and dropping your favorite layouts wherever you want them to go. The photo layout page has many options, and therefore, you might have to click through several pages to get the options you want. That can be frustrating, especially for a new beginner. However, one good thing about their editing software is that it gives you more options for transforming your layout windows to fit any shape on the page. Alternatively, if you are a new beginner, there’s the autofill button that you can select for the program to place the photos for you. The editing tool also has options for color correction and brightness and contrast adjustment. You can also convert snapshots to or from black and white to other hues. Storage and sharing Meijer Photo stores your pictures online. You can access your photos any time for future photo projects or new prints. Meijer Photo also allows users to download the reels from their accounts to their computers. That can be a significant advantage when you still want to have free-standing photos from your book or album When uploading pictures to the platform, you have the option of importing directly from your social media accounts like Facebook and Flicker. That kind of versatility is refreshing, enabling you to add life to your photo projects with both old and new snapshots. The only drawback here is that there is no option to share your albums or photo books with others during the creation process. Shipping Meijer Photo provides express shipping for clients that need expedient delivery. Another alternative if you are in no particular hurry is to order an in-store pick up at your nearest Meijer store. Social proof I have scanned the internet for user reviews about Meijer Photo, and most of what I have found seems positive. First off, many people like that Meijer Photo is a multi-device application that can work on desktop and mobile devices whether you are online or offline. Many other users are pleased with the print quality and the easy checkout process. Alternatives 1. SnapfishSnapfish is mostly used by professional photographers, and has a higher print quality than what you get with Meijer Photo. Pros
You can upload and print photos of any sizes without croppingSnapfish offers many photo products just like Meijer Photo, including photo books, calendars, photo cards and many more Users can share photos in the Snapfish community It has six cover book sizes and book types, which is more than what Meijer Photo offers Quick turnaround on orders
Cons
Prices at Snapfish might be slightly higher
2. AdoramaPixAnother online photo printing service is AdoramaPix, located in New York. Just like Snapfish, AdoramaPix is more suitable for professionals or those after incredibly superior print qualities at a higher price point. Pros
You can print in several sizes including standard and custom The platform offers many photo products as well, from photo books to calendars and wall decorationsPhotographers can share their works via this platform Orders that exceed $49 qualify for a free shipping service It offers leather books and fabric apart from hardcover and softcover photo books
Cons
Flawed customer service
Costco Photo CenterCostco Photo Center is the digital printing department of Costco, a major retailer in the US. Just like Meijer Photo, you can print photos at Costco and pick them up at your nearest store. Pros
The provider has many products from greeting cards to canvas, books, gifts and metal prints among othersYou can print in standard or custom sizesThe company also helps to convert film to DVDThey have integrated online services with mobile and offline The company offers competitive price points
Cons
Their photo book cover options only include softcover and hardcover The customer service is not streamlined
The bottom lineIf you only print your digital photos occasionally, the cost of ownership for a home printer might be unreasonable. In that case, the best option is using an online photo printing service. Meijer Photo appears to be the best choice among several providers in the market. Meijer Photo offers several photo products, giving you the creative freedom to play around with your photos in formats such as calendars, photo books, gift cards, and more. The editing process is not too complicated, and there are also predesigned templates you can use for any product. You also get a streamlined customer care service throughout the process.
