I shoot digital now a days. It isn't easy to the a phyical pictrue from a digital print. Most places will just give you something like you can get from your computer's printer. However some companies offer PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS from digital images. These photographic prints are done on photosensitive paper and are just like film prints. I found a company that I use to use when I shot with film. They now have a place where you can upload your digital pictures and they will mail you photographic prints. I had never seen photographic prints from digital files, and I had been meaning on getting some images printed that way. The other day I uploaded and order 4x6 5x7 and 8x10 prints of some of my digital pictures. I was quite happy with the results. Next I plan on printing some 20x30 pictures.

http://www.yorkphoto.com

yeah i have only had prints done once and was not impressed with the results... however pictures that i had taken with my camera and sent to my sister that she had developed turned out much better

so i guess you really have to find the right place for the right price.
now i just have to archive and get a years worth of the best photos developed

emm said:

Yes, that can be a chore. What I do is I create empty file folder. Then I start looking through all the image file folders. With WindowsXP this is made easier because you can choose to look at all the image files as thumbnails. Then you need make a copy of the image in the new folder. It's always good to rename it after you have so that you don't delete a file by moving another in the folder with the same name. However after you have done this it is very easy to upload to york photo labs.

I hope you try this company because I have been using them for over 15 years now, and they always do a wonderful job.

Good luck with your project.

One thing I like about the digital prints on photographic paper, is you don't get that "layered" effect that sometimes happens with inkjet prints on satin or glossy paper, where you can almost see the edgemarks of the different colors as they were printed. Injkets also seem to have an inconsistent sheen, some areas seem shiny, and some spots seem duller.

However, the old process of printing and processing photos is not very accurate. The chemistry goes bad, so stuff printed at the beginning of the batch looks different than stuff printed towards the end. Same goes for the bulbs used to project the image onto the paper, over time they loose power and cause a shift in the color tempurature. The people working the labs generally tend to eyeball it and make adjustments based on what they think looks right to compensate for these shifts.