Snapfish
I just got some photos back from Snapfish - horrible, yeuch, bleached-out things. I have to say I wasn’t expecting miracles, given that it is really a snapshot service and the help files have very little to say about how to get best results from the service (they even say, albeit accidentally, that the optimum size for a 7″ x 5″ print is 393×550 pixels!!!), but I am surprised that the results are worse than I would expect from my own inkjet printer. Given that HP are a company primarily known for their printers, this is possibly not a good diversification choice for them.
Conversely, I’ve been very surprised with the quality of from-digital prints I have got from Jessops - the results are incredibly professional looking, given that they’re essentially just offering a high-street photo service. I have a coupon for some money off Boots printing, so will see what they’re like soon, but as with Snapfish I’m not expecting anything revolutionary.
And for the time being at least, anything I want to look seriously professional goes to Peak Imaging. I’m going to try out some of my Magna neon light shoots on their metallic paper soon - look forward to that!