I tested out four greeting card printing services, to determine where to have our IvanExpert holiday cards printed. Here are the results.
1. Apple, using iPhoto
- Paper: The heaviest paper (tied with Kodak), very smooth glossy surface
- Image: The most saturated colors of the 4
- Logos: The back of the card has the Apple logo and says “Made on a Mac” but you can remove this by clicking a checkbox in the Settings for the card.
- Price: $1.99 for 1 card, down to $1.59 for over 50 cards.
- You can’t print on the back of the Apple card; either you keep their logo or else it’s blank. The inside is only black text as I recall…
2. KodakGallery.com
- Paper: The heaviest paper (tied with Apple), more of a matte surface
- Image: The colors looked balanced and rich but not oversaturated
- Logos: The back of the card has a very small “Kodak Gallery” text at the bottom.
- Price: $2.49 for 1 card, down to $1.49 for over 100 cards.
- You can print the entire card in full color.
3. Shutterfly.com
- Paper: Heavy but not as heavy as Kodak or Apple, matte surface (you can choose matte or glossy; I guess I chose matte?)
- Image: Looks good, rich colors but not overly so
- Logos: The back of the card says Shutterfly fairly large in the center, and there’s also a barcode at the bottom.
- Price: $2.39 for 1 card, down to $1.19 for over 150 cards (on sale, usual price is $2.99 down to $1.49).
- You can also print 1 picture on the inside of the card.
4. Cardstore.com
- Paper: Heavy, similar to Shutterfly, very matte surface
- Image: A little light and washed out
- Logos: The back of the card has a green band running across it, and the logo at the left, and info re the recycled paper used for the card, and a mini barcode.
- Price: $2.79 for 1 card, down to $1.69 for over 100 cards
- As a bonus they printed the envelope flap with the return address at no charge, but it’s not centered so it looks crappy.
- You can put photos on the inside and back as well (within their template).
Summary: My favorites were Apple and Kodak. I prefer the glossy surface of the Apple card. And I do like the option of removing the logo from the back. So I’ll be using iPhoto again to print our holiday cards this year.