Introduction

This exercise researches the process and costs of submitting images for printing with three online retailers. 

For my assignment, I am likely to submit 15 images.  I therefore researched the cost of submitting 15 images for printing.  My images are created in a 5×4 format and so for production purposes I have chosen 10×8 prints across all three suppliers.

Photobox

As a baseline, I started with Photobox.  This is clearly consumer orientated but I thought it would be interesting to compare the cost of a service such as this with those from more specialist suppliers.  

Photobox does not specify how they create their images and therefore I assume that these are created using a C5 process.  Choice of paper is purely glossy or matt with no specialist papers.

There are no facilities for colour matching and there is no provision of any profile that can be used in the production process.

Standard JPG files are used for submission.

Price per print is £1 regardless of paper choice meaning that this option would cost £15 for my assignment.

Loxley

Loxely is the supplier that I would normally use for image printing.  They are a specialist provider that produces prints along with other products such as albums etc.

C5 Process

Standard prints are available with a choice of papers.  Theist does not say this but I assume standard prints are made using a C5 process given the paper choices.  Papers available are Fujicolor Professional DP II Gloss, Fujicolor Professional DP II Lustre, Kodak Professional Endura Metallic, and Fujicolor Crystal Archive Professional Velvet).

Prints can be standalone, laminated or mounted.

Images should be submitted in JPG format and Loxley provide the optimum settings to use in Photoshop and Lightroom.   For colour management, they provide paper specific profiles that can be used to match the screen view to the expected print.  They also provide the option to assess each image for colour correction requirements as part of the production process. 

Prices vary depending upon paper type but for standard lustre print, the price is £2.24 per print meaning that the cost of my assignment would be £33.66

Giclee Process

Loxley also offer Giclee prints which they describe as a fine art process.  They have a range of papers from Fujifilm, Hahnemühle and Epson.

Submission and options and colour management is the same as for the C5 Process.

Prices vary depending upon paper type.  Choosing Fujifilm Fine Art Photorag 300gsm the cost per print is £7.28 meaning that the cost of this assignment would be  £109.26

Whitewall

This company positions itself as a high end or gallery printer.  They also offer C5 and Giclee printing.

C5 Process

Whitewall offer a far wider choice of papers including specialist black and white paper from Ilford.  

Their cheapest paper is Fuji Crystal DP II  which is produced using Lamda print methodology which is a laser based C5 process.   

Whitewall does not offer a 10×8 print and so I chose the closest which is 30x20cm, clearly a 3:2 format.  The price per print is £9.95 meaning that the assignment would cost £149.25

Using the same size but the specialist Ilford B&W paper, the price per print is £16.95 meaning the assignment would cost £254.25

Giclee Process

Only one type of paper is offered for this process, Hahnemühle Fine Art Papier.  

Price per print is £17.95 giving £269.25 for my assignment.

Conclusion

There is a vast range in just this simple research.  For my assignment, the total cost ranges from £15 with bonus print to a £269.25 for a giclee print with Whitewall.

From my own experience, there is a huge step up between Bonusprint and Loxley standard prints, this is a price comparison of £15 versus £33.  For any print I would produce outside of a snapshot, I would always use Loxley because If have found the colour management to be very precise, and the quality of the paper and print to be excellent.

Beyond that, prices rise very quickly and so I would make choices for very specific reasons.  I once submitted a black and white image into a competition that I printed using a Giclee process of Fuji Crystal white paper and the result was stunning in terms of the richness of the blacks and that contrast.  I also used the same paper for a colour print of a scan of a painting produced by my wife; again the richness of the colours was outstanding.

There is a considerable price jump to use Whitewalls products.  I would want to see samples and understand the qualities of the papers and the impact that they have on the images before choosing to make such an investment.  I think the important point is to make conscious choices for specific reasons rather than just paying a lot of money on the blind assumption that this makes the image better.  

Is an Inkjet Image a Photograph?

I think I might have said no to this question but for the fact that I used the Giclee process to submit an image into a competition that I then won a prize for!  There is no doubt that the end product looks different to a C5 process but that said, Whitewall charge a lot of money for C5 process papers and so maybe the difference is the paper rather than the process itself – as is the case in analogue photography.  

I am comfortable with the fact that the image is “printed” rather than exposed onto a piece of photographic paper.  If we could not get comfortable with that idea, then it would also not be acceptable to call a photograph on a screen a photograph, and clearly we do.  Or even more relevant, would it be acceptable to call an image captured with a digital camera a photograph, as the difference between analogue and digital in the camera is broadly similar to that of the end product.

I think this all means that I do think an inkjet / giclee print is a photograph!