Bay Photo Lab Reviews 38

I became a customer by sending two shots for canvas printing. Both came back rather muddy, exposure off, colors didn't pop, exactly opposite of my carefully post-processed photo. I called in about the issue was given an explanation about my "monitor calibration", their printer compatibility, "color matching" and similar technical pseudo babble about why my print didn't look like my submitted image. The prints weren't terrible but for the price, they weren't great and did not approach the pop of my shots. Then I sent a third shot in for canvas printing and it came back even worse; the subjects were nearly blacked out. Rep said send us an outdoor shot of the bad print next to same shot on your monitor, which I did. Then the techno babble began again: "...many customers have to try a few times before they get what they want...". They again printed the shot and it was IDENTICAL to first failure. Needless to say, I got a refund along with a terrible customer experience. Bay Photo seems to think you should adapt your image development technique to their printing process, rather than deliver a product -- the first time -- which matches the customer submission and -- most of all -- matches customer expectation for an accurate print reflecting color balance, exposure, vibrancy, etc.

Reached out to customer service regarding the lack of adding multiple iterations of boutique packaging to an order of two metal prints intended for my sponsor kiddos in Bolivia. Cindy assured me that a note would be added to my order to package the prints separately and I would be invoiced for the additional charge. Well, that never happened, so both prints were packaged together in one fancy-ish box; not ideal for two separate gifts. What's more disappointing is having paid for two-day shipping to have my parcel sent out USPS Priority, which took the standard 3 days for that service. The missionaries that were to deliver these gifts in Bolivia left on the third shipping day while my prints that were not packaged as promised sat on the USPS truck. Streaky prints (which these are) I can live with, but the rest of the experience was just plain terrible.

The guaranteed longevity of their "archival" ink is just a joke. 10 years after I had a whole bunch of large super brilliant color metal prints, printed by them, in order to sell them on art shows, I noticed that the blue and green tones started to fade on my left overs. I also saw a print in a customer's house having changed the same way. All terribly reddish, so I fear this happened to my other sold prints, too. Similar things happen to the black and white prints which are starting to turn reddish, too. None of the prints ever were exposed to direct UV light, most of them being stored carefully without any exposure to daylight in acid free boxes. It's not ok to point out a guaranteed archival ink quality of over a 100 years and now after 10 years I can't use most of the expensive products any more. Bummer.

I'm very disappointed to have ordered wall mounts with "mounting" backing that warped. I ordered a pair and hung them for a period believing they were ok so ordered more. I reported the problem and that I was concerned for them to continue with a current order I submitted for more of the same design. They did not respond but just shipped the new order. When I contacted them again they said they need to be in a frame, not what they recommend. But I had asked them how to hang them and followed their previous instructions. They said ship the first two back and they would redo them. I asked about getting a different support for all of them that maybe I could install and they just quit responding to more than one request as if the conversation had ended. I tried to ask questions before my orders and they just referred me to their quick answers that were not relevant. I don't understand the arrogance of a seller like this.

I've been a customer of Bay Photo for many years and have occasionally had issues with the quality of the prints (I usually do thin wraps) especially when I allow them to 'color check'. Lately, especially after spending over $800.00 on a large order the workmanship is Horrible. They put the 'back' on crooked, so when the picture hangs you can see the black backing. The corners are not wrapped tight and one corner is even bashed. I wrote to customer service on the worst one (with the crooked backing) and they said it shouldn't have gone out and it will go back to be re-done. That was it. Not much of an apology - nothing. I wrote back again stating I had other issues and they were about to loose a customer. Nada, zip, nothing for a response. Time to look elsewhere. Shame on you Bay Photo!

For years we have used a Colorado based photo producer to make our dye-infused aluminum prints. Always had amazing results until recently. Any time people saw our images, the first word out of their mouth was "WOW." However, the last order from them came back with poor color saturation so I went on a hunt for another printer service. I had known another photographer who used Bay Photo. I always thought his dye infused prints were a little lack-luster compared to the ones we had been previously receiving from the local company but thought we would give Bay a try anyhow. Sent in for a smaller dye infused single print a few months ago as a test. Was pleased with what we received back - good, accurate color with real "pop." So, recently sent in for an order of 4 larger dye infused prints. What we received back we were quite disappointed in. On all 4 we requested the 3/4 aluminum frame on the back. Two of the photos had "dimples" showing on the photo side of the aluminum right at the corners of the frame on the back. One even had a "line" showing through the aluminum tha corresponded to the frame on the back. I think the dimples and line were caused by the photos being too tightly banded into the shipping box. In addition, the color saturation was disappointing. There was no "pop" to these images, all but one of which we have printed in the past by the Colorado source on both aluminum and giclee. The Bay aluminum print could not even compete with the giclee print. This was a waste of money. I'm giving Bay 2 stars only because once I got through to customer service after a 45 minute wait, they offered to replace the photos with the dimples showing. Otherwise, reaching customer service by phone is a long, long wait. They obviously need to hire some more help. While prices for standard sizes were competitive with the other source we were using, non-standard sizes, especially 16:9, which is a shooting mode on many digital cameras, is more expensive and not treated as a standard size.

Historically, I've had great success with Bay Photo Lab. Last year alone, I spent well over five figures on prints from this company.

That all ended last week.

I placed a small order using ROES (successful sign in) only to receive an email that my credit card was not accepted. I figured it was a renewal of the card issue, so I tried to log in to address the problem. My log in was denied. I logged in through ROES, but when I tried to access my account info, it took me to the same website which refused my log in.

I tried a chat but the chat window would not open, so I called only to hear that the wait time for an agent would be 40 minutes. Who has 40 minutes to wait on hold? So, I sent an email.

Over 48 hours later, I got a response to the email which told me to log in and change my credentials. Of course, since I cannot log in, I cannot log in to change my credentials. I was then given a link to log in to change my credentials, which failed, gave me a message which read "Internal Server Error".

I certainly don't have the time or patience to deal with this. Instead of an "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for the issues, let me try to help you as a very important customer (whether I am or not)" kind of email, the one I got was more like a form letter and it took over 48 hours for them to respond.

There are plenty of other photo printing labs eager to book my business. I am betting that their customer service will not suck, like what is on display at Bay Photo Lab. At least, I am hoping so.

This would be zero stars if possible. The 8x10 prints Bay produced were AWFUL! They were both muddy. The Black and White print looked like it was dipped in black ink and the Color print was dull with no contrast. Bay Photo was given bright, crystal-clear, high-res images and turned them into something that looked like it was printed on a cheap copier. I twice contacted Bay Photo via their website form and once by email. ZERO response. No refund. No offer to reprint. Nothing. Don't waste your time ... go to Mpix

Bay Photo to the rescue! Bay Photo is my go to for professional work and they always come through. A few weeks ago I got a great coupon for Nations Photo and sent them photos to print. Got them back and pure disappointment. Crops were way off, color a bit saturated, but mistakes happen. So I reached out 3 times nothing over 6 business days. I wanted to give them a chance to make it right, no email, no calls nothing. In the meantime, I sent the photos to Bay Photo, fast turn around got the prints back a few hours ago. Perfect, color, crop and size no issues. Lesson learned, stick with the professionals!

After ordering a print 3 weeks ago I've yet to receive my order and thus will never use this lab again. I've now waited over 45 minutes to get an answer as to why or where by print is I'm not sure I'm ever going to get the print. I'm a studio doing over a million a year and thus use a lot of printers but not Bay Photo after this experience.

I have ordered lustre prints and metal prints from Bay Photo Lab. Their customer service has been excellent, and the product is high quality

On 3/27/2025 (Thursday), I called customer service. Color correction can be tricky when you rely on either a computer or a human to decide what is most desirable. I was assured that they guaranteed my satisfaction with the color results. The rep was also able to direct me to the appropriate website location to review the dimensions required to create my own mirror wrap for my image. I ordered my 14x14 luster-finish canvas print the same day.

My canvas print was shipped from California on 4/2/2025 (Wednesday) and arrived in Washington State 2 days later. The canvas was well-protected, securely package and arrived undamaged.

The quality . . . FLAWLESS! I have ordered 35 canvas prints over the years from two other manufacturers (both of whom have stopped manufacturing canvas prints) and the quality of Bay Photo Lab’s canvas print is OUTSTANDING in comparison.

The canvas material is thick and smooth. I prefer the luster finish, which matches my other canvas prints.

The frame is the most robust that I have ever seen . . . 1.125” wide and 1.5” deep. I can't image this frame ever warping.

1.375” of the canvas (which includes a white edge around the image) wraps around the back of the frame. Staples are placed roughly every 1.25” along the wrapped portion with extra staples at the corners. The mirror image that I created for the wrap was positioned perfectly on the frame.

The corners were crisp and tight.

But the COLOR CORRECTION . . . oh, my! It is utterly PERFECT! I am exacting and I would not change a thing!

I ordered a high quality Mosaik print from Bay Photo Lab. The resolution came out well but the color saturation of their print was very poor. I had the same project printed with two other parties afterwards with much much better results. I contacted bay photo to see whether maybe my file arrived incorrectly or something was printed in the wrong way but I never received a reply. Very disappointing. I recommend going with other printing service providers. Thank you

Amazing Customer Service.

These guys are top notch when it comes to their customer service. A few years ago when I first used them, there was a cropping error on a very expensive item and they took care of it and did a remake, no questions asked. This time, I had another pricey order (a large poster print for my film made on aluminum) and the shipper damaged the item. Bay Photo also issued a remake, no questions asked and even went above and beyond to ensure the item was delivered to me in time for my film premiere. Also just a side note, every print I've gotten made through them is always beautiful and high quality. Thank you so much for everything Bay Photo!

This is my first time ordering from Bay Photo, and i have to say i am very impressed with the level of service and commitment. The support team are very helpful and they really took the time to answer all my questions and explain it really well.

To cut the story short i placed an order with them, but the picture came in too dark. So Bay Photo did another print free of charge, but ai guess the picture was too good that the UPS lost (or stole it) lol. Bay Photo did what they could do to print another set for me and rush deliver it.

Thanks again, Bay Photo Team! You just made another loyal and happy customer!

Martin

I joined art Store Fronts and paid over 3k specifically to have a shop website built and I have only 1 fine art photo print choice, Bay Photo. Where do I begin. First, I am contacting Art Store Fronts and will let them know about my countless customer service and print quality experiences, then ask for a refund since I cannot sell inferior photo-prints to customers who are spending 100 per print and up. I have no answers to my questions after 2 weeks, finally I get them answered by a second customer service rep after speaking with one 2 weeks prior who said she had to send my questions to a "Tech." 2 weeks waiting for nothing. The print I received is bad. I have a high quality professional printer in LA print my more expensive photos, and compared to them, this is going in the garbage. We lined up 8 prints of the same photo and BP's came in last. Asked what printed they used, the answer was "we use many printers." As we know, every printer is different. So "many printers" means there is no consistency between a photo run on a Cannon and one on an Epson. They wouldn't share which one my test print was run on, because they won't bother to check.
And on top of that, the attitude was that everything was fault for asking or questioning. Never talked to a real printing tech and customer service said she was the "tech." So no one to actually discuss technical aspects of printers and printing. I am so disappointed. Working with Art Store Fronts and the web tech Bryan has been awesome, but now I'm faced with who prints my photos? And what's the point of an ASF shop if the photos ordered thru Bay Photo are inferior. I'm pretty much out of luck and just so upset. Do not use them and if you are an ASF customer, know your photos will not be up to par.

I have a new art store front site. I had my painting professionally photographed at a lab, and they also ran a print. It was spot on. That was a great lab.
I ordered a canvas print of this painting for my mom from Bay photos (through the back end of my ASFs website). It was staggeringly horrible! The painting is an extreme close up of a yellow rose. entire painting is all yellow. The Bay Photo print of the painting was BROWN. Straight up BROWN. No where near yellow. Its hard to imagine that anyone could have thought this was acceptable. On top of that...I dont know how they managed it, but also my brush strokes were....now blocks of (the wrong) color. I do not paint that way. It was the strangest thing I could imagine. The colors were ALL off...the highlights were a weird color. The shadows were like a purple chalk. So bad. So weird.

I contacted BAY PHOTO every day for a week and never heard back! Its been two weeks and still havent heard back.
I complained to ASFs and they interceded. Saying, "Bay needed to recalibrate their printer". Ah...ya' think?! What if I had been a customer!? How would the customer not know that I am not the worst painter.
Also i tried to UPS the painting back to Bay and their address on the invoice is incorrect. They mistyped their own address. Two zip code numbers are transposed.
Not professional. I still have not heard from BP and its been two weeks now.
ASF said Bay will reprint it now. No idea if it will be passable.
Im assuming Bay is a cheap factory lab.
Im afraid Ive wasted my money on art store fronts.
I would avoid this lab!
(Use J6 in alhambra instead!)

Takes a month to get three 8x12 prints done. That’s long enough that my clients forgot they ordered anything.

Customer service is all of sudden absolutely horrendous. Going days or weeks between replies, promising callbacks which never arrived, ignoring requests to reprint their mistakes, sending my home address to our customers, and not getting correct answers several times over...is completely unacceptable.

EDIT TO RESPOND: if that were true, this review wouldn’t have been necessary. We sent 8 emails and 4 phone calls to your customer service team without receiving answers.

I've used Bay Photo for several years, after becoming serious about printing affordably. I've found Bay Photo to be a quality printer ... responsive, helpful, fast and quite affordable. Customer service once reprinted photos for me at no charge and worked with me to verify my home lighting to address color issues, when in fact it was likely my fault the print turned out badly. The care they take in packing even the most basic prints for shipping is impressive. I will say that I find their print-ordering software, Bay ROES, clumsy and outdated, with a UI that appears like something out of the early 2000s. Still, I will continue to work with it. Bay Photo customer service, print quality and delivery in my experience has been consistently very good, and the prints they provide are likely the best anyone can do with this novice's submissions.