Has anyone noticed a reduction in quality from Shutterfly?

[Snow mom]

I just opened my most recent photo book and it's terrible. I went through the source photos and blew them up to 150% and there is absolutely no reason for them to look bad. In the book the colors look like they form distinct blocks rather than gradations of tone. I am fairly certain they'll replace the book (I haven't contacted them yet but it looks like that's their policy) but I'm still feeling discouraged as I have books from them that go back to when DD was born and I really don't want to have to look for a new place to print photo books. I know I heard some grumbling this year over the quality of printing on the shutterfly Christmas cards so I was just wondering, if you've been ordering from shutterfly for a while have you noticed a drop in their quality in recent months?

[Pennylane]

Yes and it is so frustrating as that is where I have all my photos saved! The last photo book I ordered the prints were blurry and in the prints I got, some of the heads were chopped off. They sent me a free photo book code after I complained and replaced my prints.

Ann

[specialp]

I have not ordered my book for this year, but I did complain about prints back in June. Not sure if this is the same problem as you, but they responed that they automatically apply an enhancer (vivid prints enhancer is what I think it is called) which doesn't work well if you have already done any ehancing or editing of your pictures. It brightens the color. I had some where the grass looked comically green because of it. They gave me free prints and told me how to remove it (go to the print itself, click edit/effects, remove vivid prints). Total PITA, but the reprints came out well.

eta: While looking at a print, click on edit, then "apply effect". To the right of the picture, you can unclick the box that is about applying vividpic.

2eta: My holiday cards this past month turned out great.

[BabyBearsMom]

That's so weird. I just got our Christmas cards and an iPad case for MIL and DH and I were saying how great they came out especially given that our pictures are mostly cell phone pics. I would call and return them. I think the person complainingn about Christmas cards was complaining about tinyprints.

[Mopey]

I haven't ordered a book in a year but the last two were great. I'm considering starting our family yearbooks (have to get on that!!) at MyPublisher - I used them for baby announcements and the quality was fantastic. But my New Year's cards from Shutterfly rock this year! The first printing was much too colorful (as PP stated - we were comically flushed, not just healthy outdoors) and once I fixed it I used the complete replacement credits PLUS rush free shipping they gave me without question! that got my cards to me tonight when I ordered them Wednesday night. Give it another shot!! Luck!

[BDKmom]

I just got our Christmas cards today and they don't look that great. Like too light or over exposed or something. They don't look like that at all on the computer. And they were professional photos. Probably not so bad that anyone else will notice, but certainly not the quality I expected. And I don't have time to have them reprinted. Oh well.

[Reader]

I haven't noticed photo quality issues, but last year, I had people who didn't belong to me in my book. It was a book of kids' photos, then randomly someone else's spring break photos. They sent me a free replacement book. I had this happen with a calendar, too, so now I always double check every calendar and book and make sure I order early enough to get a replacement copy. I hate to think of moving all my photos somewhere else but I think there must be better options.

[Momit]

I've been ordering photo books from them for several years and haven't noticed a decline in quality. I did have one photo in a collage page print upside down randomly - they were very nice and have me a free book code and fixed the photo while I was on the phone.

[citymama]

The holiday cards we ordered this year looked fantastic. The last photo book I got was a mixed bag but its bc some of the originals probably weren't high enough resolution for full page images.


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[flashy09]

Oh no, I just got an account and spent hours uploading pictures! Was going to get a book and the 50 free prints for signing up - should I remove the vivid prints like Specialp suggested or just not edit and let him use the enhancer?

How do the pictures look taken off an iPhone? That's my only camera.

[specialp]

Oh no, I just got an account and spent hours uploading pictures! Was going to get a book and the 50 free prints for signing up - should I remove the vivid prints like Specialp suggested or just not edit and let him use the enhancer?

How do the pictures look taken off an iPhone? That's my only camera.

I would probably just leave it. My "bad" prints in June were images that had beentaken by a photographer so they had already been professionally edited . I also edit my own pictures myself. I think the vividpics works fine if you haven't done a lot of editing to your pictures because most could use a little brightening. As far as cell phone pics, I think they print as well as cell phone pics can and that is true no matter who you use to print. There are always a few cell phone pics in my book and they turn out fine - not as good as the camera ones, but that's just because of the quality difference of the camera and my cell phone does not take good pictures (there are always blurry hands).

[buttercup]

I tried ordering my Christmas cards from them this year as in years past, and had the hardest time. Site was slow, certain card templates would say 3 photos but when I went to upload that was not the case, etc. I gave up and went with tinyprints.

[ourbabygirl]

Yeah, my most recent photo books (will be giving as gifts) did not turn out great, and it's weird because the pictures looked totally fine on the computer. They came out much darker & more pixilated in the book. The kids' bday books that I've been making seem o.k. from a few months ago. I wonder if they just churn out so much this time of year that the quality goes down?

[gymnbomb]

I got a photo book from them a couple of weeks ago that was made from a mix of digital and older scanned photos and it turned out good. I'll still order from them, but will definitely remember to take a closer than normal look at products I order as gifts before I send them out, and to order with some extra time in case I need a re-do on anything!

[indigo99]

I'm probably too picky when it comes to printing, but I did an order or prints, cards, labels, and an ornament from Shutterfly recently and thought it was all pretty bad. It was cheap (I only paid for shipping on most of it) and not important enough to reprint, but I won't order from them again. I'd already had some of the prints done at Costco before so I could compare, and the ones from Costco were much better. I didn't notice much extra editing on the prints though. I always tell them not to do anything additional to my photos when there's an option.

eta: Picaboo often has groupons or vouchers on other sites, and I've had good results from them on photo books for MIL.

[AnnieW625]

I made a Photobook in 2009 and I liked it okay, but the spine is already separated from the book. I thought my Snapfish book from 2008 and the one I made last year from Costco turned out better. This year I am making one from Shutterfly because my DCP uses a photo sharing site for photos of the kids she has taken at daycare so it is just easier to do it that way than upload all of the photos I want to use on to another site.

[theriviera]

I just got our Christmas cards today and they don't look that great. Like too light or over exposed or something. They don't look like that at all on the computer. And they were professional photos. Probably not so bad that anyone else will notice, but certainly not the quality I expected. And I don't have time to have them reprinted. Oh well.

Same here. I was disappointed with our cards this year.

[turtle12]

Ditto, first time ordering cardstock-type cards from them and they are pretty bad. I should have ordered the cheaper photo paper-based cards.

[janine]

I found the photo cards really poor quality this year..like photo copies and these were high quality photos too. The cardstock ones are better. They gave me so many promos, free replacements that I just tossed and made a note that no more photo cards.

[Snow mom]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'll see about getting a replacement of the book without their color enhancements and maybe I'll wait to order it until after New Years hoping that the post-Christmas rush will yield better results. I wish I could get a good picture of their printing. In the worst photo my tiny baby DS looks like he was working in the coal mine with a hat on and then took the hat off. His face is distinctively smooty looking and then there is a crisp line above his forehead where the top of his head is a much lighter shade. So extremely strange.

[indigo99]

Sounds like a printer problem and poor quality control. Having it reprinted after the rush sounds reasonable, but definitely go ahead and contact them on it.

[specialp]

FYI - when I contacted them, they gave me a code to use next time for my free prints and I believe the expiration date was something like 60 days (maybe 30), but plenty of time to get it done after the rush.

[okinawama]

Christmas cards this year look great, last year however I had an issue but their customer service was fantastic so I've been back multiple times!

[jennilynn]

They have always cropped my prints weird but I rarely order prints anymore. Photo books and cards look good though.

[turtle12]

I have not ordered my book for this year, but I did complain about prints back in June. Not sure if this is the same problem as you, but they responed that they automatically apply an enhancer (vivid prints enhancer is what I think it is called) which doesn't work well if you have already done any ehancing or editing of your pictures. It brightens the color. I had some where the grass looked comically green because of it. They gave me free prints and told me how to remove it (go to the print itself, click edit/effects, remove vivid prints). Total PITA, but the reprints came out well.

eta: While looking at a print, click on edit, then "apply effect". To the right of the picture, you can unclick the box that is about applying vividpic.

2eta: My holiday cards this past month turned out great.

Thanks for heads-up on this auto-correct. I chatted with them and they said my photos had auto-correct on them; they turned it off and are sending me a new set. I should get them in 3 days. Just FYI for others who were disappointed, in case you all have the time to re-order. No matter what, great and responsive customer service.

[AnnieW625]

I should add that the lone photo card we have gotten so far turned out great, but it was most likely ordered before Thanksgiving as we got it right after that.

[Snow mom]

Small update: I still haven't found the time to contact shutterfly about the poor quality book but another book that I ordered recently arrived today. I'm happy with the quality of the printing in that book so I guess the low quality must have been a fluke.