Photobox Review

I may be old fashioned but I don't think seeing an image on screen can compare to a good print especially at sizes of 8" * 10" and above.  Up to now I've done all my printing at home and at up to A4 size am likely to contine to do that but I've been considering replacing my A3 printer and decided to look at the option of online Photolabs before I took the plunge.  I've read mixed reviews of Photobox but some friends have been pleased with results from there so I decided to try them first.

Like all these sites you must sign up first to be allocated some space to upload your images, the next step is to prepare the images to enable the lab to get the best results.  Photobox provide a single page with the information you require called Quality Advice this provides details of the minimum and recommended image sizes in pixels for each print size (I'd like them to express this in DPI too) and information on how they deal with embedded profiles.  For small format prints (upto 10" * 15") they recommend you use sRGB as the printers they use ignore any embedded profile, whereas for prints over this size the profiles will be respected.  They cannot currently provide ICC profiles for softproofing but hope to be able to do so in the future.

I used Photoshop to size two images for printing on the large format printers, one 20" * 8" panoramic format and one 30" * 20", both were roughly 150dpi to meet Photobox's recommendations for that print size.  I was keen to see how that would turn out as I'd always thought that 200-300 dpi was necessary for photos and wondered how well these would stand up to close scrutiny.  I was keen to try out some of their other services, things that would be difficult to do at home and so decided to order a calendar.  I chose 12 shots of the kids looking cute, properly sized according to the advice.  All the shots were sharpened a bit more than I would for screen display and converted to sRGB, I saved them as high quality JPEGS and I was ready to go.

Uploading them was quick and painless, they sit in a private gallery and you use the software on the site to order the correct size prints and other products.  There weren't many options for customising the calendar and it didn't seem clear exactly what it would look like but it was certainly easy to select the right image for each month.  There are options for adjusting the crop of the images but as I had prepared mine specifically for the right print size I didn't need them.  On checkout I was glad to see that they accept PayPal payments as I prefer this to entering my Credit Card details all over the place.

I completed the order at 11:30 on Sunday morning, the items were dispatched on Monday evening and I received them on Tuesday morning.  I was very pleased with the speed of processing and delivery, I understand that for standard 6*4 prints it is more automated and can be even quicker.  The posters were contained in a very strong cardboard tube and had been rolled with tissue paper to prevent any sticking or damage to the image.  The calendar was also well packaged in a a sealed plastic bag in a strong cardboard box.

Finally and all important, what is the quality like?   Well, I'm pretty fussy about these things but I am very pleased with what was delivered, the posters are excellent I had one done on matt paper which has a lovely gentle sheen and the other on gloss which really brings out the colours.  Both stand up well to close inspection, the detail is good (even at 150 dpi) and from a sensible viewing distance they are excellent.  The calendar is printed on good quality glossy card, the print quality is not quite as good as that of the larger prints but it's more than acceptable, it's well bound and the calendar bit is smart and professional looking.  On all the colours are a good match to my screen which is regularly calibrated with a Spyder2.

On the whole I was very pleased, will I still buy an A3 printer?  I'm not sure.  As quick as the service was it wasn't as quick as doing it myself and it's only occasionally that I want a print over A3 size.  Will I use Photobox again?  Probably, I was happy with their service and their product.  I'd like to try somewhere else next time though, so I have something to compare them to.