4 Out of 5

ArtsCow is a newcomer on the scene of photo printing services. To kick off their service, ArtsCow is offering some great deals to invite new customers to check them out.

Using the Site
ArtsCow hasn’t been around as long as some of the more established photo printing services, but it is making a name for itself and gaining attention. For one, they are offering 400 free prints to all new users. According to their website, though, this offer will only be good until they’ve reached 20,000,000 free prints. However, they also have some other promotional offers, like free custom mouse pads, 50% off all non print items, and other coupon codes. And, like most other sites, signup is free. Once the free prints are gone, ArtsCow still boasts some pretty competitive prices: 6¢ for each 4×6 print and 12¢ for 5×7 prints.

Like most other photo printing services, ArtsCow also offers custom gifts like watches, magnets, apparel, lighters, and more. ArtsCow is also in the process of setting up the ability to create custom photo books. This service is expected to be available in the next month.

There are two ways to upload photos to ArtsCow: one at a time, or multiple files at once. To upload multiple files you have to install Microsoft’s Silverlight. Unfortunately, ArtsCow doesn’t offer any photo editing options, but the developers have stated that (as of May 28, 2008) such tools will be made available in the near future.

ArtsCow’s storage policy allows you to “upload an unlimited amount of images,” but doesn’t say how long or under what conditions your images will be stored.

Ordering Prints
Of course, one of the most important parts of a photo printing service is the quality of the prints. To order prints from ArtsCow just click the “Buy Prints” tab at the top of the page and you’ll be directed to your albums. You’ll have to pick a size (4×6, 5×7, etc.) for all of the photos you select at one time, but you can go back and change each one later or do separate selections for each size you want. If you haven’t already cropped your photos, you may want to check each one before you check out. ArtsCow lets you adjust the cropping on each photo before placing your order; just click “Adjust” beneath the photo.

One of the problems you may face with ArtsCow is that shipping takes a little longer than most other services, and may be a little more expensive. For 66 prints we paid $6.98 for shipping. The prints are shipped by air mail from Hong Kong, which accounts for the delay and the pricing. Our photos arrived in a cardboard package with inner paper envelopes.

Print Quality
Once we received our prints, though, we were happy with our order. The photos were printed on Fuji Crystal Archive paper, and the color and quality of the photos were comparable to other high quality print services. The cropping was not good on those photos which we did not adjust, but was accurate on the ones we did.

Conclusion
Online Service: 3.5 out of 5
Print Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5

ArtsCow, being a newcomer on the scene, is still in the process of refining its service. Though there are plans in the works to offer more services, including photo editing tools, they are not currently available. The site does have a forum, though, were customers can voice questions, complaints, and hear feedback from other customers and ArtsCow staff. As far as shipping goes, the cost and delay may be unattractive to some customers. However, when it comes down to their prints, pricing, and coupons, ArtsCow delivers. If you don’t already have an account with ArtsCow, sign up now and check it out.