Eric could certainly contribute a lot to this thread, having managed a photo center for 12 years, but he is at work. I do know that anytime you have machine processed film you are going to have (generally) less than perfect results. That's why it costs less. When the photos are hand processed by a real person, particularily one with experience and a good eye for color and detail, they will turn out much better. They can detect flaws in lighting, color imbalances (either machine or human error) and even correct damaged photos. It costs more, but if you are interested in the best images possible, it's worth it.
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