Ease of Use - Ordering Process:  

Online digital photo developer Kodak Gallery has one of the most organized and easy-to-use sites we've seen; uploading pictures and ordering prints is almost a pleasure. Even a computer novice should be able to walk through this process without problems.

However, we would like for Kodak to suggest, during the ordering process, for users to change their print size from 4 x 6 to 4 x 5.3, a paper size more suitable to pictures taken with a digital camera and designed to minimize cropping.

Quality of Prints:  

To test for quality, we sent the same digital photos to all of the online photo developers we reviewed. Unfortunately, we were unable to find one company that got all our pictures perfect. While we like the way most of our pictures turned out with Kodak, there were a few noticeable issues, particularly from cropping.

• Sunset: This was our favorite photo from Kodak’s set. The models were well lit and clear. Additionally, the sunset in the background looked really pretty. It was obvious that the Kodak developers, unlike some of the other companies we reviewed, focuses on making people in the picture look best with scenery secondary. However, there was a significant amount of cropping at the bottom of the picture. Click here to see a comparison.

• Black and White: This was probably the most disappointing print we got back from Kodak. Our black and white print was really dark and almost looked blue. This is most apparent in the lake where, in the background, the ripple of water has obvious blue hues. Click here to see a comparison.

• Aerial: Our Aerial shot was taken on a cloudy day in London. Kodak was able to clean up the overcast and create a clear crisp picture. Visually, the photo looks great, but again there was a noticeable amount of cropping at the bottom of the picture. Click here to see a comparison.

Note: To check quality, we took each set of prints received from the online photo developer and laid them down side-by-side for comparison.

Pricing:  

Kodak Gallery is moderately priced at $.15 per print; it falls dead center on our pricing scale. Although the price isn’t the best we’ve seen, we feel that essentially you are paying for a brand name.

Unfortunately, they do not offer any volume discounts and the prices of their larger print sizes like 5x7 and 8x10 are more expensive than most of the other services we reviewed.

They also offer subscription options that include discounted prints, a personal webpage sharing site, unlimited high-resolution downloads and more. You can also pick-up your pictures at your local CVS or Ritz; however, prices are subject to the local store policy.

Service and Site Features:  

One of the best features in the Kodak Gallery is perhaps their free photo organizing application. This software is installed on your computer’s hard drive and integrates into your online account. It allows you to manage your digital photographs without having to be online. They offer this software for Windows and MAC computers.

Editing tools are available online and in the software application. They also include free album sharing and online storage. Accounts inactive for a year will be deleted, which means you have to buy something at least once a year to keep your account open and fully functional.

Perhaps one of the best reasons to choose Kodak Gallery is that they work with many local developers and are able to ship your prints to a variety of locations for same-day pick-up, including Target, CVS or Ritz Camera.

The Kodak Gallery has several photo gift options including cards, calendars, mugs, apparel and more. They also include online editing tools, which we suggest you use to avoid the developer’s over-cropping on your behalf.

Shipping Costs/ Turnaround Time:  

Unfortunately, we found that Kodak charges more for shipping than most services we reviewed. Four prints cost us $.60 with $1.51 in shipping and handling. It cost Kodak $.97 to ship the photos, leaving $.54 for handling. This is a little more expensive than most of the other services. Kodak charges $1.39 to ship one print and $.04 for each additional. It would cost $2.35 to ship 25 photographs.

Additionally, at 5 days from the time of order to the time of delivery, Kodak was one of the last services to deliver our prints. Although this isn’t an extraordinary amount of time, and well within their shipping standards, it is still disappointing when most services only took 3 or 4 days to deliver.

Our prints arrived in a lightweight cardboard sleeve, wrapped inside a similarly lightweight cardboard envelope.

In the past, we encountered some difficulty with shipping. Our prints were lost in the mail, but when we contacted Kodak by email, they responded promptly informing us they will reprint our pictures and ship them by FedEx for free. We felt that although the shipping problem was an issue beyond Kodak’s control, they handled the situation perfectly.

Kodak has been in the photo business for more than 100 years and have continued to change with the times, without compromising their integrity. Most wouldn’t complain about prints we received, but next to others it just doesn’t seem like Kodak lives up to it’s reputation. Please see our top 3 products: Snapfish, York Photo and Clark Color.