I recently ordered two of my prints (Koi and Five Stalks) from Imagekind to test their quality and shipping experience. I’ve gone ahead and taken pictures of the entire unboxing process along with comments on picture quality at the end; overall, I am very pleased!

First off, I received my prints from Fedex in a large, flat and rigid mailer. Although my prints were only 8″ x 10″, the mailer itself measured about 12.5″ x 18″. Big=good (thank God I don’t like Hummers):

Upon opening the mailer, I found a cardboard insert to prevent bending, along with a carefully taped and sealed package wrapped in kraft paper:

That state of affairs didn’t last too long–like Christmas in May, I quickly tore off kraft paper to find an additional layer of tissue paper surrounding my prints:

Finally, voila! Here are my babies:

And of course, what good are prints if you don’t frame them:

Unboxing wrap-up
Let’s get to the point: I like the way Imagekind delivered my prints. They clearly went the extra mile to protect the prints during shipping, as evidenced by the multiple layers of packaging material; prints are fragile, and Imagekind took the necessary precautions to make sure they arrived in satisfactory condition. Total transit time was 4 days via Fedex Ground.

As for the prints themselves: first off, each print comes with a 3/16″ inch white border around it to assist in framing. The print quality is perfect–no scratches or flaking that I could detect.

Enhanced Matte vs. Photo Luster

I ordered two types of paper; luster and enhanced matte, both of which are on the economical side of the spectrum.

The luster was truly gorgeous–the paper has a shine to it, but not the overwhelming glare you get with gloss; this is likely due to the pearly texture of the paper itself, which, btw, is quite lovely. Although luster resists fingerprints better than gloss, it still does pick up the oils from your skin; handle this print carefully, like you’d handle any photograph.

The matte was beautiful as well, and of course naturally resists fingerprints. The paper is not slick like photo paper but has the feel and thickness of slightly textured cardstock. Note that the color of the print seemed to be a touch darker and a little bit more green than what I see on my monitor. *However*, this is a new monitor which has not been color calibrated, and the prints do match what I get out of my own Epson at home.

An additional note on color accuracy

Overall, I’m quite pleased with the way my prints have come out. My only minor caution is that colors can and do differ slightly from monitor to monitor. I’ve personally ordered prints from three highly-recommended professional printers (ezprints, mpix and imagekind) and have seen slightly different colors every time. However, I’ve found that each color variation carries a subtle beauty all its own, and as long as the printing is otherwise blemish-free I have been a happy camper.

Additional questions about paper? Ask me!

Psst! I also ordered Imagekind’s paper sample kit. Please let me know if you’d like my own (subjective) impressions on the different paper types–I’d be more than happy to help!