Digital Photo Processing Online

Why Digital Photo Processing Online?

One of the best parts of taking pictures is sharing them. While Online Digital Photo Albums abound, there isn't always a conveniently-located computer and Internet connection available when you want to show your new baby photos to every friend, family member and acquaintance you encounter. Prints provide convenience and portability for your favorite photos.

While individual digital photos can be small, after you've taken thousands of them, they can start to add up and overtake your hard drive. You can buy a bigger hard drive, but that's a bit costly unless you use your photographs for business purposes; preserving all 164 poses of your new cat Fluffy probably isn't worth the extra expense. You can burn them onto CDs to free up space, but how often will you really dig through your collection of data CDs? If you create prints of your favorite digital photos, you can flip through them at your leisure, create stunning framed displays, or just pass them around at the next family dinner. They'll be loved and admired instead of sitting unused on a small circle of plastic.

It's possible to print your digital photos at home on your personal printer, but it's often not worth the trouble. While good, the quality isn't as superb as you would get from professional processing, ink cartridges are expensive, and if you're not careful, you can smudge your freshly-printed pictures. Digital photo processing online can provide high-quality prints for less than a quarter a photo, and your hands will stay ink-free.

Digital Photo Processing Online Options

• Clark and York are both companies that began with mail-order photo processing. They've since moved on to digital photo processing online. You can still order mail-in envelopes, so they can develop your traditional film and place the images online.
• Shutterfly and Snapfish offer similar services with multiple sizes of prints and specialty items like calendars and photo books ready to be personalized with your favorite photo.
• ImageStation can print anything from wallets to 20x30 posters. If you're in a hurry and can't wait for your pictures to arrive in the mail, they can send the images to select locations around the US and Canada for in-store pick-up. They offer a unique video clip storage feature, although you can't exactly order prints of that.
• If you prefer brand-name photo processing, the Kodak Easy Share Gallery may be for you. Editing tools, borders and special effects let you improve and personalize any picture.
• The Wal-Mart Photo Center has gone online. However, you still have to pick up your order at a local store. Select your digital pictures at home, place an order, and avoid the time and expense of shipping. Many other brick-and-mortar stores now offer a similar service, so you can search for local drugstores and retail chains to see if they offer online digital photo processing.

Prices vary, and some sites offer new customer incentives like 20 free prints, so shopping around can save you money. Many of these sites also offer Online Digital Photo Albums, so you can have the best of both worlds - online photo sharing capabilities and prints in your hand.