Online Reputation
Does the online photo printing company have a decent reputation? You may of heard of many of the bigger companies such as HP, Photobox and VistaPrint but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to offer a good service and professional print quality. Check with your friends and local camera clubs and of course keep up to date with online photo printing.
Quality of the website
Is their website easy to use, clear and informative? Many online photo printing services offer more advance tools that enable you to position, crop and change certain elements of your image. Some do that well and others not so well. You should check to see whether they let you upload full image file sizes - the larger the file size, the better results you’re going to get when it is printed. Can you upload both a JPEG or an uncompressed file such as a TIFF? Is it quick and easy for you to select different image ratios product types?
Quality of Product
It’s often difficult to ascertain whether an online printing company prints images in-house or gives the work to a 3rd party. Also, do they give consistent colour reproduction. If you’re in doubt see how others rate them in our online photo printing section of the top 5 companies. If they offer every product under the sun then it's likely they don’t specialise in anything in particular. Do you need to offer a higher quality product to your clients or is it just a print for yourself?
Price & Shipping
Does the photo printer include tax and shipping costs in their prices? You don’t want a nasty surprise when you checkout, so make sure they don’t hide extras in the small print. How do their prices compare to a similar quality of product elsewhere?
Turnaround Time
How long will it take for you to receive your goods from the date of order? Most online printing companies will offer a priority service if you need your items quickly for a present.