I have been looking  for quality printing  options for quite a long time . As a San Antonio wedding photographer I have great sources for photo prints that come in great every time I order. I use a two different vendors , both of which require a resale permit but one also has a consumer side which I have not tried but am sure would be of top quality.
The two I use are Millers Lab  with it’s consumer side under the name Mpix. The other is White House Custom Color or WHCC for short.They print all sizes of portraits for my San Antonio wedding photography business.

Both  require photographers to send in test prints  to make sure there colors match what the photographer expects before giving the photographer an account. They both do press printed material and do a great job . It is aimed at short run pieces. Usually 25 to 50 so the price is a little higher than printers doing larger run jobs. This is a great alternative if you only need a handful of  well printed pieces for a special promotion.

The delivery time is quick . For traditional lab photo prints and press printed cards they usually print the same day or next day depending on the time the order is placed. It seems to go to the press within minutes of ordering so don’t even think about making changes after you hit the send button . Assuming you sent the order in early they usually package and ship it out the same day. WHCC provides second day delivery and usually the order will come in faster since one of the printing offices is only 1 day ground service away from San Antonio. Millers will ship air service so it is also a quick delivery.Both offer reduced rates and even free shipping for most orders.

For business cards I tried all the big names such as Overnight prints, Vista Print etc. While Overnight  does a good job they are not known for shipping on time  as far as shipping dates so I would not trust them for any job that has a  required   delivery date plus the rush  shipping will eat up any savings. It appears  most  of these discount printers make more off retail shipping  than printing. Of course they get massive  shipping discounts due to their volume but charge the customer standard posted  rates. A lot like the rate card you see in hotel rooms. They have a high list price shown so they can get every penny when the area is sold out during conventions but the normal rate you pay is about half that most of the time. The printers just charge the listed rate and never discount allowing the retail shipping rate to add to the bottom line.

When I used Vista print the business cards came in as if glued  together and the re-order came the same way. Not worth saving a little money when you have to pry business cards apart before using them. I found another printer called U-Printing. They have good prices and what appears to be reliable shipping dates. Of course the rush shipping is also costly but if they ship as listed may be avoided. They offer a lot of unique die cut business card styles without additional fees.This alone is a nice option to make your card stand out. I have used them for photo place cards as well as postcards and flyer’s.All the products came in with good color reproduction and on time.