Those who know me well enough would know that I love photography, and that I’m a tightarse bargain hunter. Combining the two has seen me purchase lots of things from overseas (so much cheaper than Aus!) and buy certain things second hand (like my “almost new” 16-85mm lens) – most of which have been very successful. Continuing on this quest, I’ve tried a few different online photo printing websites, and have been quite pleased with the results and pricing compared with regular retail printing. These are the three best places I’ve found so far (I’ve received multiple orders from all 3), but there are bound to be others as well. Please suggest any other places in the comments – especially if you’ve tried canvas prints before!

Prints I ordered from Snapfish for my 2010 calendar

Snapfish (@snapfishau) – These guys are owned by HP and are probably one of the biggest online photo printers in the world. They have a wide selection of products from regular enlargements all the way through to canvas prints, bags and dog bowls! Print quality results are pretty good – just make sure you change the upload option to upload the full image and not a compressed version, especially if you’re printing large photos or posters. Their pricing is okay, though there are always coupons and special offers floating around. Just sign up for an account and you’ll get regular e-mails with offers, or scour websites like OzBargain and you’re sure to find some. Items will either be delivered to your home, or you can take advantage of optional pickup from your local Rabbit Photo store (saves on postage).

Photoenlargements.com.au - Strangely enough (as the name implies) they do one thing, and do it well – photo enlargements! If you’re after some reasonably big prints, these guys are awesome. The quality is excellent, and they offer prints with a 4mm white border which is quite handy for framing. 18″x12″ prints for as little as $2 (AUD) each and yes, they will ship internationally. They also offer a cheap service to automatically colour correct your photos so that they print optimally. If you haven’t calibrated your monitor it’s well worth paying an extra couple of dollars for this service.

Big W Photos (@bigwphotos) – Big W Photos is similar to snapfish in terms of range, quality and price, and I usually find myself comparing the two before deciding where to order. Just like snapfish, the prints are done somewhere centrally (in this case it looks like FujiFilm) and sent either direct to you, or delivered to your local Big W store for pickup. Just like snapfish, they often have good limited-time offers. As I write this they are offering 40% off canvas prints!

So there you have it! That’s been my experience, but I’d love to hear other comments (good or bad) on these or any other online printing websites in the comments below. Feel free to check out my images at lukechapman.com.au or on my flickr page.