Printing Services
These are some of the services I like for printing and a brief description:
If you have a Costco membership, you're probably already familiar with the joy of buying mayonnaise by the gallon. But, they also do decent quality photo prints and other photo products. You can upload your pictures on-line and then pick up the prints in as little as an hour or two at your local Costco warehouse. Costco is the budget option but suitable for most printing needs.
Tip: I suggest selecting the lustre paper for the best looking prints. Glossy is the default and what you would typically get from most local printing services but glossy paper produces a lot of glare. Lustre is no extra charge and looks a lot better in my opinion.
For consumer friendly on-line printing services, Shutterfly is probably my first pick. Print quality is good and they offer a ton of customizable photo products for decent prices.
Tip: For paper prints, choose matte instead of glossy. It's basically the same as the lustre option at Costco just called matte instead. Once again, it's just better looking in my opinion and less glare.
I can't say that I have actually used this service yet, but it does look very similar to Shutterfly. I'll be sure to update this entry if I do end up ordering something from them in the future.
This site is more for professional photographers, but they do very nice work. I like the metallic paper option. They also have a "true black and white" print option. Black and white prints are often done on a color printer and may show a color tint. They are primarily focused on high-end printing and do not offer quite as many consumer friendly photo products. They do have the usual cards, photo books and calendars etc... But, if you want a very nice print, this is the service for you.