Reviews: Online Print Services

PhotoBox

http://www.photobox.co.uk

Delivery Time

PhotoBox's delivery time was phenomenal. I placed my order at 3.23pm on 29th July. At 4.53pm I got an email telling me that the prints had been dispatched, and I duly received them the next morning. Amazing! If you're in a hurry to get your prints back then PhotoBox won't disappoint.

Packaging

PhotoBox's packaging was good, with the prints stored in a sturdy plastic wallet, which was then posted inside a paper envelope clearly marked with "PLEASE DO NOT BEND". All of the prints were flat and not bent or damaged in any way upon arrival.

Also included, along with the 4 prints, was a PhotoBox calibration image, a printed receipt with thumbnails of each submitted image, and a flyer detailing current special offers.

Price

Price per 6x4 print: £0.29

PhotoBox was the second least expensive online print service on test, although it's still worth noting that at 29p it's virtually twice as much as Bonusprint (15p per print).

Points to Note

PhotoBox uses a red box to indicate how the image will be cropped, before you place your order, so you can see how much of the image will be lost (if any) and choose a different print size if necessary.

Print Quality

Here are the 4 prints that I received from PhotoBox, scanned on my Black Widow 4830 Pro flatbed scanner at 72 dpi:

The prints from PhotoBox used FujiColor Crystal Archive paper. They had the look and feel of "traditional" photographic prints.

Overall I thought the prints were darker than the images that I could see onscreen, although it must be noted that I didn't calibrate my monitor for each print service.

When compared with the prints from the other services on test, I felt that PhotoBox's prints were a little warmer, especially when looking at the white-to-black bars on the calibration image.

The images were well cropped, although the soles of the little girls shoes on Print 3 were cropped a little too tightly. Each print was cleanly cut with no rough edges.

Overall Rating

PhotoBox's overall package definitely impressed me. The combination of an amazingly quick delivery time, good packaging, competitive pricing and good print quality (although not the best) ensures a high overall rating.

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