Image Quality

Mpix, like many labs, requests that you send them photos in the sRGB color space.  While this is not necessarily a check against them, it does limit the capability for image quality during print because you are limited in the color range that can be printed.  Having said that caveat about the print process, I must say that the quality of the prints has not disappointed me at all.  The photos look identical to what I sent them both in color and tonal range.  So, they definitely get props here for a job well done!

Binding Quality

For this project, I wanted to limit expenses as hard cover books are significantly more expensive.  So, going with a soft cover route, the quality of the binding becomes more relevant because the last thing you want is to have the pages of your book fall out over time.  In the print world, I understand that the options with soft covers are limited to stapled and glued routes.

In general, glued bindings probably give a more professional appearance, as staples can be unsightly.  On the flip side, glue can soften and pages can fall out over time, whereas with stapled books, they are more likely to stay held together.  The folks at Mpix went with the stapled route, and I gotta say, the staples were not off-putting to me at all.  This may be different if I chose another cover image, but with a darker print as the cover, the staples worked out nicely.

Binding Bottom

Binding Top

Binding 3

Durability

You can kind of see a little wear and tear already along the edge of the fold, but I guess (in hindsight), with a soft cover, that’s to be expected.  Given the wear I am seeing though, the next time I may select a canvas cover or a lay-flat cover to provide a little more protection.  The pages on the inside of the book seem fine, and as long as I am not throwing it around like a frisbee, they are a good weight, and thickness.  Barring abuse and such, this should hold up well.

Value

Judging the value of a product is hard to do because while as a general rule, you tend to get what you pay for, other factors go into the equation.  Elements such as image quality, turn around time, and packaging all factor into the value.  Given the retail cost of this product of $39 through Mpix Pro (I put together an 8.5″ square book with 40 pages), I’d say it was pretty good.  When you factor in the cover and the back, and the insides of each, it’s actually 44 pages of printed images for $39.  Shipping, of course, is extra, so let’s say for easy math that it’s $50 for a 40 page book.  I’d say it’s very competitive at $1.25 per page.

Delivery

For delivery I looked at two things – how was the product packaged, and what was the time frame for said delivery.  With Mpix, I’ve always been impressed with their shrink-wrapping and air gaps to protect products from getting dinged and damaged during shipment, so kudos there.  They also get high marks for the fastest response time.  Within 5 days of submitting my order, I was in possession of the book.  Now granted, they are in Kansas, and I am in Colorado, so shipment here was probably easier than average, but since I also have gotten similar delivery in the past when I lived elsewhere (South Carolina and products sent to NY and PA), I’d say they get high marks for a good turnaround time.

Here’s the rest of the sample shots of the photo book:

Photo Book Cover

Front and Back Cover

Inside Cover

Center Fold

In the five categories, Mpix gets high marks in 4 of the five.  The one category that wasn’t really scored was binding – and this is a tough one to judge too, as the longevity over time is really what defines the durability of a binding.  Since I have only had the photo book now for a couple weeks, it’s kind of difficult to judge that category, but outside the cover deterioration from a lot of handling, can approximate that the interior pages will hold up well.

There’s more photo books to come from other vendors too, like Nations Photo Lab, and a few other online printers, so stay tuned for future reviews as well.  If you have your own favorite printer, by all means, sound off in the comments!  What do you like?  What criteria do you look for?  What don’t you like?  As always, I love to hear feedback, so feel free to chime in!  Until tomorrow – happy shooting!

Also, some major shout outs to friend-of-the-blog, Jason D Moore for his honorable mention in the NAPP sponsored contest “So You Think You Can Teach Photoshop“.  I know Jason had his heights set higher than an honorable mention, but believe me – Jason really can teach the you-know-what out of Photoshop.  So, if the software is what you want to get up to speed on – go check out his site and sign up for a workshop, because I’ve learned a lot from him.  Major shout outs dude – congrats!

Finally, to finally break the ice once and for all on the Canon vs. Nikon debate, I came across this video from Joey L – absolutely hysterical.  Thanks to the NAPP forums for the link, and if you want to know more about JoeyL, check out his recent interview on TWIP – great stuff there too.  (He’s also on Twitter and worth the follow).

You’ve probably heard of Mpix before, at least because I’ve talked about them on the blog, and even shown some of the results in using their metallic inks to get some amazing prints.  Well, I got three new products from them recently while prepping for an art show that is coming up the first weekend in December.  To change things up a little, and give more of a “multimedia” aspect to things, I did a video on this to show you each product, as well as show you what to expect in terms of wrapping, packaging, and delivery time frames.  It’s available on YouTube, but also embedded here for viewing convenience.

Have you had similar experiences with Mpix?  Better?  Worse?  What are your thoughts on the quality of their service?  Feel free to sound off in the comments, or over on YouTube.  For the time being, keep on shooting, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

After submitting your name and website for review, you will receive an email with a link to upload 5 images for print.  These 5 images are then printed as 8×10 photos and sent back to you – free! That’s right, you get 5 8×10 photos for free.  Basically though, these are intended to be used to check your monitor and color work flow for accuracy because they do not do color correction on them.  All 5 of the photos I got back printed very well, and I am happy with my color work flow at this point.

So, now the Mpix Pro printing options are available to me which includes many additional printing options for things like calendars, tickets, sports cards, mugs, and pretty much anything else you can think of – at some pretty impressive prices too.  This work flow for printing is also excellent if you tend to batch print a lot of photos at once (say for wedding photographers, portrait photograpers, etc.)  You can order multiple quantities of any size print you want and any specialty prints all through their downloaded Rhoes printing services.

Another cool part of this is that you no longer have to go through the website – it’s all done through this software download.  Think of it kind of like the Flickr Uploader service, as it works on the same principles, but instead of uploading for publishing on a website – it’s uploading for printing.  No fuss, no muss, done in record time and you are right back in the studio or on the road, doing your work, and not waiting on websites, and sitting behind a computer when not needed.  It was pretty slick – I literally did just what their catch phrase says:  upload one night, they shipped the next day, and I received it the following day!  (It helps that I am in Colorado and their facilities are in Kansas – right next door!)

Finally, the last neat little feature about the Mpix Pro service is that they send you basically what I would call a swatch wheel of their various paper types, with photos printed on them so you can see what each looks like to get the exact results you want, how you want and when you want.  Great products, great pricing, and great service!  What else could you ask for in a printer?  Check them out today!

On a more blog-centric note, the next week or so I may not be on as much as I do have a few things coming up, but will check in and post when I can (the whole quality over quantity thing…)  In the meantime, I’ll drp a few not-so-subtle hints about helping to get the word out about both the blog and the podcast – completing a Digg review at PLM site is always appreciated, as are iTunes reviews.  Other ways to help the show including making your B&H purchases through the link on the sidebar and donating through the Paypal link further down.  The cool thing about the B&H link is that your price is the same regardless, but a few pennies come back here to help offset the cost of overhead, hosting, and all that goes into putting the CB/LDP content together.

Last but not least, the September contest is underway, and you can win BIG – a thinktank Bag system and a Topaz Labs Plugin bundle all for participating in the Flickr thread, so don’t delay, and join today!

Have a great weekend everyone and we’ll see you back here on Monday!

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Print Sizes

So, what does this mean when using an online resource like Mpix? Well, since they usually print borderless pictures, it means you have to build in that border to your print. It also means paying a little more for your pcitures to be printed.  Using the same principle as above, it simply means to increase the canvas size on your print so that it will fit in the next sized up frame.  Then, just make sure your ID (inner dimension) size for the mat matches your actual image size, and your OD (outer dimension) size for the mat, matches the size of the frame you want to put your picture in.

There is also the alternative where you can just use the borderless print without any built in border if you want to use those glass or acrylic enclosures that have no frame border to them that would hide the edges of your print.

Keep in mind that there is a growing trend to adding a digital frame to your shots, to give a title and or copyright notice in that area.  If you do that to your prints, the added dimension for the digital frame needs to be included in the “image size” when you go to print, mat, and frame your pictures.

Well, that’s it for today.  If you’ve got any ideas, comments, suggestions, tips or tricks when it comes to printing, matting, and framing your shots, feel free to share those in the comments.  Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.  Happy shooting!