I won’t use Future Photo any more. I’m really fed up with the poor quality of prints, and the poor responsiveness of their customer service. It’s really a shame, because I’ve been using Future Photo for a long time for my prints, and they used to be much better. However, they’ve lowered their prices, and consequently, lowered what we can expect from them.
My main problem is that they won’t print my photos without any adjustments. I use a properly calibrated monitor, so I can adjust my photos precisely. I write them a very specific note about turning off all of their automatic adjustments, as advised by this page about color management. Specifically, my note says:
Print with Digital Media Corrections disabled, DSA/Judgment Image Correction disabled. No color correction. Disable all Digital Media Corrections options, not just the “Usual Media” option.
The note just gets ignored, because when I get my prints, they have the code “AC+03” (Auto Contrast +3) or “AS+02” (Auto Saturation +2). Sometimes there are both AC and AS adjustments. It’s often so bad that the prints are completely unusable. The colors are horrible, the shadow detail is gone, and the highlights are blown out. Future Photo has never given me a problem when I call to get reprints. I explain what happened, and they order the reprints right away. But no matter what I say, the reprints always come back the same, with exactly the same problematic AC and AS settings. So now I have double the number of unusable prints. It can’t be so great for Future Photo either, having to print and ship them twice.
I understand that it might be too much trouble or take too long for them to turn off the automatic adjustments. However, I’d be happier if they would just say that to me instead of allowing me to waste money and time on unusable prints. Anyway, now my new mission is to find another place that does printing with decent quality.
oh good to know
this means i shouldn’t waste time of adjusting my photos if i’m printing them through futurephoto heh
let me know as it goes
Yes … it’s a shame they went to crap. But I suppose it was at one time the best option in terms of price and quality. Thankfully there are a few more options available to us now in Canada.
And I know it’s a pain and all, but jeese bud, you DO have that sweet Epson … Want it done right? … hehe 😉