Sams Photo Labs - Advice?

Oxford_Matt

Oxford_Matt

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Matt
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I have seen on here that Sams Labs is reccomended, So I thought I would send a file across to check them Out.

A4 Print, No Correction, 86p Not Bad at all. Then I proceed to checkout and its £3.60 to post!!

Im guessing this is not for someone that occasionally prints a few images at a time??

I know Sam posts on here and would appreciate some feedback.

Thanks Guys!!
 
thats the same for most places - postage is going to be more than the cost of a single print. not just sams but photobox, DSCL etc
 
POAH said:
thats the same for most places - postage is going to be more than the cost of a single print. not just sams but photobox, DSCL etc
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I appreciate that and also the fact Sams has a great reputation.

Just occasionally I will only require 1 or 2 prints.
 
just for clarification - we don't touch your file - or apply any auto anythings!

And that's exactly why people like it - most jessops/asda/tesco's are staffed by people who don't know a f-stop from a bus stop... I know that there's loads of photographers out there who have taken the time to profile their monitors and don't want anything to be done to their files..... We are using the same printers are you see on the high street - but with £30,000 of software between you and the print - and 11 years of knowing how to use it....

We also use the Fuji DP-11 paper - which is the professional paper - not the thinner type again used at ASDA/TESCO/Photobox etc.

As to post being expensive - its a bit of a misleading term.

Apart from the stamp that goes on your box/tube/envelope there is the cost of the packaging - (the box alone on some sizes is £1.70 plus VAT) - the cost of processing your credit card (which Ryanair and the like will bill you £5) - the licence fee paid to ROES for receiving your order (and saving the cost of burning and posting a CD). Across the monthly post we break even on post/packaging/card processing and licence fees - some orders we make a little - some we loose - but it's too complicated to bill exactly depending on print size & weight....

We like to keep the cost of printing as low as we can - much like ProAm, DSCL etc - and as a result you'll find the print prices are lower than they were in the mid 1980's. Fuji have just made their second price rise this year - considering how the price of silver has rocketed we were surprised that it was only 10% each time... (I'm in here on a Saturday night to start updating our price list to reflect this hike)

You'll also find that that anything that involves time has the same effect - so mounting prints on card or board is often 3 or more times the cost of the print.

Also remember the cost of driving to your local Jessops & parking (plus I won't try and sell you a £500 lens whilst you visit!!). Many TESCO and the like are also now using inkjet minilabs - so you won't get a silver print - and jessops are £2 for a 10x8....
 
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Thanks for your Reply.

I wanted to avoid Auto Correction. I think you may have mis-understood. I wanted to avoid supermarkets. Hence the reason I was thinking of using you guys.

I read a lot of good things about you.

I understand everything you are saying. I guess it's fine when ordering large amounts.

Thanks again
 
most inkjet is longer lasting than fuji prints TBH lol

snappingsam said:
Also remember the cost of driving to your local Jessops & parking (plus I won't try and sell you a £500 lens whilst you visit!!). Many TESCO and the like are also now using inkjet minilabs - so you won't get a silver print - and jessops are £2 for a 10x8....
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To be honest. After the sarcastic email I just received. I won't be using them now.

At no point was I rude or indicating that there was any form of overcharging. In fact I spoke quite highly in regard to the feedback you had.

I was just thinking if ordering a large of quantity prints it's ok but for the odd print or two then its not cost effective.

-1 Customer.
 
POAH said:
most inkjet is longer lasting than fuji prints TBH lol
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Yes - inkjet can have a longer life both under light fade and dark store conditions. It can also have a larger colour gamult and higher resolution. It does, however, require a dot pattern to create the illusion of continuous tone which many photographer don't like.

At the moment silver based printing is the cheaper option for material on a square meter basis - however as we are suffering just now, silver prices can effect the price. Also in many instore labs they are changing to inkjet printing for a number of reasons...

Smell - no chemical smell - important in a food shop
Chemicals - no need to store and send for desilvering
Power - an inkjet lab uses much less power as there are no chmicial to keep warm or to dry the wet paper
Maintenance - the service contact on a wet lab is in excess of £100 a week - inkjet much less
Also sites will often have a number of identical inkjet labs (some are £14,000 each instead of £50,000 for a wet lab) so if one fails they can still work
Increased range of product - as some can print on both sides - so books, calendars and cards can be done with the same machine

As the number of inkjet labs increase the cost of their paper and inks will drop though volume - silver based printing will increase due to the smaller volumes.

This is happening - the increases that are just happening are on silver hallide paper - inkjet have gone down 5%.... so we'll see more instore swapping - and it will snowball... so in 5 years (or less) prolabs will probably be the only place to get silver hallide prints.
 
To be honest. After the sarcastic email I just received. I won't be using them now.
At no point was I rude or indicating that there was any form of overcharging.
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I am sorry if you took offence - but when the first contact is a thread - and the post is £3.60!! I took the opportunity to post - and the email breaking down the cost made me realize the costs have increased on our mailouts prompting me to revise this at the same time as the prints....
 
A simple. "Sorry you feel that way, But here's a breakdown of costs" would have sufficed and more polite.

If you want to increase your postage, do so.

Like I stated before, I think online prints are fine for large orders, but not small or individual orders.

Matt
 
I used Sams lab last year for a print, and he threw in a free extra print as well. Was very happy with service. I've just not bothered to get any more printed at all with anyone at the moment, but will do in near future.
 
jpwild said:
I used Sams lab last year for a print, and he threw in a free extra print as well. Was very happy with service. I've just not bothered to get any more printed at all with anyone at the moment, but will do in near future.
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What's that got to do with Postage costs??

Nobody said it was a poor service.
 
never seen a fuji print as sharp as my inkjets - lower quality inkjets are not of the quality of fuji prints but not high end ones


snappingsam said:
It does, however, require a dot pattern to create the illusion of continuous tone which many photographer don't like.
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I dont think that Sams was being sarcastic, he was emphasising that there is a cost to whichever route is used to buy a print. Like Sam, our costs to operate a lab service are frightening, especially the cost of the software we use as well as the service contracts. As for postage, some months it is as much as £5000! And we are only a small concern compared to the likes of Loxleys.
 
I've used Sam's Photo Labs - for both large and small orders and faced the same thoughts on the p+p costs.

However, I still use them for small orders because of the convenience of placing the order, the quality of the prints and the quality and speed of service - something not to be underestimated today.

The last batch I received back included a compliment slip from the lab with a handwritten cryptic and humorous comment about my photos - priceless and memorable service.

For me, I'd rather pay the £3.60 to Sam for a known quantity and quality of service than get in the car and drive to a shopping mall or superstore etc.

I'd pay £3.60 not to do that and if you think what percentage and how many minutes of your hourly work rate Sam's figure represents it is in fact very cost effective. It depends on how much you value your time and the convenience factor.

There is a big difference in the "value" of a service and the "cost" of a service - but that could easily mean different things to different people.

I don't shop on price alone - it's fraught with danger and frequently ends up being a false economy.
 
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I've used both Sam's lab and DSCL. My experience was Sam's prints are slightly better quality, but the customer service was nothing short of diabolical. I twice waited around two weeks for orders with barely a word of communication and no apology.

I decided to contact David through Facebook with a view to giving them another chance. No response.

Every DSCL order I've placed has arrived next day.
 
John Fitzgerald said:
I dont think that Sams was being sarcastic, he was emphasising that there is a cost to whichever route is used to buy a print.
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I don't see how you can comment whether it was sarcastic or not when you have not seen the email??

There are cost involved in every business so that's understandable.

I was just stating that for me it was not cost effective ordering one or two prints.

I think most people don't mind paying a little extra if you get great customer service.
 
I've been in a similar situation to many, have been using sam's for a while now and was more than happy with price & quality of prints. However have recently had a bad experience where I waited several weeks for prints, and had several irate customers who I'm sure I have lost, terrible communication and no sight of an apology. I have now started using colour world which is a local lab to me, although they are more expensive I save on postage and more than anything they are friendly and reliable which gives me & my customers peace of mind. No matter how cheap & good quality Sam's is it's not worth the risk of losing customers through very poor customer services and lack of reliability.
 
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