fbpx

High Street vs Pro Prints

Uncategorized

As a photographer who is meticulous about value, service and quality, I will of course recommend that clients have their prints through the professional lab of my choosing. This is because I have chosen a print lab or several depending on what I am ordering for the clients; who also has quality, service and professional grade printing equipment at the forefront of their core values.

I recently required some prints last minute to demonstrate the sizes for a client coming to see what will be a part of their package and so I went to a high street store to get them. The ordering process was easy, placed online and I popped into Birmingham City Centre to collect them – all within 2 hours which was great! Served fairly quickly although there was some confusion over whether they were printed at all – a minor annoyance but nothing significant. The store was due to cl0se in 20 minutes so I collected the order and I left. It was on the train home that I had a chance to sit and look at the prints.

‘Oh.. My God’

They were awful. Out of 18 prints, only 5 were useable. The images were blown out, details lost, miscoloured and had what looked like someone had drawn lines down a number of them with a pen – probably from the printer. This is not what I expected and I of course had no alternative but to use what I could. I was disappointed to say the very least and I know for sure, that I will not be using them again. A lesson learned for myself, to keep up to date samples available.

So Why Buy Prints from Tianna J-Williams Photography?

You may think, well I will save money – this is true. I agree with you, however! You get what you pay for. Quality, value, good service and products do attract a higher price. You wouldn’t necessarily get the same experience in D&G as you would in Primark. Nothing wrong with shopping in either, just different.

Quality – Your prints will come to you as you see them, should there ever be a problem, I will sort them before you receive them.

Customer Service – you have direct access to me to discuss your prints and products at any point before, during and after your experience with me and that is for as long as is needed.

Value – You will receive stunning prints, worth the investment – carefully packaged and presented to you with love and attention, this is a core value of mine throughout the whole journey of your photography with me.

High expectations – I have them, as do you and to maintain that, I choose print labs who have the same high expectations because this is what keeps the standards high.

Your prints will always stand out and have an edge, not just because of what you spent on them but because of the care taken to get them to you, also knowing the process of how they came to be.

I cannot take any responsibility for prints that you receive from anywhere else, I don’t know about the calibration processes they use or whether the files are checked before printing to reduce wastage or mistakes. What I do know is that when you buy prints in your package from me, you can rest assured that they will be beautiful, I will be as proud of them as you are.

Speaking of printing your images, have you read my blog about why your prints should belong on the walls of your home? Read it here.

A fellow photographer, Carly Adams of Bailie and Belle is a baby photographer based in St Albans has written about the value and importance of printing your images for your home and why she recommends everyone does that. Have a read of it here.

A brief mention for this week too, 9-15th October is Baby Loss Awareness Week and it is about having conversations around baby loss, making sure that we do all we can to keep beautiful memories in our hearts of angel babies, supporting parents through their grief and keeping up the charity work done around the world for Baby Loss.

Thank you for reading!

T x

43 Comments

  1. Selina

    This is brilliant, so many people think that they’re saving money by buying from a cheap company, but they really do get what they pay for! Love this article.

    Reply
  2. MADELEINE ROGERS

    Such an important issue. Nothing worse than a ruined print!

    Reply
    • Tianna

      Exactly, really disappointing. I wouldn’t want that for clients.

      Reply
  3. Jill

    Such a great exercise to do to see the difference in professional prints to the high street. Great blog thank you!

    Reply
    • Amy

      Professional prints really do stand out and last so much longer!

      Reply
      • Tianna

        Absolutely.

        Reply
    • Tianna

      Yes, it really showed me. Some were worse, I wasn’t able to photograph them!

      Reply
  4. Emma Sohl

    It’s so important to have great quality prints of images that are as gorgeous as yours!

    Reply
    • Tianna

      Oh thank you! With all that goes into the images its best to give them that quality.

      Reply
  5. mya

    Such a good read and so very true, you get what you pay for! Thank you Tianna for sharing!

    Reply
    • Tianna

      Thank you, you really do!

      Reply
  6. Carli Adams

    Wow, Stunning prints and images Tianna. You couldn’t not buy these for your new addition. x

    Reply
    • Tianna

      Thank you Carli, means a lot! I agree! x

      Reply
  7. Nicole

    Great read and so informative

    Reply
    • Tianna

      Thank you.

      Reply
  8. Joanne

    I’ve also been bitterly disappointed by high street printers – It’s just not worth it

    Reply
    • Tianna

      Yes, it’s really not worth it at all.

      Reply
  9. jay saunders

    such a good read and very good points

    Reply
    • Tianna

      Thank you.

      Reply
  10. Natalie Moss

    Brilliant article. Its definitely worth investing in pro lab prints!! No comparison really.

    Reply
    • Tianna

      The honest truth. It is disappointing to receive poor quality.

      Reply
  11. Lisa

    Thank you for the information. This is so helpful to know

    Reply
    • Tianna

      You are welcome!

      Reply
  12. louise

    This is great. Wall art, prints and albums are an investment and having them last for generations to come is so important

    Reply
    • Tianna

      It is really important, that is where the value lies.

      Reply
  13. Kathryn Hill

    Very good point, well made Tianna

    Reply
    • Tianna

      Thank you!

      Reply
  14. Sarah Osborne

    It’s definitely best to buy professional prints from your photographer x

    Reply
    • Tianna

      It really is, we want the best for our clients! x

      Reply
    • Tianna

      Oh thank you! x

      Reply
  15. marie myers

    It’s so important to have prints that show off the prints at their best, so much goes into producing the best possible image, nothing worse than it being ruined by the print.

    Reply
    • Tianna

      That is so true! Thanks for that perspective.

      Reply
  16. Lauren

    Certainly true, buy cheap but twice x

    Reply
    • Tianna

      Every time! x

      Reply
  17. Brooke

    pro prints make all the difference!!!

    Reply
    • Tianna

      They really do!

      Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Why Wall Art? - […] may have read my recent blog about ensuring you invest in quality prints, or a blog from earlier this…

Leave a Reply to Tianna Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

OUR VERY

LATEST