Six Pro Print Labs Compared 

I think this is the best print lab comparison video I've seen, thank you so much. Of these, I've tried Bay and WHCC. I like Bay's options and very reasonable shipping, but only used them once because the results disappointed. This was around 2020 or 21, so maybe it was a short staffing issue at the time; I suspect my experience wasn't representative of them under normal conditions. I had two issues: 1. At least two prints (traditional prints) had incorrectly trimmed edges, leaving behind a thin triangle of white on one edge. 2. On a print with heavy blacks I noticed unnatural looking detail brought back where there shouldn't have been any, as if the darkest blacks had been lifted a little with a J shaped tone curve that created a subtle solarized look. None of the other labs I gave this file to had this problem. It was just a test order, so I didn't bother asking them to fix the problems. I absolutely would try Bay again if I had a reason to, but if my second order had as many issues as the first a couple years ago, I'd probably give up on them. WHCC has been reliable for me, I've used them many times over a few years. They're fast, prices are great, results are consistent, and the occasional quality issues I've had were subtle and, while disappointing, can be excused for getting through QC. I've at times felt like their prints were a little softer than others, and I've had some baryta prints turn out a little pixelated despite having more than enough resolution to cover the size, but overall I think they do a good job. In defense of their website, they do specify that they don't accept tiffs, so that's a limitation of the lab, not an issue with their ordering system. I understand your surprise and disbelief at the price, but WHCC did not give you a new customer discount, that really is their pricing, and that's why I use them. I can get Hahnemuehle prints from them for a fraction of the price I see most other places, and they'll do small prints too. If I just want to test how something will look, I can get a fine art baryta 4x6 for a few bucks, and they'll even go smaller than that. I'm delighted to hear from someone with experience that their quality is good-I had no idea how they compared for pigment prints-but even if they were a little substandard I'd appreciate them for bringing this level of print within reach: they don't just save me a little money, for me they're the difference between being able to standardize on baryta pigments instead of being stuck with c-prints that don't render blacks the way I want. I've also used ProDPI, which is now an on-site subsidiary of WHCC. Even though they're printing in the same facility, and their orders now ship with a WHCC return address, I've in the past felt like their c-print results still look a little sharper, as they did prior to being bought. I don't know if this is still true, or if my impressions were just the result of my small sample size, but it's caused me to favor them over their owner. In truth, biggest difference might be that WHCC gives you a lollypop and ProDPI gives you a sour twist. I think I can see a little gloss differential in some of my WHCC barytas, though I get the impression it's less than what you saw on the Bay, and far less than the Reed, which to me looks unacceptably like a print torn from a book. Tbh what I see on mine looks more like what I see on the leaf tips in your Chromatics print, which you say doesn't have any, so maybe I'm seeing something else. I see it in the Digital Silver too, when the light plays over the dark lines near the top of the flower. I was surprised by your surprise at the border sizing issue. I only have experience with the more mass production type labs like WHCC, so what you found surprising is the only way I've ever seen it done: You buy the paper size then tell them whether you want the print to fill it or not. Based on your reaction, I assume standard practice at more fine art oriented printers must be to buy the image size and then specify if you want additional paper beyond it. Personally I prefer the way I'm used to, because I'm more interested in what size frame the print will fit than in the dimensions of the viewable area. However, WHCC's border options are very limiting, especially on smaller prints. Thanks again for doing this.

Thanks!

It's a shame you didn't throw in a real black and white lambda print for comparison.

This was SUPER useful Keith! I should give some of these guys a try! Thanks for the video and keep them coming.

Great!!! The video I didn't know I wanted but so glad you made.

How does this not have more views! Great video thank you for the time you took!

Keith, you're seeing them in person, which was your favorite in terms of print quality? Tough to tell over the screen but great job on the video.

Thanks, Keith. I've had many questions about which photo labs to use, and your video helped a lot. Question: What file type did you provide them? Did the labs provide you with a printing profile to use in photoshop or other program?

Hi Keith. A very interesting video, friend. I am very interested in WhitWall from Germany. This is definitely an option for me to have my work printed there. And if they manage to send a print to the USA in a reasonably short period of time, it is a piece of cake to do this to the Netherlands. Despite the fact that we are watching via youtube, the WhateWall print looks very good. Thanks again for this video. Antoine.

Great image!