Walmart Photo is a great option for anyone purchasing photo card projects on a budget or for anyone who needs a printing job done in a hurry. The paper and mailing options are limited, but the service provides decent finished products. Our testers gave this service high marks in a blind evaluation.
Walmart Photo is the second-least expensive photo service we evaluated, just barely getting beaten by Amazon Prints. You can purchase 20 of Walmart Photo’s cards on the least expensive paper for less than $35, including shipping and taxes. The more cards you order, the lower the price per card is. The charges for shipping and tax depend on the state you live in and the time of year.
The best thing about Walmart Photo is the same-day pickup. You can even pick up some card designs within an hour of ordering, making this service ideal for last-minute printing. Just remember that rush printing jobs cost more. Oddly enough, when making our photo card order, we didn’t see an express shipping option, so it’s best to pick up your order from the store if you’re in a time crunch.
We covered up all logos before testing so our experts could judge each card impartially. We ordered a pack of 20 glossy cards and a pack of 20 cards on premium cardstock. The glossy cards printed one-sided on Fujifilm photo paper, with “Printed by Walmart.com” appearing on the backside. Our testers noted the crisp detail and mostly accurate coloring on the glossy cards, although the images were a little darker than the originals. The chalk background printed a bit dark and didn’t show up as well.
The cardstock cards printed double-sided, with a beautiful holly pattern on the backside. We liked that Walmart didn’t print its logo on this card, so it didn’t detract from the images. The chalk background was much more noticeable on this card. The images printed true to color, but they were a little blurry compared with those on the glossy card. Overall, our testers liked these cards and gave them a very high rating. Keep in mind, however, that the print quality of your cards will depend on the printer the store uses.
The envelopes were nothing special, but they got the job done; they come only in white. We noticed a big design flaw when creating these cards: The space where you are supposed to put your family name gets covered by the large “Holiday Wishes” graphic and cannot be moved. Aside from that, it’s easy to create photo projects using Walmart Photo’s interface. You can keep a photo library on your Walmart Photo account to use whenever you want to make a photo project.
Walmart doesn’t offer a mailing service, nor does it print recipients’ addresses on envelopes. There are no foil-finish cards, but you can choose from four types of paper: matte, glossy, premium cardstock and linen.
There are hundreds of themes and holiday cards to choose from. However, Walmart lacks cards for Hanukkah and a few other holidays, and there are no ornament-shaped cards. If you want a service that covers more holidays, check out Snapfish. If you need help, contact a Walmart rep via phone or email. If you’d prefer to find answers yourself, check out the FAQs page. Walmart fixes any printing mistakes it makes, but the company holds you responsible for spelling errors and other mistakes you make.
Walmart Photo may not offer the widest range of holiday designs or include mailing services, but it does have some unique perks. For example, you can order cards and have them in your hands within an hour. Our testers were surprised that the print quality of the cards we received was among the best of the cards we tested. Overall, Walmart Photo is a great resource, especially if you want to save money or you need something printed quickly.
