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January 6, 2009 |
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Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
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Articles |
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Of all the cutting-edge services available on the Internet, here’s one that digital photographers both new and old should try. Consider it sort of like having your own personal photofinishing lab available at the click of a mouse. Consumers can convert their digital images to photographic prints from the comfort of home by using a Web site that offers photo storage and processing services. Many such sites exist. Which one you choose depends largely on your personal preferences, as they offer similar types of activities at similar costs. These include basic editing tools (reduction of red-eye, cropping), e-mail capabilities as well as processing and storage. Some of the nation’s best-known companies are behind the sites. They range from Eastman Kodak Co., which owns Ofoto.com, to Fuji Photo Film Co., which runs Fujifilm.net. Both Kodak and Fuji provide the know-how for major retailers such as Target.com, Wal-Mart.com, CVS.com and RitzCamera.com Generally speaking, the sites will let you send and store your pictures free of charge -- until you decide to order prints. Some sites do have small charges to keep your pictures handy. The goal of the online photo phenomenon is to help make digital photography both more interesting and more convenient. Imagine being able to make every single picture look the way you want it to, in the size that best fits your decorating tastes. You get exactly what you want, when you want it, made by professionals whose business is all about printing good pictures. One unique aspect of the online processing world: It offers some creative, unique products you generally can’t get in the stores. For instance, Ofoto, Shutterfly.com (which is independently owned) and others will let you make and order customized photo calendars and greeting cards that use your own cherished images and messages as the backdrop. Many will let you send along bunches of digital images to have them "burned’’ onto an "archive CD.’’ This is a way of creating a modern version of the photographic negative. With an archive CD, you don’t have to eat up computer memory or worry about a computer crash destroying your precious memories. Some will even make sheets of photo stickers, photo notepads, customized mini- photo albums and more. Some will even make sheets of photo stickers, photo notepads, customized mini- photo albums and more. One drawback: If you use a dial-up modem, you might find that it takes forever and a day to upload your images to the site of your choosing. (Photos are usually large files and take some time to transmit over a phone line.) That may be less of a problem as the country increasingly transfers to broadband Internet connection. But the sites are working hard on making the upload process easier, either through drag-and-drop software or other approaches. One drawback: If you use a dial-up modem, you might find that it takes forever and a day to upload your images to the site of your choosing. (Photos are usually large files and take some time to transmit over a phone line.) That may be less of a problem as the country increasingly transfers to broadband Internet connection. But the sites are working hard on making the upload process easier, either through drag-and-drop software or other approaches. Shutterfly.com, for instance, will let consumers send along a CD-ROM filled with pictures. The professionals at Shutterfly will then do the uploading for you. She said that Shutterfly is also engaged in developing new, unique products that consumers might not be able to find in the stores. The most recent is the addition of the photo calendars, which come in roughly an 8x10 size on a very heavy card stock with a matte finish. The idea: To produce a product that users can write on. After all, what good is a calendar if you can’t note the next dentist’s appointment or soccer game? Shutterfly charges $19.99 for the product. An online photo site is also a tool that makes it easier for you to distribute prints to a wider circle of friends and family, Brown and others in the industry say. The sites offer consumers the chance to send either individual pictures or full online photo albums via e-mail. That gives family and friends the chance to order their favorite pictures made into prints. Kodak’s Ofoto.com, for instance, is seeing a huge surge in the number of albums shared with others. It’s also possible for you to order prints for loved ones yourself and have them mailed anywhere in the country, Brown said. (The same capability is available at other online services.) Important note: The prints you get online come to you via the U.S. mail, though for an extra fee you can get them delivered faster. So if you’re in a hurry for those precious pictures, you might want to stick with your traditional photofinisher. But one big advantage of the online service, over printing at home, is longevity of the prints. The pictures come on real photographic or other chemically coated papers -- with the same look and feel you’ve been used to for years. Inkjet prints made at home are excellent in quality, but the inks do fade or will run if you should accidentally spill on them. Using online services will also save you money over home printing. A single image printed on traditional photofinishing equipment will cost about 30 to 40 cents, versus more than a $1 for a print produced on a home inkjet printer. Judging from available statistics, online photo printing is getting increasingly popular -- perhaps as the use of broadband connections increases. The top site: Yahoo Photos, part of the industry-leading search engine Yahoo.com. MSN Photos is second, followed by Ofoto.com, PictureTrail.com, Snapfish.com (part of mail-order photofinisher District Photo) and Shutterfly. A look at some of the top sites, and a few you might not have heard about:
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