Great QualityLow Cost Printer
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 | Great Sites
I have been searching for low cost options for quite a while . As a San Antonio wedding photographer I have great sources for photo prints that come in perfect every time I order. I use acouple different print suppliers , both of which require a resale permit but one also has a consumer side which I have not tried but assume would be of good quality.
The two I use are Millers with it’s consumer side under the name Mpix. The other is White House Custom Color or WHCC for short. Both print all sizes of portraits for my San Antonio wedding photography business.
Both require photographers to send in test prints to make sure there colors match what the photographer expects before giving the photographer an account. In addition to traditional photo prints they both do press printed material and provide great color matching . It is aimed at short run pieces. Usually 25 to 50 so the price is a little higher than printers doing larger run jobs. This is a great alternative if you only need a handful of well printed pieces for a special promotion.
The turn around time is quick . For traditional lab photo prints and press printed cards they usually print the same day or next day depending on the time the order is placed. It seems to go to the press within minutes of ordering so don’t even think about making changes after you send the order . Assuming you sent the order in early they usually package and ship it out the same day. WHCC provides second day delivery and usually the order will come in faster since one of the printing offices is only 1 day ground service away from San Antonio. Millers will ship air service so it is also a quick delivery.Both offer reduced rates and even free shipping for most orders.
For higher volume I tried all the well known names such as Overnight prints, Vista Print etc. While Overnight does a good job they are not known for shipping on time as far as shipping dates so I would not trust them for any job that has a required delivery date plus the overnight shipping will eat up any savings. It appears most of these high volume printers make more off shipping than printing. Of course they get massive shipping discounts due to their volume but charge the customer standard retail list rates. A lot like the rate card you see in hotel rooms. They have a high list price shown so they can get every penny when the area is sold out during conventions but the normal rate you pay is about half that most of the time. The printers just charge the listed rate and never discount allowing the retail shipping rate to add to the bottom line.
When I used Vista print the business cards came in stuck together and the re-order came the same way. Not worth saving a little money when you have to pry business cards apart before using them. I found another printer called U-Printing. They have good prices and what appears to be reliable shipping dates. Of course the rush shipping is also costly but if they ship as listed may be avoided. They offer a lot of unusual die cut business card styles without additional fees.This alone is a nice option to make your card stand out. I have used them for photo place cards as well as postcards and flyer’s.All the products came in with good color reproduction and on time.