You Oughta' Be In Pictures
by Gary Woods

If printing out your favorite pictures has become a real pain for you there are some alternatives you should look at. First up, without even leaving your house there are services which allow you to upload your pictures to an online photo-printing service and place your order. Some examples are Kodak EasyShare Gallery, http://www.kodakgallery.com, Mpix http://www.mpix.ca/, PhotoCheap http://www.photocheap.biz/ and PhotoWorks http://www.photoworks.com/. All these services accept JPEG files, and Mpix, and PhotoWorks will also accept TIFF files.

One great advantage a Web-based photo service has over your local photo developer is that it lets you share your prints with others. All these services let you create online albums, fill them with your images, and then send announcements to friends and relatives. Guests can look at your images and even order prints of their own, saving you the hassle and expense of creating and mailing duplicate pictures to multiple people. Most sites will leave your photos up indefinitely as long as you order prints at least once a year.

Just as your local photo lab provides a variety of printing options, from glossy paper to artsy borders, many online photo services let you customize your order with some offering an astounding array of options.

All the sites offer the basic print sizes, including 4X6, 5X7, and 8X10. Mpix offers the greatest variety of sizes with 20 choices ranging from wallet size to 20X30. PhotoWorks offers the largest with a 24X36 option.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910