Are there online printing services that offer design assistance?
Yes, many online printing services offer design assistance. Both VistaPrint and GotPrint have paid design services you can use to customize your prints.
Which photo printing service has the best quality?
The best quality photo printing service will depend on what you’re looking for. Nations Photo Lab, Printique and Pro Prints have excellent photo print quality, while GotPrint and PrintingCenterUSA have excellent business marketing material print quality.
Where can you get cheap photo prints?
In my research, I found that Pro Prints had the cheapest online photo prints. It costs $2.29 for an 8” x 10” print.
I’ve been selling my art prints at art shows, conventions, and gift shops for more than a decade; this is my personal list of tried-and-true printing services!
Personal Home Setup:
Whenever I need to produce “fine art / giclée” prints for handmade shows, I use my personal Epson EcoTank ET-8550 with Finestra Fine Art Paper. This printer works best if you prep your files in RGB color mode at 300 DPI!
For cheaper prints that can be sold at an anime/comic convention, here are my recommendations:
Prints & Posters (up to 13x19):
FireballPrinting.com has been my main printer for conventions / artist alleys for more than 10 years! Based in Philadelphia, the company is run by a group of passionate artists and consistently produces some of the best prints I’ve ever seen. I always prep my files in CMYK mode and order my prints on their 100 lb uncoated paper, which is silky smooth with a nice thickness!
Postcards / Business Cards:
GotPrint.com is my number one choice for printing free advertising collateral like business cards and postcards, for their unbeatable quality and fair prices. They’ve beaten out VistaPrint and OvernightPrints for their superior quality, and they also offer luxe finishes like rounded corners and raised foil printing. I’ve made orders as large as 5000x postcards, and everything turned out perfectly!
Gallery-wrap Canvas Prints:
ProPrints.com makes the best gallery-wrap canvas prints for fine artists and photographers, full stop. They use archival materials and latex inks, and their gorgeous canvases are 1.25” deep and ready-to-hang. Prepare your files in RGB mode at 300 DPI (they will handle the rest) and prepare to be wowed by the results!
Print-on-Demand / Drop-shipping:
InPrnt.com offers superior quality control for their art prints, cards, and canvases - plus they give their artists a generous 50% cut of the profits. Although they’ve been late with my payout on a few occasions, they ultimately came through when I reached out, so I will continue using them!
… do you know of an awesome printer to add to this list? :)