
Thanks for visiting the Digital Pro Lab Journal! Photo Express Digital Pro Lab in San Antonio, Texas is a full service professional photo lab. We specialize in everything photo! I've created this blog to help describe our products and services. I'll be commenting on our services and giving my personal perspective on products, services, and issues I see on a regular basis. I hope you will find this information useful.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
High Volume Package Printing Services
All High Volume Products come with our Monitor Match Guarantee.
High Volume orders received by the lab that do not meet the minimum requirements or that contain products from outside that catalog will eventually receive a lab error in their Express Digital software. It is the responsibility of the photographer to recreate the order to meet the requirements and resubmit the order to the lab. Due to the lack of lab control in the Express Digital system, photographers that continually send orders with requirement issues may have the High Volume product option removed as an ordering option.
Access to High Volume products requires special access to be granted by customer service management at the lab. If you are interested in our High Volume products, please contact the lab for eligibility for access to those products.
Monday, November 29, 2010
DPL "Standard" Products (Products Printed to an Industry Standard of Color)
Our "Standard" Products are only available through our DPL Standard Products Roes software and can not be ordered any other way. All orders have a minimum of $6.00 or more. Due to the fact that we guarantee that these products will match your properly calibrated monitor, our staff will never adjust your images and we will print the file exactly how you send it. Any products or groups of products listed with the designation of (AQD or Auto Quantity Discount) will automatically receive quantity discounts from orders where multiple prints are made from one file. Please see our Standard price sheet for more information.
The signup process typically takes 3-5 days and can not be rushed. If you recently signed up with the lab and need to send orders, but have not received your evaluation images, you should send your orders from our Full Service products to ensure that the quality will be acceptable or wait until you receive your evaluation images in the mail.
DPL Proof Prints & Products
Files need to be from standard 8-bit jpg's in either sRGB or adobeRGB.
DPL Full Service Products
Our Full Service Products and services are intended for customers that prefer not to spend hours in front of their computers adjusting their images or for complex orders that need more help from our staff.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Orders Damaged or Lost During Shipping
We currently have the ability to track all orders that ship from Photo Express Digital Pro Lab. If you believe an order has been lost by one of our shipping carriers, you can login to your online account and click on the tracking links to find the shipping details. If an order is taking an unreasonable amount of time based on the ordered shipping method, please contact customer service so we can reprocess your order.
Guarantees and Refunds
Our Standard Products are printed to an industry standard of color and guaranteed to match your properly calibrated monitor. If the product was printed incorrectly and does not match a properly calibrated monitor, we will redo the order at no charge or refund the order.
Changes to Existing Orders and Order Cancellations
Regarding changes to orders, some orders may need to be resubmitted by the photographer to preserve order accuracy. If we are able to make changes, more time may be required to fulfill the order.
Rush Services
Hours Of Operation
Minimum Order Charges
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Due Times For Orders
Canvas Products - 4 Days
Specialty Products - 3 Days
Digital Press Products - 3 Days
Scanning Service - 1 Day
Retouching Services - 3-5 Days
Design Services - 3-5 Days
Video Transfer Services - 3-5 Days
When ever any of the above services are combined on a single order then the days are added to the order for a final due date, not to exceed 5 day's. Any order received by 3:00pm on Monday will be ready by 12:00 noon on Friday.
Our lab has always maintained extra equipment so that we may continue to meet our ready date and times during the heaviest of seasons. Typically the only reason for a delay on an order would be due to technical difficulty's associated with an order. If a technical issue should occur with an order, extra time will be added to the order until the issue is resolved.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
DVD Slideshow
Let us create a DVD Slideshow of your images and set it to music, giving your images the movement and meaning of the moments you remember!
At Photo Express Digital Pro Lab, we offer two different types of DVD Slideshows to choose from: Standard and Extended. Both options include Music, Standard DVD Case and Printed Disc. Our Standard DVD Slideshow allows for a 150 image maximum, while our Extended DVD Slideshow allows for 500 images max. Both DVD Slideshow types use a variety of different transitions between images to give your slideshow smooth and steady movement from beginning to end.
Add your own title and specify what genre of music you want as the mood-setter for your slideshow. Photo Express Digital Pro Lab has over 500 songs* to choose from. You pick the music genre, and our designers will choose a particular song that will help create the feel that you want. Here are just some of our popular music genres to choose from:
Romantic | Latin | Instrumental | Jazz | Pop | Classical | Indie Rock | Gospel & Christian Electronica | Country | Hip Hop | Children’s | Singer/Songwriter | and more…
Our DVD Slideshows are burned to disc in NTSC format and can be played in any standard DVD Player or Computer (MAC or PC).
The original image files are not included on the Slideshow DVD. For image archiving, please see our Disc Archive options.
*Songs are chosen from our collection of royalty free music. Unfortunately, due to copyright infringement laws, we cannot use copywritten material provided by the customer.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sports Trading Cards (double sided)
Metal Photo License Plates
Ceramic Photo Tiles
Included in the price is a small display easel so that you can just place them on a table or shelf for display.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Image Recovery Service
Don’t go into panic-mode quite yet. Images that you once thought were gone forever can now be recovered!
Have you accidentally deleted an image, experienced a card corruption, or had camera batteries fail while saving a picture? Photo Express Digital Pro Lab, as a Lexar Authorized Image Recovery Service specialist, provides reliable image recovery of the most popular file types, including JPEG, TIFF, RAW, MP4, AVI, and more. We can recover files from any type of memory card—helping you save your valuable photos and videos, giving you added peace of mind knowing your memories are not lost.
Bring in your memory card today and let us recover your most precious memories. Once the Image Recovery has been performed, we will burn your recovered files to DVD.
Although there is a good chance we will be able to recover your lost files, image recovery is not 100% guaranteed. If we are not able to recover your images, we will not charge you one cent!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monitor Calibration & Our Monitor-Match Guarantee
If you are editing your own images at home before sending them to the lab for printing, it is important that your monitor is calibrated. Don’t know what this means? Many computer monitors come from the factory preset for an office working environment which may not be ideal for viewing and editing photographic images. At Photo Express Digital Pro Lab, our color management specialists are trained to adjust your monitor so that it meets the industry standard of color for color accuracy and consistent print satisfaction.
Want to have your monitor calibrated?! We offer Monitor Calibration for our customers who would prefer to do their own color corrections and image editing, giving you the control that you want over the look of your images.All of the printers at Photo Express Digital Pro Lab are calibrated to an industry standard of color using ICC Profiles. We offer a Monitor-Match Guarantee to all of our customers that are working on a Calibrated Monitor. If your prints don’t match your screen, then we’ll reprint your order at no charge or give you your money back!
The turn-around time to have your monitor calibrated is Same-Day. Bring your computer in before 10am and it will be ready at 5pm on the same day. Monitor Calibrations are done by appointment only.
If you have a Photography Studio, we offer In-Studio Monitor Calibrations to qualified customers. To have one of our color management specialists go out to your studio and perform an In-Studio Monitor Calibration, your studio must have a store-front and be located in San Antonio, inside Loop 1604.
All customers that are working on a Color-Calibrated Monitor are eligible to order through any of our “Standard” Print ordering softwares. If you would prefer to have the lab edit your images for color, density, brightness and contrast, then “Full Service” Printing is the best option for you.If I’m having my monitor calibrated, what do I need to bring in?
You will need to bring in your monitor, computer, 2 power cables and monitor-to-computer connection cord (VGA, DVI, Mini DVI, etc.), as well as your operating system’s username and password.
Video to DVD Transfers
Do you still have old home movies in VHS or some other archaic format? Transfer them to DVD and bring those old home movies up-to-date while you still can!
We can transfer all your old movies to DVD so you can enjoy them with the whole family! We support lots of older formats including VHS, VHS-C, Mini DV (DVC), Hi8 Tape, and Digital 8 (DV 8). We can even transfer video from your Video Camera Hard Drive and Digital Camera.All of our Video to DVD Transfers come with Finished Packaging. That means you can choose between a variety of pre-designed themes (Birthday, Holiday, Wedding, etc.) and add a Title so we can customize your DVD Case Wrap, Printed Disc Cover and Chapter Menu to your specifications. Your home videos will be able to sit right on the shelf with all of your favorite Hollywood movies!
There is a 2-hour maximum per DVD. Any additional footage will be put onto a separate DVD and charged as a separate transfer. We will delete out any static or blank video sections; however, custom video editing will be charged on a per hour basis.
No Copywritten material will be transferred. This includes Professional Motion Pictures and home-recorded television shows or movies.
Photo Restoration: Old Photos Made New
Don’t let those priceless old photos wither away. We want to help you preserve and restore your family’s memories for future generations to cherish.
We offer expert Photo Retouching services so that your old photos will have new life and longevity. We can either print your retouched image on one of our Professional Kodak Papers and/or burn it to a Disc so you can print reprints or enlargements later. From color-correcting faded photos to digitally repairing tears and scratches, our trained Photo Retouching and Restoration specialists are here to help.
Want someone taken out or added to a photo? We can do that too!
Pricing is determined by the amount of time required to complete the project. As all Photo Restorations are different and require different amounts of time to perfect, we ask that you bring in your photo so that we can give you an accurate quote.
Photo Retouching
It’s true. Supermodels don’t actually look flawless and perfect in real life. But with all of the recent advancements in digital imaging, why not get rid of a blemish here and a wrinkle there?! Our skilled photo retouching artists have extensive experience with all types of digital enhancements and are ready to help you look your best!
We offer a variety of Photo Retouching options. Here are just a few of the most popular ones.- Blemish Removal
- Facial Smoothing
- Teeth Whitening
- Removal of Fly-Away Hairs
- Evening Out Discolored or Blotchy Skin
- Red Eye Removal
- Dust Removal
- and many more…
We have general pricing starting at just $5 for a number of retouching options. However each image is unique, so contact us for a quote on your specific project.
Photo Sports Balls
Sports enthusiasts, this is the product for you! With a large assortment of Photo Sports Balls to choose from, these products are a definite slam dunk!
With our Photo Sports Balls we can transfer any image, logo or text onto fully inflated sports balls. We reproduce full-color photographs on baseballs, softballs, soccer balls, hockey pucks, basketballs, volleyballs, footballs and even glow in the dark dog balls! Not only do we offer a variety of sports balls, but we even offer mini, medium and full size options for a number of these products. Photo Sports Balls make perfect keepsakes for sports teams and enthusiast of any age!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Photo Ornaments (Ceramic or Metal)
There is no better Christmas tree decoration than your family photos. We now have two options for creating the perfect photo ornament with our Ceramic and Metal double sided photo ornaments.
We have these in various shapes. Text and holiday graphics can be added by you or our creative staff to create the perfect holiday gift. These products are double sided so we can put the same image or design on each side or something different on each side. We make this product through out the year, so you can plan ahead and order them today!
Photo Clings
We can print them life size or mini size. They can be used for life size wall decorations or in store signage. Lately, there is a real popular trend to print a life size pictures of youth team sports athletes or cheerleaders and stick them on the walls at the school gym. The possibilities are endless!
Photo Plaques
All plaques are notched on the back and ready to hang!
Business Portraits & Headshots
Looking for a professional Business Portrait? Set up an appointment today and use your image on business cards, websites, real estate signage, or as an 8x10 Employee of the Month photo.
Our Business Portraits are standard headshots (head to waist), shot in our Mini Studio on a dark neutral background. A soft focus filter is used for our female clients, giving a smooth and flattering complexion. We shoot approximately 5-10 photographs and help you select the best image. This image and the outtakes are adjusted for color, contrast and brightness, and then put onto a CD while you wait. The total time typically runs about 15 minutes...perfect for your busy schedule!
If you schedule an appointment 24 hours in advance, you will receive a discount on our Standard Sitting Fee rate. However, walk-ins are welcome.
If you need a full length photo, other background colors and options, please contact the lab so we can refer to one of the many pro photographers that frequent our lab.
Portrait studio hours are 11:00am - 4:00pm Monday thru Friday and 11:00am - 3:00pm on Saturday.
Photos for US Passports, US Immigration, Canadian Passport, Canadian Citizenship & More!
Passport and immigration photos can be photographed while you wait!
At Photo Express Digital Pro Lab, we have trained passport specialists, who are familiar with a variety of different countries’ passport requirements. All Passport and Immigration photos are shot on a white background and printed on glossy paper. The photos are printed in sets (i.e., U.S. Passport requires a set of 2) and additional sets, from the same person, are usually available at a discount.
The most common passport types are U.S., Canadian and Mexican. While we are familiar with most passport specifications, it is always helpful if you have a copy of your country’s detailed passport or immigration photo requirements.
We guarantee that our passport photos will be accepted by the passport agency or we will re-shoot them at no charge.
Our studio lighting produces a very high quality image that you would never expect from a passport photo. Just because they are passport photos, doesn't mean that they need to look like mug shots.
Passport Photo Tips:
Because passport photos are shot on a white background, we recommend that you wear a non-white shirt for the best results.
For Infant Passports, a white sheet and car-seat/stroller may be required for use as a background.
Photo ID Cards and Corporate Badges
Need something that displays your personal identification info? Our ID Cards are available while you wait!
Our ID cards include your picture, name, date of birth, social security number, address, and any other information you would like us to put on it. This service is available while-you-wait. It is important that we mention that our ID Cards are not State Certified, so depending on what you are using it for, it should not be used as a permanent replacement for a Certified ID.
Our Corporate Badges are similar to our ID card service but the cards are punched and have a clip so you can wear them. We can create artwork with your company logo or you can supply the entire layout. You can shoot the pictures or your staff can come to the lab and we'll shoot them for you. Because each companies needs are different and we have so many options, please call the lab for pricing on this product.
Photo T-Shirts
Pendants, Tags & Keychains
Photo Dog Tags are a great way to keep the photo of your star athlete or military hero with you at all time. Our Dog Tags have a glossy, aluminum finish and come with a 30” aluminum bead chain.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Photo Buttons (Round 3.5")

Our photo buttons are the perfect size at 3.5" inches. For our sports photographers, these are the most popular specialty product ever! But they are not just for sports, we've seen them used for class elections, political rally's, family reunions, and even funerals. Combine some text and graphics using a circular design and you'll have a custom product that people will proudly wear. We can add an optional magnet to the back and/or a cardboard stand as additional display options.
Photo Mouse Pads
These make great gifts. They are also the perfect way to advertise you company logo/brand at your company. Give them to employees and customers. Check out our quantity pricing.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Die Cut Wallets on Kodak Professional Paper
We print them in sets of 8 per sheet. They are so popular that we have a permanent special on them. We call it the "48 Die Cut Wallet Special". The only catch is that all 48 have to be from the same image. There are a few things you should know about this popular product. First, they come 8 per sheet. Second, they are cut but still in the sheet. Third, in order to get the rounded corners and have them cut in the sheets, you lose about 1/8" all the way around the image. It's really important to keep important elements in the photo away from the edges. Heads, hands, text or whatever, you just can't have anything too close to the edge or its going to cut off. Fortunately all of our ordering systems now have some sort of guide to help you see what the final image will look like. We even have a downloadable guide for our Photoshop users.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Digital Press Holiday Cards (Double Sided Flat & Folded Cards)
With the quality you would expect from our lab, these cards are currently available in a Linen, Gloss, or Pearl paper. They are full bleed, full color, and come in a variety of sizes. The most economical are the flat cards but you can get a lot more images on a folded card. If you want something really impressive, check with our creative staff to see what they can do for you.
I almost forgot to mention that the prices not only include envelopes but the envelopes match the paper types. Linen cards have matching linen envelopes, Pearl cards have matching pearl envelopes, and the Gloss cards have plain white envelopes.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
$0.29 4x6 Proofing Services on Kodak Professional Paper
Perfect for the portrait or wedding photographer that needs to give large quantities of prints to a client, or that family vacation or party. Whatever you choose, you can't go wrong. So whats the catch? Ok, there are some requirements to get this awesome pricing. We have a minimum order of $10.00 and you can't mix any other sizes with your order. That's it, now that wasn't too bad, right?
Fine Art Prints
Gallery Wrap Canvas Prints
We incorporate our Canvas prints with a different finishing option using thicker stretcher bars. We currently offer these in 1.5" and 2.5" depths. The 1.5" is the standard but the 2.5 definitely make more of an impact. The thing to keep in mind about these is that the image wraps around the sides of the stretcher bars. If you shoot your subjects too tight, you might have trouble making it work on a gallery wrap. When ordering through our ROES software, you will see where the image wraps and if your going to have issues. If it won't work, contact our restoration department for to see what they can come up with. Sometimes we add a color border to the edge, rather than wrapping the actual image. Other times, we can extend the background or mirror it around the edges and it looks perfectly natural. Please feel free to contact the lab if you need help before you place your order.
Canvas Prints (Loose/Rolled or standard stretched)
Our loose/rolled canvas prints are intended to be stretched mounted by your framer. We include two extra inches of canvas material around the entire image so they can easily finish the print.
We also offer standard stretching services as well. Our standard 1/2" stretcher bars are the standard for artists and fit in most standard frames. Let us turn your images into works of art! Consult with one of our creative staff to add painting or collage effects to your images.
Large Format Premium Lustre Prints
We use the same color management technology on this printer as we do on our traditional lab printers, so the color and quality are matched. We offer mounting services on prints up to 40"x60", so anything bigger would have to be unmounted. I always recommend our UV Lustre laminate as an added layer of protection for these huge prints. It adds a little extra but its worth it!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Kodak Metallic Paper (not to be confused with our Metal prints)
It's important to note that we have another line of products called Metal Prints, which are actually prints on Metal or aluminum. It's a totally different product and process. Check them both out!
Kodak Endura Professional Paper in Lustre and Glossy Finish

There simply is no paper better than Kodak Endura Professional paper. It is simply the best! We've tested the others and consistently Kodak professional is always better.
Many labs have switched to Fuji paper because it is a good paper and less expensive, but our lab has always been focussed on quality and Kodak is the clear winner in that department. Richer, deeper blacks, more natural skin tones combined with an archival rating that can't be beat! When you combine Kodak Professional paper with top notch color management, you will see the difference. It's no wonder that all of the largest pro labs in the United States use it.
Photo lab factoids:
- A lot of customers are surprised to find that we actually project your digital images on the paper and then develop it in chemistry and then dry it, just like we did when you shot film.
- Kodak designates Lustre as "E" surface which has almost a small pebble type of finish and is our default paper at the lab. Glossy is known as "F" surface, and Matte is known as "N" surface. We still run some Kodak amateur Matte paper because some of our customers like the flat finish, but the Professional Lustre is really the best way to go.
Laser Cut Photo Statues

Our newest line of products are the Laser Cut Photo Statues. Currently available in both 5x7 and 8x10 portrait and landscape orientations. We mount your photo on 1/8" black plexi and then cut the image out with a laser cutter. We include a 1/4" black plexi stand that can be customized by etching some text or a logo into the stand for an additional fee.
We've been asked for this product since almost the day we opened our doors 17 years ago, but its finally here now! Since the product is so new to us, our creative staff haven't had time to play, but I can't wait to see what they come up with. The possibilities are endless!
In our long standing tradition of producing products in house (so we can control quality and turnaround times) we just could not send this service out. The process is very labor intensive and has many steps, so we unfortunately can't rush this one, but its worth the wait.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Print Mounting Options
For display and competition prints our 3/16 inch black gator mounts will keep them flat and meets PPA competition print guideline requirements. The 1/2 inch black gator mounts look really nice but is too think for competition prints. Some people like to add mounting hardware to the back and hang them on the wall while others will put them on an easel for display. Our Standout Mounts are ready to hang, they have a finished black plastic edge and holes on the back. They are light weight, so a small nail in the wall is all it takes.
The picture shows each of these options. From top down: Styrene (white plastic), Artboard, 3/16" Black Gator, 1/2" Black Gator, and Standout mounts with black plastic edges.
The Ultimate Photo Puzzle
Photo Coasters (Set of 4 with stand)
