Overpass ~ Albany, NY
30 MPH ~ Albany NY
As some long time followers know, I am a devotee of POD photo books and, over the years (12?), Shutterfly has been my sole source for POD books. They have consistently produced excellent quality - very accurate reproduction of my pictures together with very good quality of materials. However ....
..... my most recent set of 3 books - Ireland, Scotland, Outtakes - has turned into a nightmare for both me and Shutterfly.
After having a first test book printed - the Ireland book - which I received with perfect reproduction, et al, I ordered the 3 book set. When they arrived, it was obvious to my eye that they had been printed with the Shutterfly VividPic "filter". A filter which boosts saturation and contrast and is turned on by default. The results thereof, for my pictures, is not good. That is why the first thing I do after uploading pictures into a folder for book making is to turn VividPic off on all pictures.
Somehow, after the printing of the test book, VIvidPic was turned on. To their credit, Shutterfly admitted the mistake and reprinted the books. Unfortunately, when the reprints arrived they too had been printed using VividPic. Hence, reprinting # 2.
When those reprints arrived (today / reprints # 3), the printing was spot-on but on the last page of the books - the page Shutterfly inserts with their logo - there were printer markups visible in the gutter. So, you guessed it, I am now waiting for reprints # 4.
While this has been something of a pain in the ass (no pictures makers were injured in the making of these books), I must give Shutterfly customer service a AAA rating. They have been very helpful, courteous, patient and kind in helping rectify the problems. Reprinting at no charge was immediately offered - they have a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.
So, Shutterfly will continue to be my # 1 POD source of choice.