Recently I've been exploring different places to have my photos printed, which has turned into a national search for the best printer. While I'm not completely unhappy with the printer that I was using, I'm certain there are print shops out there that could do the job a bit better and still have a competitive pricing list.

So I'm throwing the question out there to the general public. What do you use for printing you're fine art photos? And I don't mean the local Walmart either.

Prints are something that as a photographer in the digital age is becoming something of a by gone product. Most people are smart enough now to search out a photographer that will give them the digital origional files, and then go print the photos themselves at whatever shop they choose. This can save people money as they aren't paying for the markup pricing from the photographer.

On the other hand this can also pose a lot of issues with the photos being printed in poor quality and reflecting badly on the photographer. I try to have my clients print through me as I can then guarantee the quality of prints, and be sure the files that are being sent to press are exact sizes / cropping / colors etc.

Two national printers that I've used in the past are listed here with a short review:

Mpix - Mpix is a great company that I've used quite often in the past for a lot of different types of prints. They print all the standard sizes, both in color and black and whites. They offer photo retouching services, as well as color correction, which is a great service. The major feature that I love is the metallic fleck paper that you can print on with Mpix. This paper gives a nice metallic sheen to the prints and is absolutely stunning for black and whites. They ship on time, and orders are processed extremely fast. Print quality is above average and packaging is superb.

Ritz Camera - Ritz Camera is a well known and national chain. You can find Ritz camera stores in most major malls and cities. The best part of the Ritz service is the ability to upload your photos and have them printed to your local store. This saves a ton of time and lots of shipping charges. Of course you can also have it shipped to you, but I normally reserve that for direct shipping to a client. Ritz offers all the major sizes, as well as super large sizes and banners. Print quality is average as is the packaging. One drawback that I've noticed from Ritz is that the prints will scratch fairly easily, especially when removing from packaging.

I'm looking for suggestions and personal experience reviews of photographic printers either locally or nationally, please leave you're thoughts and comments!