Remember the good old days when we used to buy film, load it into our cameras, and take it on vacation with us? We’d snap away, keeping in mind that every click was a real photo being used up. At the end of the reel we’d wait for it to wind back up so we could take it into Target or Walgreen’s and eagerly await our beautiful set of prints, thinking to ourselves, “I wonder how they came out??”, not even quite remembering what we shot.

Ah, nostalgia.

Now there is professional photo printing online to help us turn our now digital files into tangible objects. But since there are so many photo printing websites out there, you might be wondering which one to use. There are several big name photo printing services out there, and, as far as I can tell by navigating their websites, they are all pretty comparable.

Let’s try to break it down a little bit though so you can choose which one will suit your needs best.

1. Mpix

Mpix is a site that I have personally used to order prints and I HIGHLY recommend them. I can tell you with certainty that the quality of their photo printing is superb. I ordered some photos from my wedding, having never ordered prints online before and not expecting anything great. When they arrived in the mail I was actually blown away by the quality of the photo paper, the crispness of the image, and the lush saturation of color. They offer all kinds of printing options and they make navigating through their website really easy. What else can I say? Order from Mpix and I don’t think you can go wrong. Great customer reviews as well!

2. Snapfish

Snapfish is the other website that I’ve used with good results.  Last Christmas I specifically chose Snapfish over Mpix because Snapfish offers photo printing onto playing cards, which was the product I really wanted. (Although I just checked and it looks like Mpix offers playing cards now, too.) Like Mpix, the process is quite simple. First you sign up by entering in your email address and creating a password. Then you add your photos either by uploading them from your computer, your phone, or a social networking site.

Once you have photos uploaded you are ready to shop! Snapfish has a HUGE range of products from prints to pillows and blankets. If you didn’t know exactly what you wanted when you started shopping, you’ll likely get a great idea when you begin browsing through their product selection.

3. Shutterfly

The other big name photo printing website is Shutterfly. I haven’t used this one myself, as I just found the other two websites to have a more straightforward layout. Shutterfly most likely has great products as well, but the style of Mpix and Snapfish just suits my needs a little better. Have any of you used Shutterfly? Thoughts or comments? Feel free to leave them below!