Chatbooks vs
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo Online Ordering Review
We're crazy about printed photos!
We ordered the same 10 photos from Chatbooks and Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo, scanned them all in, and created this guide just for you.
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Or see the full review
Pricing, shipping, paper quality, and other juicy details
When we tested | August 2020 | August 2020 |
Summary | Chatbooks photo prints are nicely packaged and presented on a thick cardstock. However, they're best for square prints from Instagram. For standard 4x6 prints, it's best to explore other photo printing services as Chatbooks doesn’t give you any way to crop your images prior to printing and they're automatically, awkwardly shrunk to fit into the square format. Additionally, even the prints we uploaded as square didn't bleed to the edge; instead a white and uneven matting was added. | While Office Depot has potential to be a convenient local photo lab option (there are only a few such as CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart), it falls short. Locally, the print quality is terrible: The prints are more of a postcard or cardstock print, not a photo lab print. Several of our test prints had visible flaws, such as the balloon print. The color has an orange glow. Their online prints are far superior in vibrancy but the use far too much packaging, while also being the most expensive shipping of all we tested. |
Print quality (local pickup) | Online only |
10 Photos: $2.90 $0.29 each |
Print quality (online orders) |
10 Photos: $6.99 $0.50 4x6s + $1.99 to ship 9-12 days |
10 Photos: $12.85 $0.29 4x6s + $9.95 to ship 7-9 days |
Local pickup available | No | Yes, see review |
Cost per 4x6 print (local pickup) | Online only | $0.29 |
Formats available for pickup | Online only | 4x6, 5x7, 6x8, 8x10, 11x14 |
Finishes available for pickup | Online only | Glossy |
Paper type for pickup orders | Online only |
Unknown cardstock 0 millimeters thick |
Pickup speed | Online only | Same day if ordered by 2pm |
Online only | Order pickup | |
Online ordering available | Yes | Yes |
Cost per 4x6 print (online) | $0.50 | $0.29 |
Formats available online | 5x5 |
4x6, 5x7, 6x8, 8x10, 11x14 8x12, 8x8 |
Finishes available online | Glossy | Matte |
Paper type for online orders |
Unbranded, uncoated cardstock 45 millimeters thick |
Fujifilm Quality Dry Photo Paper 24 millimeters thick |
Cheapest shipping option |
$1.99 To ship 10 photos
|
$9.95 To ship 10 photos
|
Delivery speed for cheapest shipping option | 9-12 days | 7-9 days |
Order online | Order online |
Chatbooks vs
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo
print quality comparison
On 2/13/20, we ordered the following photos from Chatbooks. On 2/13/20, we ordered the same photos from Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo.
We scanned in both sets of prints without color correction.
Here's how Chatbooks compares to Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo.
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks (Test: Glossy)
Office Depot / OfficeMax Photo (Test: Matte)
Chatbooks envelopes
When you order photos from Chatbooks, here's what you can
expect the envelope to look like.
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Compare Chatbooks and local labs
Compare Chatbooks and online labs
4x6 photo tips
How to Send 4×6 Photos In the MailHow Big is a 4x6 Photo?
Photo credits
Atlantic puffin photo by @miss_oharaCardinal photo by @drphotomoto
Turn your phone into a disposable camera.
See your photos for the first time when
they show up in the mail in 7-9 days.
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