# With Costco, is it "You Get What You Pay For"?



## JoBoSlow (Jul 11, 2012)

My local photo lab of choice had shut their doors quite a while ago so since then I have been using an online lab called Finerworks. They have both inkjet on luster and regular digital prints on the Kodak Luster. I assumed the Fuji luster would be similar to but the prices for an 8x10 print from Costco were much more reasonable than (something like $1.50 for an 8x10) than what I would pay at Finerworks. A lot of the photographers in my Photo meetup talk about how great Costco's photo printing services are and how consistently accurate the prints are. I have always been a bit leery with going with a place like Costco as a place for my prints after having enough bad experiences with Sam's Wholesale Club but I figured why not since I have a Costco membership.

As a test I did two 8x10s I had done before at the online lab. The images used included a color and a black and white.  20 minutes later Costco had my prints ready.Needless to say I was highly impressed with the service and when I opened up the envelope I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. The prints looked great. 

When I got home I compared them to my other two prints from the online lab. My earlier happiness with finding a cheaper alternative turned into disappointment. The comparison was like night and day.  The Costco print seemed a bit on the cooler side tone-wise plus the colors more muted when compared to the print from Finerworks. As for the black and white. The Finerworks prints seemed like a true black and white while the Costco version had sort of a bluish cast to it. Both had the same sort of surface texture and glossyness but the costco prints seemed to be on cheaper lighter weight paper. The big difference other than that was the Finerwork prints were done inkjet while the Costco prints were regular digital prints.

So my question now is are my expectations too high with the costco prints or is it just that inkjet is the way to go now days? I have heard more and more photographers are switching to inkjet. Is this sort of scenario the reason why? My online lab also offers the Kodak luster so I may try that next but I am now starting to wonder if I need to seriously start thinking about inkjet. Color and tonal accuracy are very important to me. I work with a calibrated system but prefer to outsource my prints rather than print them myself since I never can get my dusty old Epson r1800 to give me the accuracy I am looking for, especially with black and whites. It's also much more pricey but I am wondering if it is more like you are simply getting what you pay for when you go with lower priced place like Costco, Sam's, Target, etc. versus inkjet.


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## BuS_RiDeR (Jul 11, 2012)

The Costco here does great work.  And they use quality paper (Fuji I think).  I've not been disappointed yet; and I've been getting my prints there since 1995.


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## jowensphoto (Jul 11, 2012)

I've heard very good things about Costco's prints. I might have to see for myself!


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## manaheim (Jul 11, 2012)

I hear lots of people say costco does great work, but I also see lots of pretty crappy prints framed on people's walls.

Certainly give them a try, but for my money... I'd print at MPIX (really a consumer lab, but a VERY good one with excellent customer service) or White House Custom Color.


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## cgipson1 (Jul 11, 2012)

If Costco is all someone has ever used.. then people think those are great! After all, they may not have anything else to compare them to!  

But after doing a similar comparison, I chose to always use my favorite lab! Major difference in quality... well worth the extra cost. It all depends on perception, and whether or not top quality is an issue for you.


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## KmH (Jul 11, 2012)

The quality and resolution of inkjet printers varies widely. Did you use the ICC profiles from the devices of both print shops to 'soft-proof' the prints before you ordered?

Inkjet prints made on specialized high resolution/quality inkjet printers are some of the most expensive prints available. Those prints even go by a fancy sounding, made up name - Giclée - based on a French word for 'squirts'.

Another issue with inkjet prints is their archival, or lack of archival, properties because of the type of inks or dyes used (aqueous based, solvent based, dye sublimation, UV cured). Inkjet ink/dyes are expensive. Even the lowest priced inks/dyes still cost over $10,000 a gallon.

It is helpful to know what brand/model, and types of printing device your chosen print maker has available for making prints of your images.

Professional, high-volume, wide-format and grand-format inkjet and chromogenic printers are made by a number of companies.


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## Gaerek (Jul 11, 2012)

I've stopped using brick and mortar photo labs altogether. Locally, I don't know of any that give consistent results. I've ran into problems with photo lab techs that thought they knew better than me, and tweaked my prints to disastrous results. I've also ran into other photo labs where the techs get their 10 minutes of how to run the machine and are left to their own devices, again, with disastrous results. I usually use Bay Photo (through SmugMug), and I've used MPix in the past as well, and I can say they are worth the wait. However, if you can find a local lab that gives good, consistent results, there's no reason not to use them, especially in a case where you need your prints as soon as possible.


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## jerryjazz (Aug 7, 2012)

I had mostly good quality prints from Costco but occasionally I would get some back that were not quite right, after talking to them they said to make sure that if you are making any adjustments at home using editing software to turn off auto adjustment before you submit your order, they have been perfect since then.


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## MLeeK (Aug 7, 2012)

If you are going to use anyone local, use Costco. They have the equipment AND the software to run it that many cheap labs don't have.


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## Postergal (Apr 30, 2013)

The Costco near us does not have the quality you get with a true wide format flatbed poster printer. If you are taking high quality photos, you should check out www.rollerposters.com. The pricing is great for the services they offer. You can get posters on paper, foam ore or PVC...I think they might be able to do canvas as well, but no gallery wraps...


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