Bay Photo Lab

[Abel]

After seeing the Bay Photo Thin Wrap products in person at Imaging this year I decided to print a set out using this style for a small gallery showing that im participating in later this month.

I ordered six 20x30" and three 16x24" so there are 9 total. having them printed, wrapped, backed and mounted on the foamcore mount i was expecting several days to complete the order. When I had asked about turnaround times they mention 2-3 days and that was when i was only asking about 1 print... so i expected longer for my order of 9.

I sent them late late thursday night 3/3/2011 and i needed to find out what the final edited dimensions should be for these products. It was almost 11pm and I thought I would try their live chat and ask. Someone logged on within seconds and pointed me exactly where i need to go to download their custom thin wrap templates! Wow! I was impressed...

After editing the 9 images I finally got them sent off about 130am that Thursday night. Fast Forward to Monday afternoon 3/7/2011, I get an email from Bay Photo with my tracking number notifying me that they've shipped my complete order and it will be delivered overnight via Fedex so it should be arriving today 3/8/2011. Over night shipping on an order that large for only $8. Can't beat that!!!

All in all I must say that I've been very impressed with Bay Photo... I don't print much but now when I do... I'll definitely be using them.

[tukaniray]

That's sweet ... and in good timing. I need to make a few prints. I am going to create an account with them and make some prints and try them out as well.

-Ray-

[DigitalScape]

How did the prints turn out, Abel?

[PhotoByLeal]

this LAB does great quality work and if it's not done right they will take CARE OF IT! I used them all the time with my SmugMug Pro account!

[Abel]

Originally Posted by DigitalScape

How did the prints turn out, Abel?

Actually... I was very disappointed in the QC of my prints when they arrived on Tuesday. Since theyre Thin Wraps they have a mounting block on the back which already has a hole in it in order to mount them to the wall. On 2 of my 9 prints those mounts were attached incorrectly. Meaning my Horizontal photos were mounted for Vertical hanging. Two other prints had corners that were dented. The remaining 5 had a small bit of adhesive on the face of the prints and the order all in all was just sloppy.

I spoke to customer service that day and explained my situation. I told them about the 4 prints that definitely need reprinting, and mentioned that the remaining 5 are fine if they could tell me how to remove the adhesive from the front without damaging the print. i assumed they had a method since im sure this might occur in their production lab from time to time.

Jon, the customer service representative I spoke to said not to worry about cleaning up the remaining 5 prints. It's their mistake and they'll make right by it. He is having my WHOLE order redone and shipped overnight.

I am still bummed by my first order but I'm sure they have orders like this slip through the cracks from time to time... It happens in every industry. I am VERY pleased in how they were quick to own up to it and make things right by me as the customer. Customer Service is a big thing to me and yes while its unfortunate that the order was received in poor condition, the way their Service reps handled the situation was definitely top notch. Kudos!

I'll let you know how the replacement prints are once they arrive.

Originally Posted by PhotoByLeal

this LAB does great quality work and if it's not done right they will take CARE OF IT! I used them all the time with my SmugMug Pro account!

That is definitely true. They were quick to remedy the problem which is a major plus for me. Its nice to know that some companies out there still focus time and effort into great customer service.... =)

[KenJulio]

*waits with baited breath on the final outcome* ok, not really, but am interested in how their corrections turned out.

[Abel]

lol Ken...

Prints will be shipped out today... arriving tomorrow.

[Abel]

got my tracking number... will be here on friday fo shizzle.

[KenJulio]

So how did the 2nd batch come out?

[Abel]

Actually the set that came in today was flawless! Every print was perfect., top to bottom.

Maybe someone was having a bad day the day my original order got processed. Go figure.

[KenJulio]

Good to see Bay Photo redeemed themselves and that you aren't a procrastinator...

[Abel]

i know! I gotta turn these prints in on wednesday. sheesh i was stressing!

[PhotoByLeal]

Originally Posted by ken74

Good to see Bay Photo redeemed themselves and that you aren't a procrastinator...

They try to get it DUN right the 1st time, if not they will!

NOW......

[TxTowman]

Originally Posted by photobyleal

they try to get it dun right the 1st time, if not they will!

Now......

+1

[Kenski Photo]

Bayphoto is AWESOME!! I have used them MANY MANY MANY times but it took them 4 times to get ONE print right. When I was up in DC i shot the Lincoln memorial and it was a tough shot to do. One of the keys of it was shooting it all ambient and dragging the shutter. This blew out old Abe slightly but the inscription on the wall behind him blew out too. I shot it with proper exposure also but kept coming back to the first shot if it blown on slightly. Once I got back home all I did was adjust the exposure slightly and the wall quickly darkened behind him with the inscription stickout like a neon sign. I converted it to a B&W filter that I love and then had it printed on metallic paper in 16x20 for a friend. The first one was WAY UNDEREXPOSED, couldn't read the inscription on the wall, I called them, they sent out another. Same thing! UGHHH! Good thing I didn't need the photo for a month!! Third one was OVEREXPOSED... I called them back, told them I printed a 8x10 at walgreens that turned out exactly how I expected and he was alittle taken back, told me he would PERSONALLY print it. Yeah, that did it and it was an amazing picture.

Other than that little episode, I will ONLY use Bay Photo. Last wedding I did ended up ordering close to $900 in prints, all from bay photo, NOT ONE needed re-printed, all directly from SmugMug so it makes it nice and easy for me.