Toronto Photography Meetup Group

I'm sure one such argument might have been already discussed in earlier topic, but I couldn't find it so:

I invite you to post your opinions on good/bad printing stores in Toronto.

(moderators: don't know if this is the right category for this post, so feel free to move to the right one!)

I have nothing but good things to say about GTA Photo ... as they work with you and help you develop / grow your business. They are truly "customer service" oriented. So, my shout out to them!

http://www.gtaphoto.com/

Aperture Digital Labs in Markham
www.1010foto.com

knowledgeable staff, husband and wife op. Husband is a photographer, wife graphic designer.

I've had a good working experience with Aperture Digital Lab in Markham as well. I've done a lot of work with them and they have awesome service for me.

I've also had good results with Toronto Image Works.

Pikto is a pretty good printer as well. I have been there a few times and staff was very helpful

Can you be more specific, some labs excel at things better than others, some people use multiple labs for this reason. It also depends i think on what you need to print. If you are looking at economy printing, then you cannot go wrong with Costco, just get their profiles from Dry Creek Photo, and have them not colour correct your files. if its more serious and you want a stabilized workflow, then building a relationship with a pro lab is beneficial. There are may labs out there, and cost is also a factor, one may be cheaper but further away but to get there costs time and money making it more expensive than a closer lab. Also not all labs offer all things, some labs do not offer sprays, gallery wraps, press cards, film processing so it varies. I have nothing but good things to say about
Silvano Imaging
Pikto
toronto Image Works
Camera Canada Pro Lab
most Pro Labs do excellent work, i think the biggest issue is with people using a generic Lab and expecting pro reults.

well I am not a professional so I'm essentially looking for a convenient printing store for personal use. However I spend time editing and fine tuning my pictures and I don't want people messing up with them.
So what I look for is a store that:

makes good quality prints
lets you select the color space and doesn't automatically adjust color
offers customizable sizes
is somewhere downtown (I have no car..)
has someone who is knowledgeable of what one might want from a photo and how to get it

Of course price is a factor, but I don't want to sacrifice quality either. I would definitely choose a more expensive lab if the result is "guaranteed"

Hope this clarifies - my English is not as good as I wish and defining such a personal point of view with my poor vocabulary is not easy...

I've used both Toronto Image Works and Pikto (both downtown).

Both allow you to submit your photos online for printing without any adjustments on their end. Both provide printing profiles so you can soft proof before submitting them online.

TIW
FAQ - http://www.torontoimageworks.com/faq.html#Chromira
Bulk Printing Guidelines - http://www.torontoimageworks.com/pdfs/BulkGuide.pdf

Pikto
http://www.pikto.ca/online/
Guidelines - http://pikto.ca/online/printing.pdf

another nod to GTA Photo

thanks for the replies, I'll try out some of the stores and I'll let you know my preference afterwards
Cheers, paolo

Your english seems fine to me, and based on your requirements, I would say Pikto.

I use pikto for porfolio prints,but lately was a bit disappointed with the reds of their prints.
They also can't match a lot of papers that US labs have. Their metalic prints SUCK big time. The glossy kodak paper they use is crap when compared to matte of some other US labs.
Still my favorite lab to use for normal prints in Canada+ I live 10 minutes from them

Digging this up from the past, has anybody used that Kodak service that replaced Future Photo? If so, how is the quality?

I used it to get the 200 free prints from switching from Future Photo to Kodak. I also got another 200 since I had a Best Buy account as well.

From the ones I got, the colours seem a bit flat, it wasn't as vibrant as I wanted it to be. The blacks weren't rich enough and the whites doesn't look as bright.

so just to resurrect another old thread... anyone have any recent stories about GTA or pikto?

I've used GTA lately and have nothing but good things to say about them.

Do usually print matte or glossy?

I've been looking at Silvano near my place and they seem very similar in services, but a lot of people say GTA is better

I've used them quite a bit. Being more of snapshot guy I look more for affordability. That being said, colors are a little flat but not terrible. I got a 16x20 (black and white) done and it turned out very well.
Lately they had serious problems with their delivery, but Kodak sent out an apology (and a $10 credit) and has hopefully corrected it.
Overall I'm happy with the quality, and hopefully the three 20x30's I ordered turn out well

Just had a large pano printed at Elevator. Superb quality and excellent service. Got their ICC profiles for the various papers that they use to take advantage of their cheap press and go pricing per linear foot on their 30" Lambda and 60" wide Canon.

http://www.elevatordigital.ca/

If you want pro level job these are the ways I get my prints.

Pikto if I want one or two quickly.
Pikto from their workstation if I have enough to cover the $25 minimum to get the free workstation. Using the workstation cuts the per print cost and gives you the flexibility to try different papers and printer.

Elevator http://www.elevatordigital.ca/pressngo.html for bulk printing they are less expensive then TIW and have about 5 different paper types as apposed to TIW's one. I still go to TIW for film.

We work with several member of this forum, covering their printing, mounting and framing needs. If ever interested you can contact me directly, I work with LePix and we can offer competitive pricing on giclee printing, if you have no idea what is or never tried giclee I'll be happy to explain the advantages and the multiple options in media.

LePix

cheers

I've been happy with LePix when I do inkjet.

I usually do Chromagenic prints (Toronto Image Works). A friend of mine, Tanja of doublecrossed.ca has had chromagenic print horror stories from TIW, Elevator and Pikto. She currently swears by Colorgenics.

yeah, i want to try all their papers there but what am i supposed to do with all the prints? can they not make it 1/2 a linear foot?

any good printing houses in the West end? specifically for large canvas printing.

Thanks!