mpix is an online printing service from miller’s lab, headquartered in pittsburg, kansas, providing professional imaging services nationwide. in other words, you would expect them to understand photography. however, we were disappointed by its uneven photographic reproduction and average print quality. In addition, the software (which is the same one that is licensed by Costco) has some severe limitations. for more consistent quality and fun creative software, we prefer mixbook or printique.
- best photo cards
- best photo books
- best photo calendars
mpix review: prices
mpix photo book a 20-page 8 x 8-inch hardcover book starts at $34.99. mpix book has a variety of other books, such as a 5 x 5 economy hardcover ($29.99), an 11 x 8.5 premium linen hardcover ($54.99), a 9 x 8 inch premium softcover ($24.99), and a 10 x 10 inch premium hardcover. hardcover ($69.99).
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mpix calendar our trial 11 x 8.5 inch center fold wall calendar is $23.00. volume discounts are available. for example, two to ten calendars are $22.00 each, and 11 to 50 are $19.00 each. same prices apply to 12×18-inch calendars with top binding. 8 x 10 single sheet photo calendars are also available for $2.39.
mpix photo card mpix cards are priced on a sliding scale by volume. for our 5 x 7 inch card, 5 cards were $3.44 each, 25 cards were $1.64 each, and up to 110 cards were $1.59 each. (larger volumes are available). there are five different types of paper available for the same price. white envelopes are included. kraft or silver envelopes are $1.00 more for every 5 cards. a return address printed on your envelope costs an additional $1.25/5, and having a printed return and recipient address costs $1.75/5.
mpix review: software
mpix’s software is a hodgepodge that does some things quite well, while others are poorly conceived and shoddy in execution.
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The basics of mpix’s book, calendar and card software are quite similar. in fact, the most significant difference between the three is not the interface, but the templates. card templates have design elements that cannot be moved or deleted. book and calendar templates are flexible and editable; everything can be moved, resized, reshaped or deleted, plus you can add elements wherever you want.
mpix’s limited number of straight borders have a fixed width and only specific colors, none of which can be adjusted. furthermore, border colors do not necessarily match text colors, nor are there numeric color values to help with such matching. Stylish and attractive frames include the unique mpix drop shadows, all but one associated with some frames.
The comparatively small collections of clip art available on the book and card interfaces are similar to those at costco’s photo center. these are cleverly organized into descriptive categories, and some (like photo-realistic jewelry clip art) are very attractive. on the other hand, the most limited and poorly organized selection of illustrated clip art that I could use with my calendar were boring line drawings, most of which were black and white. If you don’t like the backgrounds provided with your selected template, the interface has a small library of mostly cartoonish backgrounds that you can use.
managing calendar events requires too many mouse clicks. but once I got to the event editing window, I was impressed with the size and ease of use. you could drag and drop to add or replace an image and use the full text tool to create a caption.
mpix review: print quality
mpix photo book although the mpix book looks good on the surface, with well-textured flyleaves and pages that have good weight, the book has problems. the paper has a rough feel, binding stitches show between the pages, and the endpapers crack at the center edge.
While printed photos have good, true-to-life color, images have flat dynamic range with diminished reflections. focus is a bit soft, but not significantly so. the type is well formed, although with slightly soft edges.
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mpix calendar Photos in our mpix calendar were generally fine, with average colors, clear details, and good transitions. however, they are, for the most part, somewhat overexposed.
Most of the images are sharp, but some had a slight softness. the type is a bit irregular. Although the paper was the thickest of all the calendars, it didn’t feel like quality.
mpix photo cards At first glance, the photos on our mpix card look sharp and clear. but it quickly becomes obvious that mpix doesn’t do a great job of printing photos and instead uses high contrast and a black border around light colored subjects to convey a shallow (and false) sense of sharpness.
exposure is washed out, images have loss of detail in shadows, and faded gradients from shadow to midtone. some of the text is well formed, but other type has ink leaks. while the paper is the thickest of the cards, it feels like cheap cardboard.
mpix review: verdict
mpix is a generally good, but not great, printing service. the software has severe limitations, the quality of the photos is so-so, and the printed products are nothing special. if you’re going to go to the trouble of creating a book, calendar, or card, you deserve to have something that’s above average.
For the best software that’s flexible, creative, and fun to use, we recommend skipping mpix and trying mixbook or printique. you’ll get much better quality print products that match your creative vision.
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