----------------------------Original message---------------------------- State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY 11794-3331 David Y Allen Library-Reference 516 632-7110 01-May-1995 03:26pm EDT FROM: DYALLEN TO: Remote Addressee ( [log in to unmask] ) TO: Remote Addressee ( [log in to unmask] ) Subject: Survey on Photo CD Labs This message is being cross-posted to IMAGELIB and MAPS-L. Some time ago I asked people to report their experiences with Kodak Photo CD labs, and promised to summarize the results. I received a small number of responses, but some were quite informative. In part because of the small sample size, the results of my survey should not be taken too seriously as a guide to what is available. Doubtless many (most?) excellent labs were not mentioned. Most people confirmed that the work done by mass market labs, such as Kodalux, is below the standard of the best specialty labs. On the other hand, the specialty labs are more expensive, and some people seem to be quite happy with the work done via their local Walmart or camera store. This seems to be a sensible route to follow if image quality is not the prime consideration. One respondent made the interesting observation: "My experience with both Photo CD and film photography is that unless a quality lab is located within your community, it is just as easy to work through the mails and the various document delivery services with that lab which gives you the result you are looking for. For my purposes, Boston is as convenient as Rochester, as Northridge, CA, as Atlanta, GA, etc. Of course, I would rather deal with a local lab but that is rarely possible." Several labs were recommended by people who were not advertising their own product and appeared to be in a position to judge. These are: Boston Photo Imaging 20 Newbury Street Boston, MA 02116 1-800-237-FOTO 1-617-267-4086 1-617-267-8711 (FAX) (Ask for David Semperger) Custom Photo Labs Berkeley, CA Alpha Photo CD Menlo Park, CA Advanced Photographics 2456-A Route 22 Union, NJ 07083 800-746-8623 Caveat emptor, and no guarantees from the summarizer!