Loxely vs dscl

Pmc2011

Pmc2011

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I have been a customer of loxely for some time always used them and never had an issue and seeing some great reviews of dscl in this forum I'm pondering a switch.

Loxely are around 200% more expensive and in the world of a recession reducing expenses as such is only sensible.

Has anyone else got experience with both of these and able to give there views?

Also do dscl mark all there prints with ds colour labs? As loxely does not and this may explain the price difference?
 
DSCL put an imprint on that reads something like :

film 5555 taylor_DSC 1388.jpg
DSCL COPYRIGHT IMAGE.

If you aren't after top quality it's a no brainer, DSCL wins hands down on price and as long as you have colour corrected them and use their profiles you should be ok.
 
It's by no means a no brainer for me.

I have used both... in fact I tried many and decided that the resolved detail from Loxley was better than anyone else and for me this was/is important. For me at least this is worth the extra... you can of course spend a lot more than Loxley charge if ultimate quality and individual print attention is what you need. For me DSCL was second on results and the real world difference in printing costs isn't that much IMO. :shrug:
 
DSCL images sent via their website or software have DSCLNET(randomnumber):(yourimagename) then underneath it says Copyright Image.
All on the back in a light grey print, They also have Fujifilm all over the back as that's the paper they use.

How does this compare with Loxley?
 
When I sell prints, I always put a sticker on the back with my website and contact details, this also covers any DSCL logo.
 
Matt989 said:
DCSL point blank refused to give me a refund when prints I had ordered never arrived

I now always use Loxley. If anything doesn't arrive it is dealt with straight away, no arguments.

If your charging enough for your prints then the additional cost is more than worth it.
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DCSL, have always been very helpful and sent extra prints to me in the past and refunded when late.
You must have upset them ;)
 
POAH said:
they are not obliged to give you a refund - did they not offer to resend them?
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I dont know the legalities of it but to be honest its irrelevant, its down to good customer service.

It was a few years ago now but it was something along the lines of, we cant just reprint your order, you will have to resubmit it and pay for it again.

Eh...no thanks, i'll just have a refund...which they refused.

Loxely would:
- Give you a refund or just resend your item immediately.
- Not require you to resubmit an order if you did want to then to just resend it.
- Not ask you to pay again.
- Not be blunt and unhelpful

The last one alone makes it worth paying Loxley.
 
I have been using DSCL for years now and have found their customer services spot on, about a year ago I had a delivery of prints and the box had got bent (probably in postman pat's van) so this was no fault of DSCL, but one phone call and they were reprinted and forwarded to me very quickly.
 
Nikon Fan said:
I have been using DSCL for years now and have found their customer services spot on, about a year ago I had a delivery of prints and the box had got bent (probably in postman pat's van) so this was no fault of DSCL, but one phone call and they were reprinted and forwarded to me very quickly.
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I must have got the 'saturday kid' on the phone.

Either way, they lost my business!
 
I use DSCL and recently ordered three large prints but only one arrived, I sent them an email and the next day I had the other two prints, cant grumble with that :)
 
Matt989 said:
DCSL point blank refused to give me a refund when prints I had ordered never arrived

I now always use Loxley. If anything doesn't arrive it is dealt with straight away, no arguments.

If your charging enough for your prints then the additional cost is more than worth it.
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This all over.

I had a horrible experience with DSCL after having ordered from them a few times with no issues, I tried contacting them multiple times trying to politely explain I hadn't received anything after a week and wanted to confirm whether they had dispatched the order. They confirmed and I waited another week or so before sending another email explaining I had still received nothing and I was looking to resolve the situation either through reprinting or a refund. They kept fobbing me off telling me to wait another week before they would do anything, and then another week, and then another. Each time their emails getting more and more rude and abrupt, with little snide comments snuck in here and there, trying to hint to the idea that I was trying it on with them. Yet I was trying to be as polite as possible as I accept the fact me jumping up and down with rage wouldn't help at all and wouldn't encourage them to help.

This lasted 5-6 weeks (an email a week or so), until I had to give them a final ultimatum - they either resolved this matter immediately or I would seek to reclaim my money through the bank. I got a reply, a great big rant over how it was my fault the prints never arrived because I should of paid for the next day courier service if I wanted them in a rush, which I wasn't. Now...excuse me if I'm wrong, but if I use the basic postage service they offer, is it unrealistic to expect the prints to turn up within a couple of weeks? Or even 6 weeks? Especially seeing as the courier service they felt I should of used if I wanted the prints to ever arrive was more than half the price of the total order? I suppose it's also unrealistic to be treated fairly and politely if I offer them the same courtesy. :shake:

Either way, they reprinted the order and resent them via basic post, amazingly they turned up within a few days.

To be honest, it was one of the worst displays of customer service I have ever encountered and a bit gutting seeing as I had chosen to use them going on all the great comments on here about their customer service. I have no intention of ever going anywhere near them again, and definately wouldn't recommend them based on the service I received. The prints are all fine, but the customer service is beyond awful in my opinion. In the future, if I had no choice but to use them, I think I'd rather try to trace the images from my computer screen onto paper than use them again :shake:
 
Customer error is to blame for most customer service complaints..........

I can say that a lot of the time with 'non received' items it is down to incorrect address form filling from the customer.

Personally, I have never had an issue with DSCL.
 
tiler65 said:
Customer error is to blame for most customer service complaints..........

I can say that a lot of the time with 'non received' items it is down to incorrect address form filling from the customer.

Personally, I have never had an issue with DSCL.
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The fact remains they're service was substandard, customer fault or not. If there is an issue I think its only reasonable for the company to take steps to resolve it...even if it is to highlight any error their client may have made.

Ive made my point, you get what you pay for.
 
I order from DSCL every week and I have had a few issues, no prints, missing prints, someone else's prints and the odd delay but on the whole these issue have been dealt with quickly.

Two weeks ago there were a couple of prints (8x6) that had been badly cut from their printing machine leaving a white strip along one edge. I was a bit taken aback to see 'needs trimming' hand written on the invoice.......cheeky gits!

If that had been Loxley they would have been reprinted or hand trimmed!
 
Have used them for close to 2 years now, excellent service and have only had a couple of issues, with 12x8s being slightly bent on a couple of occasions. Emailed them and had the print redone within a day or so. Faultless.
 
I had an order from DSCL that didn't arrive, one phone call and they said no problem well reprint and send them again, arrived next day. Fantastic service.
 
tiler65 said:
Customer error is to blame for most customer service complaints..........

I can say that a lot of the time with 'non received' items it is down to incorrect address form filling from the customer.

Personally, I have never had an issue with DSCL.
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In my opening email to them after the first week asking them to confirm dispatch, I did confirm with them I had entered the correct address :shrug:

I'm not trying to start a crusade against dscl, if others use them and have no issues then great. All I can do is share my experience and people can either take it or leave it
 
On reading through this thread and having never used either Loxley or DSCL. I Looked at both websites and DSCL would get my business because:

I have never registered with a commercial website that required my card details and a home telephone number before I could see their price list!

By the way, I have a photgrapher friend who has been selling prints for 45 years. He uses Tesco for photobooks and Truprint for orders and makes a very good living indeed.
 
They are all much of a much these days, photobox are good quality and value for colour but give a wide berth fir your b&w please use Ilford labs for them they are excellent
 
fifthwheel said:
On reading through this thread and having never used either Loxley or DSCL. I Looked at both websites and DSCL would get my business because:

I have never registered with a commercial website that required my card details and a home telephone number before I could see their price list!

By the way, I have a photgrapher friend who has been selling prints for 45 years. He uses Tesco for photobooks and Truprint for orders and makes a very good living indeed.
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Then you are missing out. :wave:

Your friend may have different requirements to many regarding print quality and services. :shrug:


nex7photo said:
They are all much of a much these days, photobox are good quality and value for colour but give a wide berth fir your b&w please use Ilford labs for them they are excellent
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No they aren't much of a muchness, really ;)
 
mikeleslie said:
DSCL images sent via their website or software have DSCLNET(randomnumber):(yourimagename) then underneath it says Copyright Image.
All on the back in a light grey print, They also have Fujifilm all over the back as that's the paper they use.

How does this compare with Loxley?
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Just to clarify dscl print this on the reverse and not on the image correct?
 
Dscl prints are low quality compared to somewhere like loxley they dont print as much shadow and highlight detail, have reduced colour range and soon, it is because their printers are much cheaper and lower quality. They use budget end of commercial printers. You get what you pay for.
 
mart77 said:
Dscl prints are low quality compared to somewhere like loxley they dont print as much shadow and highlight detail, have reduced colour range and soon, it is because their printers are much cheaper and lower quality. They use budget end of commercial printers. You get what you pay for.
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pretty sure they both use fuji frontier systems but I could be wrong - they use a thicker paper which has a bit more dmax but that only matters if you actually have that dynamic range in the first place
 
POAH said:
pretty sure they both use fuji frontier systems but I could be wrong - they use a thicker paper which has a bit more dmax but that only matters if you actually have that dynamic range in the first place
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I was thinking that as well - they certainly both supply the same printer colour profile anyway.

I'm experimenting with both but so far DSCL are winning. ROES is a nasty piece of software!
 
mart77 said:
Dscl prints are low quality compared to somewhere like loxley they dont print as much shadow and highlight detail, have reduced colour range and soon, it is because their printers are much cheaper and lower quality. They use budget end of commercial printers. You get what you pay for.
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unless you're on a calibrated display at 80cd/m then maybe the problem is your images? I print a lot with dscl and i've never had any issue with shadow detail when the print is properly illuminated

look at the print in the dark and it looks too dark
compare the print to a monitor and it looks dark
look at the print outside in the after noon or under a full spectrum light and it looks fine

I think DSCL print things as they are but loxley et al will always adjust the picture to suit if they think it hasn't been professionally processed, so a lot of people think dscl print worse because they don't adjust the images

it's all about knowing how to make that translation between screen and print and editing it appropriately so that your print version will match a target in the environment it's intended to be in- a print is not all things to all people, the prints in my exhibition (which is low level lighting) are processed differently to the ones I have on my wall with good lighting
 
My camera club recommend DS Colour Labs with no complaints. Also recommended was Harvey Normans. I got photos from Photobox which were just of your ordinary snap quality. If you're into competitions or professional printing DS is the way to go - if you haven't ventured into the world of printing your own
 
mrjames said:
unless you're on a calibrated display at 80cd/m then maybe the problem is your images? I print a lot with dscl and i've never had any issue with shadow detail when the print is properly illuminated

look at the print in the dark and it looks too dark
compare the print to a monitor and it looks dark
look at the print outside in the after noon or under a full spectrum light and it looks fine

I think DSCL print things as they are but loxley et al will always adjust the picture to suit if they think it hasn't been professionally processed, so a lot of people think dscl print worse because they don't adjust the images

it's all about knowing how to make that translation between screen and print and editing it appropriately so that your print version will match a target in the environment it's intended to be in- a print is not all things to all people, the prints in my exhibition (which is low level lighting) are processed differently to the ones I have on my wall with good lighting
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Not in my experience of identical test prints to both printers... definitely better detail in Loxley's with no colour correction.
 
V8burble said:
Not in my experience of identical test prints to both printers... definitely better detail in Loxley's with no colour correction.
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when you compare side by side there may be visible difference, but if you were to hand a DSCL print to a client without them seeing the loxley print do you think they'd notice/care?

it's like shooting a 550d next to a d800, the latter would easily win in IQ but the former could still be an amazing, award winning photograph


my test for me is- are the prints good enough to hang on my wall, to give to others to hang on their wall- and with dscl the answer is always yes

the only company i've really had a problem with are viva print, who's canvas' are way to unsaturated and it was giving me prints I couldn't use
 
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Like MrJames, People who see my images in shops buy them, and they are also accepted into international Photo Salons as prints, all by DSCL.
 
V8burble said:
Not in my experience of identical test prints to both printers... definitely better detail in Loxley's with no colour correction.
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Loxley do check and adjust every image before printing, even if you specify no correction.
 
Matt989 said:
They don't - they will call you if theyre not happy with the quality of the print and advise you how it may be fixed!
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They actually do. Correct, if there is an issue they will phone you.
Given that everyone holds there prints in high regard imam not suggesting it is an issue that they colour correct all images but it is fact that they do.
 
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