Since the day that I started using inkjet color printers, I've printed almost all of my own work and my days
of rushing down to the lab with a fistful of slides to print is over. I love being able to print my own photos and get instant results at any hour of the day or night (in my case, usually night).
Recently though I shot an assignment for a local oil delivery company and wanted to give them a nice enlargement for their offices so I decided to visit my friend Dave Zinovenko at his lab: Conntech Imaging Technology in Stratford, Connecticut. Dave makes custom "C" prints from digital files and I wanted to compare the quality to my own inkjet prints.
The result? Was I blown away! For under $30 Conntech made me a 16x24-inch print from a file that came out of a Nikon D70s (6 megapixel) camera. I scaled the image size up myself in Photoshop (Dave can also offer custom Photoshop help), but I never expected to see the level of sharpness and color accuracy that I found in this print. It was amazing! In fact, this was the best custom print I've seen from any media in years--and here was the lab just a few miles from my home. I was so impressed, in fact, that I'm going to have them go ahead and make even bigger prints--I'm really curious to see a 6mp camera file turned into a 30 x 50-inch print (their max size for C- prints).
Conntech offers virtually all custom lab services, including large-format Epson inkjet printing and all other forms of custom lab work. All of their custom services are available nationwide via mail and you can find a complete price list on their site. They work with consumers as well as pros and their service is ultra fast--I got my prints in one day. And you won't find better prices anywhere for this kind of beautiful custom work. They also offer a "Nifty" print service (no color corrections, $15 minimum order, mail-order only) if you're looking for very affordable quick prints.
Call Dave and tell him I sent you--as beautiful as inkjet prints are, you have to see a traditional C print to really see your images come to life: (203) 378-5100.