Reviews: Online Print Services
Reader Review: Ofoto
PhotographyBLOG reader Shaun has recently had a bad experience with the popular online print service Ofoto, which is owned by Kodak. Shaun has allowed PhotographyBLOG to publish the full details of the whole sorry saga, including the email exchange, so without further ado here is Shaun's review of Ofoto...
Conclusion
IMPORTANT: Photos should be sized for aspect ratio BEFORE uploading them to Ofoto.
Pros:
*Great Colour
*Fast turnaround time
Cons:
*Photo preparation using the web interface is very
time consuming.
*The web interface can be a bit confusing.
*Customer service is relatively poor when compared to
other digital developers.
*Paper is lightweight, prints tend to curl when left
on a flat surface.
*It is not clear how to crop the photo for aspect
ratio when using the web interface.
*Matte finish is only offered on 16 x 20" and 20 x 30" prints.
Email #1 From Shaun to PhotographyBLOG
"I received my order of 94 photos from Ofoto today (Friday), but for some reason they sent duplicates of 4 individual photos. I'm really pleased with their turn around time, I placed the order 30/09/03 at 2:53 ofotoland time.
I am a somewhat disappointed with the photos. Each
photo is imaged on Kodak Duralife stock, I think it's
about the same weight as the Fuji Crystal Archive
matte paper. I was hoping they would be imaged on
Kodak Royal Gold--no such luck. The size of the paper
is slightly smaller than the Fuji stock. I think the
ofoto prints are maybe 1mm-1.5mm shy of 4 inches, the
Fuji prints are slightly larger than 4 inches, or my
ruler is not very precise.
The colour from each photo appears to be quite excellent, though I can't remember if I had "enhanced" (lightened) the photos before uploading them. Regardless, I think the colour is quite excellent! A little better than my results on Fuji Crystal Archive matte paper.
The greatest disappointment is a silly white border
around each photo! It's approximately 2mm on each
side and it's present on each photo except for the 4
random photos they sent doubles of. Those 4 random
photos do not have the border and are imaged out to
the edge of the paper. I'm displeased with this,
because I spent over an hour and 45 minutes using
their web interface to crop for aspect ratio each
photo and at least 30 minutes selecting and uploading
each photo, essentially one at a time, to their
website.
More about the 4 doubles sent. Let's start with images A, B, C, and D. Of these let's consider photo sets; Set 1: {A1, B1, C1, D1} and Set 2: {A2, B2, C2, D2}. Where A1 and A2 are photos of the same image, but A1 belongs to set 1 and A2 belongs to set 2. Set 1 {A1, B1, C1, D1} all have the white border present, while Set 2 {A2, B2, C2, D2} do not have the border and are imaged out to the edge of the paper. It really doesn't make any sense at all to me!
I'm going to contact them to find
out what went wrong!
I thought I was following the instructions on their
website to prevent any borders/whitespace, etc due to
aspect ratio corrections by cropping the images
myself. I will definitely have to look at the images
on my computer, before I make any decision regarding
the viability of using Ofoto in the future.
Email #2 from Shaun to PhotographyBLOG
Hi Mark,
I'm including for you all of my e-mail correspondence with Ofoto, so that a more objective conclusion may be drawn. I think the Ofoto web interface is somewhat confusing for someone using it for the first time. This point is outlined in the e-mail's from me to Ofoto. The most recent e-mail is at the top and the original e-mail from me to Ofoto is at the bottom.
The whole point of contacting Ofoto was to better understand a) what caused the white area on my prints, b) to learn how to prevent it from appearing in the future, and c) to *maybe* get a couple of print credits so I can learn how to better utilise their website. I'm not sure any of those objectives were completed to my satisfaction! If anything, I learned that I'll just crop, to the proper aspect ratio, the photos in Photoshop ahead of time *IF* I were to ever use their service again. I have never had this sort of problem with any other photo developing service!
In my opinion, it's a joke to believe that I'll actually take the time and money to mail 94 prints back to them before they will consider issuing any kind of a credit. I don't want a refund, I just want quality prints that match in style (i.e. no borders as advertised on their website) the other prints in my collection! Sadly, I seriously doubt this will happen.
I can only hope that my experience will assist someone to make a more educated decision, if they choose Ofoto. Above all take care of the aspect ratio before uploading!!
Now, you're probably hoping you had never asked for a situation report on Ofoto. [ha ha] :-)
Shaun
Ofoto Emails
Shaun's Original Message to Ofoto
Customer Support Form:
topic: Orders
subtopic: Print quality questions
[Personal Information Removed]
email body: Hello,
I placed an order for some photos on the OFoto website, and I am disappointed
with the prints I received. I uploaded the photos and followed the instructions
to prevent any white space from appearing on the prints, by selecting the desired
print area for aspect ratio. I spent about 1.5 hours making these modifications
using the Ofoto website, after I uploaded my images. When I received the photos
every photo had an approximately 2mm border on each side!
I am quite curious why this happened !? The sample photos on the Ofoto website do not show any white space. The ability for this problem to be resolved and ensure quality of the final product will determine the viability of using OFoto in the future.
Thank you for your assistance!
Shaun
Ofoto Customer Service's <[email protected]> Response to Shaun
Hello,
Thank you for contacting the Ofoto Customer Service Team.
Your prints have white borders because you chose to
turn off the Zoom & Trim option. Ofoto's Zoom & Trim automatically
fits
your photo to the
print size you select. It is especially intended for
photos that are too
tall, too wide, or square and don't fit the standard
print size aspect
ratios: 4 x 6", 5 x 7", 8 x 10", 16 x 20", 20 x 30",
and Wallet-size.
Leaving Zoom & Trim on will expand the photo slightly to fill up the entire print, then trim off the edges of the image. If you turn this function off you will not lose any of the image, but the print will have white borders where there is no image. If you would like to see how your image is going to be cropped before you order, please click on the "Print Preview" link by doing the following:
1) Sign in to the Ofoto website.
2) Click the album you want and select the photo you
want to preview.
3) Click the "Print Preview" link above the photo.
4) Click the
different sizes to see what cropping will be applied to
your images.
For more information on Zoom & Trim, follow this link:
http://www.ofoto.com/HelpAboutPrints.jsp?#zoom
You may also choose to edit the photo online. For more information
on cropping, follow this link:
http://www.ofoto.com/HelpView.jsp?#crop
If you have any further questions or concerns regarding your Ofoto
account or the Ofoto service, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Will Wright
Ofoto Customer Service Team
Shaun's Response to Ofoto
Dear Will Wright,
Thank you for your reply. The statement below that I turned off the Zoom & Trim option is simply untrue. I never indicated the Zoom & Trim feature feature be disabled.
I did follow the instructions on the Ofoto website [http://www.ofoto.com/HelpAboutPrints.jsp]
for cropping to the desired area. I can only be left to believe that when I
am cropping the image to a predefined **fixed** ratio, that I am cropping the
image to the constrained ratio the actual print. If this is not the case then
why is the cropped area constrained to a predefined area? This really doesn't
make any sense. Every other photo service I have used handles the aspect ratio
immediately when I select the area to crop; much like Ofoto, a predefined *fixed*
ratio box is used for the selection. If the aspect ratio is not set at the
crop time, then I really do not see what the use of a fixed crop box is. Perhaps
to confuse the consumer?
Thank you,
Shaun
Ofoto Customer Service's <[email protected]> Response to Shaun
Hello Shaun,
Thank you for contacting the Ofoto Customer Service Team.
Please send us one of each of the prints you have issues with so that we can better help you. Our Print Quality Assurance team will review the prints to determine the problem. Send your prints and a copy of this email after you have filled out the form to the following address:
Print Quality Assurance Center
Ofoto Customer Service
5900 Hollis Street, Suite S
Emeryville, CA 94608
QUALITY ASSURANCE RETURN FORM
Filling out the below information helps our returns department expedite your return quickly and accurately:
Order Number:
________________________________________________
Shipment ID:
_________________________________________________
Date of return:
______________________________________________
Detail of what you are returning (please circle the appropriate sizes and include quantities):
Size Quantity
---- --------
Wallets ________
4 X 6" ________
5 X 7" ________
8 X 10" ________
16 X 20" ________
20 X 30" ________
Please let us know why you are returning your merchandise by circling the appropriate reason below.
Reason (Please only circle up to two reasons):
------
Blurry/Pixilated Prints
Cropped Prints
Dark Prints
Color/Skin tone off
Other (please explain)___________________________________________
Please circle the way in which you would like us to resolve this return.
Resolution (Please only circle one):
----------
Credits to your Ofoto account
Refund to your credit card
Name/Company Name:
___________________________________________
Address:
_____________________________________________________
Phone Number:
________________________________________________
Email
Address:________________________________________________
Signature: ___________________________________
Date:__________
If you have any further questions or concerns regarding your Ofoto account or the Ofoto service, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Donnie Garza
Ofoto Customer Service Team