Is 1-hour photo quality different from standard print orders at the same store?
Asked 10/3/2019
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2 answers
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If I order prints from the same retailer (such as Walgreens or Walmart), is there usually any quality difference between their 1-hour photo service and their regular/online print service? I assume the faster option costs more mostly for convenience, but I’m wondering whether in-store 1-hour printing uses lower-quality equipment than the store’s standard print workflow.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
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In the scenario you describe, comparing two services from the same non-specialist provider, there is no difference. They only have one set of equipment, and it's used for everything. The difference is that someone has to stop what they're doing to handle the one-hour printing, while the "regular" service can be done at their convenience.
In the days when film was king, there was a difference. "One-hour processing", which often took several hours, was done in-house right where you dropped off the film. The same shop would usually also offer standard service that would take about 5 days, because it was sent out to a processor.
The one-hour specialists tended not to change the chemicals used as often as they should have, and some failed to clean the equipment thoroughly. The slower services were generally performed by large-volume processors that did nothing but develop and print film and therefore relied on their reputations for their success.
One-hour shops tended to rely more on the tourist trade, and weren't as worried about repeat business, so the slower service could result in better negatives and, theoretically at least, better prints. But only experience could tell you for sure. Some one-hour services were excellent; some not so much.
Some of those large film processors still survive, and a number of smaller one have sprung up recently due to the resurgence of interest in film photography. Generally speaking, you'll get excellent results from any of them these days, but one-hour service is no longer an option for film shooters.
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Originally by user65863. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user65863
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Usually no—if you’re comparing two services from the same non-specialist retailer, the print quality is generally the same. Community answers indicate these stores typically use the same equipment for both quick and regular print orders, so the extra cost for 1-hour service is mostly about speed and staff handling your order sooner, not better or worse print quality.
The main historical exception was film processing: “1-hour” processing was often done in-house, while slower service was sometimes sent to a separate lab, and quality could differ based on maintenance and chemistry. But for modern digital print orders from the same store, there generally isn’t a meaningful quality difference just because one is faster.
If print quality is your top priority, differences are more likely to come from the retailer or lab itself, paper choices, and how well the file is prepared than from 1-hour vs. regular turnaround.
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