I've used both Kodak Gallery and Shutterfly to print pictures from Baby V's first two weeks, and thus far, I am overwhelmingly more pleased by the service at Shutterfly.
| Criteria | Kodak Gallery | Shutterfly |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $.15 per 4×6 print | $.29 per 4×6 print (less with volume purchase) |
| Print Options | none | glossy/matte |
| Online Sharing | share via e-mail | share via e-mail or free webpage (xxx.shutterfly.com) |
| Greeting cards | 5×7 @ $1.00 each (base price) | 4×8 @ $.60 each (base price) |
| Shipping speed | > one week | < one week |
| Shipping condition | POOR | good |
| Photo quality | average | excellent |
Since I've not yet received the prints from Shutterfly, I've left the last two fields blank, but in sincerely doubt that the shipping will be worse than Kodak's. Our photos arrived via DHL after 7:00 pm. The delivery person didn't knock on our door, didn't ring our doorbell, just put the package on the doorstep and left. I only found it because I went outside. The package itself, a cardboard mailer, was only half-sealed, and had ripped open on the bottom enough for an entire set of prints to fall out (luckily, and only by sheer luck, none had).
I'm also not all that impressed with Kodak's quality. Comparing the prints we just received to prints I ordered from Shutterfly last year, there is a pretty distinct quality difference (though that may be a result of the matte finish on the Shutterfly photos). In this last batch, I ordered a few duplicates of the photos I got though Kodak so I can make a more equal comparison.
All in all, the extra cost of buying prints from Shutterfly definitely seems worth the difference to me, and I will, assuming that the batch I just ordered shows up in a timely manner and is as high quality as I expect, order from them in the future instead of Kodak.
I also expect that we'll need to order more birth announcements, which we will do through Shutterfly, since they're so much cheaper, and I think they look a little nicer.
I'll update my comparison when I get the Shutterfly prints.
Sara | October 15, 2005 2:49 PM
As for Kodak, I never have them shipped...I just pick them up at my local CVS. It's only a dollar instead of the shipping fees. Have you looked at flickr??? I have several friends that really like it.