Tips for saving money on your online photo prints

Taking photos with your digital camera and viewing them on your computer screen is fun. Sometimes you'd like to make hardcopies of your photos. One of the easiest ways to print your photos is by using an online photo printing service. In this article we will give you some tips for saving money when using such services.
Most of the services work in the same way: once you uploaded your photos to the site you can choose which photos to print at what size what kind of paper and in how many copies. Printing and shipping prices vary between sites. There are a few ways in which you can save money on your printing orders:

  • Get free prints: Many printing services offer free prints for new customers. For example when registering with Shutterfly you will receive 15 free prints. Use this and get free prints from many sites. If every site gives you around 20 free prints you can register to ten sites and accumulate 200 free prints. One word of caution: most sites will provide you with free prints but will still charge you for shipping. Always make sure to compare the total cost to the alternative of printing on other sites. Sometimes free prints will be more expensive then non-free prints at another site just because of high shipping charges.

  • Use coupons: The competition among the printing sites is harsh. Some sites are trying to promote their services and provide discounts by using special coupon codes. Some of the coupons are publicly advertised but many are emailed by the sites only to its current customers for future orders. For example at the time of this writing Snapfish offered 20% off its photo balls prints. There are sites such as printrates.com that aggregate such coupons and let users post and look for coupons. A good advice is to always check for coupons before you order prints investing just a few minutes looking for coupons can save you 20% and more.

  • Refer friends: Some sites provide discounts or free prints to customers who refer new customers. If you like the service provided by a photo printing site simply let your friends know about it and ask them to mention you as a referrer if they decide to register and order prints from the site. In this way you can enjoy both helping your friends by recommending a good photo printing site and getting some discounts or free prints.

  • Do testing at home: If you order expensive prints like enlargements you can save some money by printing trial prints at home. For example if you are planning to print a 20X30 poster you can first print a low quality on your home printer. If the page size is more than what is supported by your printer you can print a few sections and tape them together. Then look at the poster to make sure it is worth printing try to make it as real as possible place the poster at the destined location and look at it from the distance you plan to look at it from. Make sure the resolution is good enough and that it looks as expected. If you're happy with the results go ahead and order the print. Enlargements can cost tens of dollars, by printing a cheap version at home you can save the agony of spending that money just to find out the poster does not really fit or does not look good.

  • Aggregate orders: Printing a large quantity of photos is usually cheaper on a per photo calculation than printing small orders. Some sites provide discounts for large orders and some sites provide a fixed shipping cost that when spread over a large quantity of prints results in a cheaper shipping cost per photo. For these reason it is always better to aggregate your printing orders and to send one big order rather than a few small ones. For example if you have some photos to print but you also know that you will have more photos to print in a week from now and if you are not in a hurry to get your prints it would be cheaper to wait and send all photos together.

    • In conclusion there are many ways to save money when printing your photos. Prices change all the time make sure to shop around and to check the various sites. You can use comparison sites such as printrates.com before sending your photo printing order. Spending a few minutes before printing can save you some money.

    Ziv Haparnas writes about technology and digital photography. More information on digital photo printing and photography is available on printrates.com - a site about <" target="_blank" href="http://www.printrates.com">photo printing This article can be reprinted only if the resource box including the backlink is included. Ziv Haparnas is a technology veteran.

    Hot Topics In Photography

      Your Guide To The Best Rated Digital Cameras

      There are many different models and types of digital cameras available just as there are lots of different styles and skill levels of photography. Which digital camera you choose will often depend on ...

      Photoshop Tutorial Secrets From the Trenches - Seven Essential Steps to Digital Workflow

      I've been shooting with digital cameras in my portrait and wedding photography studio for about five years now, and in that time I've taken well over 50,000 exposures.

      Our studio has been around for...

      My First Digital Camera

      About a week before my son was born, I bought a digital camera. I wanted to create a baby book for him that would include not only his first year milestones, but also photos to capture his physical gr...

      The Difference Between DPI and PPI

      Most people heard the term DPI. In most cases the term is used in the wrong context to express the number of pixels in a photo, the number of dots in a print or the maximum dots per inch a printer can...

      Seven common mistakes when taking digital photos

      You have probably taken photos before just to find out later that they did not come out as expected. Although digital cameras are getting smarter there are still a lot of decisions that the photograph...

      Is It Time YOU Thought About How You Can Make Money Taking Pictures?

      If you and your camera are inseparable - if your images are really good - if YOU are the one always pressed into service when the need for pictures arises (and you love doing this) you have probably a...

      Tips for saving money on your online photo prints

      Taking photos with your digital camera and viewing them on your computer screen is fun. Sometimes you'd like to make hardcopies of your photos. One of the easiest ways to print your photos is by using...

      How to Compose Landscapes

      There really are no effective formulas for composing good landscapes. Nonetheless, the general suggestions that follow can probably help you get bet-ter ones.

      1. Every landscape should have a focal ...

      How To Get The Best Results When Printing Your Own Digtal Photographs

      The joy of using a digital camera and then having the ability to print out photos in the comfort of your own home is a great, empowering feeling. Usually, when you own a computer, the printer is a com...

      Old Film Camera Out, Digital Camera In

      Digital cameras have created a revolution in the world of photography. Although this maybe a tad too expensive, the results can be absolutely marvelous. Unlike others, Digital Photography captures an ...

    Most Recent Photography Supplements

    Newly Popular Arts Articles

      Now, Your Zodiac Compatibility

      The zodiac circle has twelve signs beginning with Aries and concluding with Pisces. Each sign has traits that set it apart from the others These twelve signs are covered by four elements, fire, earth,...

      Do A Sporting Stag Do In Birmingham

      If you're planning a stag do in Birmingham, you'd almost have to include some sporting activities. After all, Sport England has awarded Birmingham the title National City of Sport. Situated just west ...

      Your Guide To The Best Rated Digital Cameras

      There are many different models and types of digital cameras available just as there are lots of different styles and skill levels of photography. Which digital camera you choose will often depend on ...

      Photoshop Tutorial Secrets From the Trenches - Seven Essential Steps to Digital Workflow

      I've been shooting with digital cameras in my portrait and wedding photography studio for about five years now, and in that time I've taken well over 50,000 exposures.

      Our studio has been around for...

      No! The Bank Doesn't Want Your House!

      When faced with the threat of foreclosure it is very easy to assume that your bank or lender simply wants to foreclose on your home and it isn't worth the fight to keep the home. This defeatist attitu...

      Seven common mistakes when taking digital photos

      You have probably taken photos before just to find out later that they did not come out as expected. Although digital cameras are getting smarter there are still a lot of decisions that the photograph...

      Robotshop Creates Fun For Everyone

      RobotShop's growing clientele has certainly pushed them to be more creative with their work. Not only has RobotShop been able to provide good quality service to their customers ever since they've emer...

      Is It Time YOU Thought About How You Can Make Money Taking Pictures?

      If you and your camera are inseparable - if your images are really good - if YOU are the one always pressed into service when the need for pictures arises (and you love doing this) you have probably a...

      Tips for saving money on your online photo prints

      Taking photos with your digital camera and viewing them on your computer screen is fun. Sometimes you'd like to make hardcopies of your photos. One of the easiest ways to print your photos is by using...

      How to Compose Landscapes

      There really are no effective formulas for composing good landscapes. Nonetheless, the general suggestions that follow can probably help you get bet-ter ones.

      1. Every landscape should have a focal ...

    Interesting Today:

    Most Recent Arts Blogs:

    Releated to Arts:

    Photography Links: