Where to Get Prints Made
“I’m looking to print some of my work.
Do you know of a good website or store that does good quality prints?”
For online printing and shipped directly to you, my first recommendation is always…
If you want to print your own work you will have to set up a shop, which takes no time at all. Their site is extremely user-friendly.
I love their thick, matte, gallery style printing.
Here are the specs for their printing and paper used:
Natural white, matte, ultra smooth background
100% cotton, acid and lignin-free archival paper
Custom trimmed with border for framing; 1" for x-small and small, 2" for all larger sizes
Once you start up your shop you simply upload your photos and purchase them. Society6 always have really good deals on prints and offer artist discounts when buying your own work.
If you don’t want anyone else to buy your photos I suggest deleting them after receiving your package in the mail.
Me with a Society6 print.
Look how happy I am.
Quick tip : Photos always print darker than they appear on screen. I suggest bumping up your brightness of the image by +10 - +30 depending on the photograph.
This place makes beautiful quality printing accessible. Last I checked it is quite expensive for Canadian residents. It’s only worth it if you’re in the States. The shipping is costly.
Are you looking to support locally in Toronto?
Are you looking for regular photographic prints?
Here are some shops I have used in Toronto and can recommend:
Aden Camera
Photographs can be submitted online for print here.
Toronto Image Works
These guys do museum, fine art quality printing, along with regular photographic prints. If you’re looking for top of the line and don’t mind spending the coin for it, this is the place. Photographs can be submitted online for print here. *
West Camera
You can directly e-mail your photographs to West Camera, have them print your order and pick it up at a later date. Just click here to submit your order.
Downtown Camera
Photographs can be submitted online for print here.
All of these locations offer printing from negatives and slides as well. Sending your photos directly to these shops is also a great option if you’re looking to print from your phone.
*As far as I know, TIW is the only wet lab, meaning they use actual photo chemicals and develop and print on the photo paper. All other labs use a dry lab which is a printing system that uses no chemistry as part of the printing process.
Wet lab is the best quality, dry lab is good.
Quick tip : You know those portable Kodak printing machines? You’ll see them in places like Shoppers or Wal-Mart. They often have a filter set on their machine that result in your images being sharpened and having increased contrast. You don’t have the option to turn it off.
It results in your photos having a “scratchy” effect.
Did I miss anything? Have any other recommendations? Have any questions to submit?
Let me know!
More from this series:
