Photography News 13

Lab tests

Chaudigital London’s Chaudigital offers fine art and photo printing on archival gloss, semi-gloss and matte papers including Hahnemühle, Harman and Ilford, as well as lower cost non- archival stock and canvas. Ordering is via We Transfer upload: you send shots and then email or phone through your requirements, rather than using a wysiwyg browser system; it’s slower but promotes a collaborative process giving customers freedom in colour reproduction and sizing. Sizes go up to 64in wide, and we ordered A3s on both Da Vinci Fibre Gloss Smooth 285gsm and Crystal Satin 330gsm, costing £36 each (prices drop for longer runs). Results were superb with great detail and colour reproduction. Prints were delivered within two working days from ordering via courier at a cost of £7.50 and packing was first-class; the prints sleeved and padded in an inner box, which sat in another larger box with additional foam packing. 2020Photographic Based in Farnborough, 2020 provides a wide range of services for pro photographers and enthusiasts. Images can be uploaded from your PC, or via Facebook and Instagram via a browser-based system, which is great for making multiple prints. However, there’s also an FTP route which offers no compression and is designed for bespoke requirements where one-to-one service and test prints are required. We ordered A3-sized prints on Fuji Supreme Lustre and a Hahnemühle Photo Lustre paper, at £5 and £8.50 respectively, and prints can be made up to 24in wide. The finish of both papers was lovely with natural, well-saturated colours and crisp details, and a pleasing neutrality to the mono versions. The order arrived within two working days via Parcel Force (£12.50) and were very well packed with prints sleeved, taped and rolled, then placed inside a cardboard box padded with bubble wrap to stop any movement. ProAmImaging Bradford’s ProAm caters for pros and enthusiasts and has a growing number of clients from bodies such as the SWPP. To offer competitive prices, clients are asked to fully prepare files before uploading to the company’s FTPwebsitewhere there’s aneasy- to-use automated ordering system. You’re required to register before you can upload, but the system places control with the user and there’s plenty of friendly advice offered on ProAm’s website (and over the phone), as well as colour profiles to download. Using traditional wet process printing, prints can be ordered up to 12x18in in size at £1.20 each. Our copies were great in detail and colour with a clear improvement via the recommended profile. Turnaround times are very fast and we received ours the next day at a price of £8.95 by courier. Packing was exceptional; twin strong cardboard envelopes inside a plastic bag and with plastic stiffeners within.

Point101 East London’s Point101 supplies quality prints to clients ranging fromenthusiasts to the BBC. Ordering is simple thanks to a streamlined interface and images can be uploaded from your hard drive or straight from Facebook. There are five clear steps, with a good visual of what you’re getting; you pick the aspect ratio, the size and layout, then the paper – we tried both Fotospeed Gloss 270gsm and the fine art Hahnemühle Photo Rag Pearl 320gsm from £14 and £15 respectively, which includes standard delivery. Giclée prints are available to sizes up to 44in wide and our A3s were real crackers, with vivid colour thanks to the optional correction applied in the lab and lots of detail. Ordered before 1pm, the prints arrived via courier the next day at a cost of £7.50 and were very well packed; the A3s came in plastic sleeves inside a cardboard envelope, with an additional plastic stiffener to keep them nice and safe. Simlab Simlab, in Hatfield, has a huge range of services including standard photos and fine art giclée prints. Upload and ordering is via a browser-based system and multiple images can be uploaded at the same time, which saves effort. After uploading you select the paper type, then the applicable size and the number of copies. Alongside is a thumbnail preview that shows if the image fits the aspect ratio of the paper; click on this and the pic can be dragged around in its crop. It’s functional and fast. We ordered both Standard A3 lustre prints (£5.28) and Giclée Photo Rag A3 (£12) versions, both of which showed excellent sharpness and true-to-life colours. Post and packing is £5 for next working day, and the prints came in stiff cardboard envelopes, with additional strengtheners within a plastic cover; tissue paper wrapping was used on the art prints, but not the lustre versions, though the prints didn’t suffer. Dunns Pro Photo Dunns in the West Midlands has been printing photographers’ pics for over 110 years. Ordering prints is right up to date though, with a great browser-based system that allows you to upload and store albums, from which you select the pics to use. With pics selected, options are clearly laid out, and there’s a good range of sizes. Regular prints are available in Lustre or Gloss up to 20x30in, and can be mounted or sealed. Fine-Art reaches 30x40in Photo Rag or Albrecht Dura with a 1in or 2in border, but cropping is limited to To Fit or To Fill options and there’s no preview. Our A3 lustre prints (£5.78 each) came out beautifully and the 12x16in Photo Rag fine art prints (£20.20 each) displayed wonderful colour and detail. Delivery was the next working day via courier, costing £9.60, and the prints were well packed in thick plastic sleeves within a box with additional cardboard strengtheners.

The quality of prints from Chaudigital really impressed, as did the packaging of our order and the level of customer service throughout. VERDICT

Point101’s ordering system is incredibly intuitive and well laid out. Prints kept up the high standard and were delivered safely and fast. VERDICT

www.chaudigital.com, 020 7833 3938, sales@chaudigital.com CONTACT

www.point101.com, 020 7241 1113, sales@point101.com CONTACT

2020 Photographic combines high-quality prints and very affordable prices. The multiple routes to ordering also stood out. VERDICT

Simlab’s ordering system is clear and simple and prices are very attractive. Print quality was top- notch and our order was well protected. VERDICT

www.2020prolab.com, 01252 375708, info@2020prolab.com CONTACT

www.simlab.co.uk, 01707 273747, info@simlab.co.uk CONTACT

VERDICT

www.dunnsprophoto.co.uk, 01384 564770, enquiries@dunns.co.uk CONTACT Dunns’ photo album systemmakes ordering multiple prints a breeze. Results were excellent, arriving safely boxed and looking great. VERDICT

You can’t argue with the prices that ProAm offers for its prints up to 12x18in and our pictures arrived quickly, were well packed and looked great.

www.proamimaging.com, 01274 723622, sales@proamimaging.com CONTACT

Photography News | Issue 13