Custom photo prints?

After spending what feels like half a lifetime on decorating our hallway, stairs and top landing area, I’m considering putting up some of my own bird photos.

I tend to do non-regular crops of my photos, so I suspect that standard photo printing sizes won’t be an option for me. I’m also considering a matte or possibly satin finish on the prints.

My question is:  Has anyone had any of their photos printed for framing, and if so, does anyone have any recommendations of a good company for doing this?

There’s a large variety online, but I thought it would maybe be worthwhile asking for first hand experiences before plucking one from the huge list out there. :-)

  • I can't give you a recommendation, but maybe ask a local art shop if there is a local printer. If you are lucky enough to have one, they may be more likely to talk to you in person and accommodate different finishes, sizes, etc even if they cut them down for you.
    (Mind you, I suppose that would mean waiting for lockdowns to end!)
  • Hi Paul,   I've never had photos good enough like yours to print for the wall  LOL     so can't advise you based on a service I've used but I've had a bit of a search and found this place called Digitalab which seems to have professional standard printing.   

  • Thanks folks. We do have a few local printers which may be worth looking into after the lockdown eases, but I’m not sure if they do the full job including framing.
    The site you’ve listed, Hazel, looks very professional and promising, I’ll certainly have a good look at what they offer. Their driftwood frames look really nice (something I hadn’t thought about, but I like the idea of it) but I’ve yet to look at the pricing.

    I’ve still to pick the photos I want to use which is perhaps going to be the most difficult bit.

    I’ll need a Gull, and Mrs A loves Herons. Stonechats are great, but so are Wheatears, and also Reed Buntings. Ducks in flight would be nice and I do like a Corvid.!! Fulmars are great too, and I really like Dunlins…..and Sanderling. Garden birds would be nice, maybe a Robin, but Blackbirds are great too … and Blue Tits. Oystercatchers are really striking in flight, but so is a Treecreeper on a tree trunk … or maybe a Dipper on a rock. Big flocks of Geese are fantastic too…. oh … or Swans in flight…… or …. !! :-/
  • Paul A said:
    I’ll need a Gull, and Mrs A loves Herons. Stonechats are great, but so are Wheatears, and also Reed Buntings. Ducks in flight would be nice and I do like a Corvid.!! Fulmars are great too, and I really like Dunlins…..and Sanderling. Garden birds would be nice, maybe a Robin, but Blackbirds are great too … and Blue Tits. Oystercatchers are really striking in flight, but so is a Treecreeper on a tree trunk … or maybe a Dipper on a rock. Big flocks of Geese are fantastic too…. oh … or Swans in flight…… or …. !! :-/

    LOL Paul,  you are going to need a couple of extensions to give you more wall space  !!     Good luck choosing as you have a fantastic collection of superb photos to select from.  

  • Unknown said:
    LOL Paul,  you are going to need a couple of extensions to give you more wall space  !

    I was assuming he must live in a stately home with a hall & stairs that big!

    The only (not done at home) printing I've done is with the big names - Vistaprint for some calendars, I think Truprint for some seabirds on canvas (surprisingly effective).  They'd be standard sizes though.  If you want something non-standard, you might have to bulk out the image to print, then cut away the bit you don't want.  I wouldn't actually worry about framing as part of the same service - you can get frames online at any size and popping the pic into a frame is the simplest of tasks

  • Years ago, a friend of mine who was a professional photographer used a company in Coventry called COLAB, which I have used on a couple of occasions during the late 80's - very early 90's to process and develop film and been pleased with the results. The film, 35mm, ranged from ISO64 to 1600 and a mix of prints and transparencies depending on what I was shooting at the time.

    COLAB, it self has bitten the dust, but the premises are now under the ownership of One Vision Imaging. I've never used them, so I can't comment on today's quality, but they seem to be a national company, and could have a premise not far from you.

  • Thanks folks, more good thoughts and advice on things to think about and look at. :-)