Indeed, QSL bureaus seem to be experiencing something of a large increase in QSL card volumes, no doubt partly fuelled by the significant increases in postal charges over the past few years.
But getting the right QSL printer isn't easy. There are many things to consider: how helpful and patient is the designer in changing your hotch-potch of ideas into an end product? How good is the card quality? How good is the colour matching and so on?
I started some years ago with Vistaprint. In fairness, their product is quite good, and good value for money. Not being specialist QSL printers, the format of the QSO data (back) side isn't quite so easy to format, but it can be done. The card size is considerably bigger than a standard QSL card, though, so this can be a problem.
On using the 200 or so from Vistaprint, I decided to help the UK economy along and give FDS QSL printing a go.
The service and card design from FDS was very good, and can't be faulted. The card quality is also very good. Image detail was excellent.
But, I was very disappointed with the colour balance. Admittedly, being an image of a heavily iron-stained landscape, my QSL front image is notoriously difficult to properly colour balance. But, then, we are supposed to be paying printers to get that sort of thing technically right. Vistaprint, after all, hadn't gone quite so astray. I was offered a free re-print run, but I decided there are plenty more QSL printers out there.
Having used up all the FDS cards, I decided to give UX5UO a go. Certainly, this is a system well-geared to making the whole process quick and easy. Instant e-mail responses from Ukraine, with a proof ready and approved in no time. Payment is similarly easy wherever you are, with a local agent handling the money side.
Within days, a large and very well-protected parcel arrived. A thick gauge bag with security seal, then a stout cardboard box, and 1000 cards in brown paper within. No damage at all.
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| Very good packaging by UX5UO, with no damage to cards as a result. |
Print quality is excellent and the colour balance is very good, pretty much spot-on, which is very good as a first stab. It's a marked improvement on the same first stab that FDS print had.
For my money, I'll be staying with UX5UO because the service overall was excellent, and the card is excellent. I also like the idea of business across the span of the EU - exactly what it's meant to be all about.
So, here are the three cards I've used up until now. To be fair to all printers, you should only compare the colour balance, mindful that colour perception varies considerably between individuals and screens, and nothing else. The image is not adequate for any other assessment, and should not be attempted. It's one image including three cards, not three separate images brought together. They were taken in diffuse daylight.
At the top, you can see that Vistaprint was very lacking in contrast, though the overall colour balance is perhaps the most accurate.
Second, we have UX5UO. Colour balance is very good, and pretty accurate. The image is decidedly less detailed on small scales than FDS QSL, but identical to Vistaprint, and in absolute terms, much more than adequate for an image of this size and purpose.
Lastly, we have FDS QSL print, which had the worst colour balance, with too much yellow and a very washed-out sky, but a very good card overall. In fairness, I was offered a free reprint, but I declined on the basis that there are plenty of other printers willing to take my money. The image sharpness is the best of all cards, and not oversharpened. The printer was rather disgruntled with my complaint, and asked me to edit my 3/5 review left on e-ham to be more positive. I declined to do so.
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| Colour balance comparison of the three printers used (single daylight image.) |
Right of reply.
If you are a printer mentioned above, then I am happy to publish any comment you may wish to make, subject to reason. The article is published in good faith, based on my experiences only.
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