Using a photo lab in a store

Most department, warehouse and drug stores have photo labs. So do some camera stores. These labs have adjusted for the digital age and will print from images from a CD as easily as they print from negatives.

There are several ways you can use their services.

Using a Print Kiosk

Many of photo labs also have a Print Kiosk. So do many copy stores.

The Print Kiosk contains a small "Dye-sub" printer that can print up up to 8x10 size. The kiosk will walk you through cropping and enhancing your image and when it looks the way you want it, you press the Print button. A few minutes later your print appears.

For many people, the kiosk meets their needs perfectly. It's easy to use and they don't have to learn a picture editing program. However, dye-sub prints don't last as long as prints made by a photo lab and the choice of sizes is limited. They are often more expensive than prints done by the lab, too. If you find the Print Kiosk limiting, you probably want to use the photo lab.

Using the lab with “as-is” images

Most labs will print your image right from your CD. You hand them the CD, tell them the name of the image(s) you want printed and they print them. Their printers are designed to perform image enhancements automatically. This is a good way to print images if you don't want to learn how to use a picture editor or take the time to do it yourself. Most images will print just fine using their automatic enhancements.

Using the lab with edited images

If you want more control or you have a tricky image that won't print well with your lab's "automagical" enhancement, you should edit the image first. Burn your edited image(s) onto a new CD and bring that to the lab. If you think your images are edited exactly the way you want them to print, tell the lab not to use their automatic enhancement features. If you aren't 100% confident, have the lab use auto-enhance first and then have them re-print the photo if it doesn't look right.

Make them get it right

One nice thing about using a photo lab instead of your own ink jet printer is that if the image doesn't print to your liking, you can have them re-do it until it is right without wasting your paper and ink. Most labs will reprint an image at least once at no charge. They know their automatic adjustments don't always work and should be willing to override them to make a print you are happy with.

A word about copyrights

Many photo labs have learned they can get in legal trouble if they print any image brought to them. They don't want to print images that have been stolen and will question any image they deem “too professional”. That is why there is a “usage agreement” printed on the label of your CD. If your lab questions whether you have the right to print your images, show them the wording on the label. If you edit your images at home and bring them in on a CD you've burned yourself, bring the original CD with the usage agreement, just in case.

If the lab still won't print them, contact us and we'll talk to them directly.