Vacation photos. Family photos. Weddings. Remembrances. We love taking photos and sharing them. Facebook, Instagram, text messages, they are all great ways to share photos. But not everyone is on the internet. Not everyone has a cell phone. And even those who like to share photos digitally sometimes want something tangible instead. Something to hang on our walls. We all love to send printed photos of our kids and ourselves to our parents, or our grandparents. Why not make it easy? Pictli is an online service that will do all of that for you.
Pictli is super easy. Just upload a photo on their website (or use the app), choose a frame, and pick who it goes to, then go through checkout. There isn’t a wide variety of frames or customization options, but this isn’t a service for those who like to tweak every step of the process. Instead, it’s absolutely perfect for people who really want to just pick a photo, stick it in a frame, and send it off. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. No more getting photos printed from a service, hoping to find the right kind of frame, and then finding a safe way to package it all and lug it to the post office.
I was able to test the service, and picked out a recent photo of Rory and me. I uploaded the photo, chose the frame that looked the best with it, and filled out shipping information. It was a very quick and straightforward process.
The framed photo arrived in just a few days, well packaged in plenty of bubble wrap and in a sturdy cardboard box that will be perfect for reusing. After extricating the frame from the bubble wrap, I saw that it was beautifully but simply wrapped in orange tissue paper, apparently a Pictli signature touch. A note was also tied to it with raffia, containing the note I had typed out: “Because you both are awesome.” (Because why not?)
Opening the tissue paper revealed the photo I had uploaded, framed in the frame I had requested. No surprises. It was exactly what I was expecting. The white-washed, solid wood frame was the best match of their options for the photo I had chosen, and it looks great. The option I chose costs $15 for the framed photo, plus $5 shipping. Not bad, considering the high quality, wood matted frame would likely cost $10-15 in a store, not to mention the printing and shipping material costs. Sure, you are paying a little for convenience, but it’s only a small amount for a huge convenience.
I’ll definitely be using this service in the future. The ease of use, the limited but sufficient options, the price, and the quality of the work makes sending photos to loved ones–already framed and requiring no obligation on the part of the recipient–a very easy thing. This makes Pictli a valuable service.
If you’re still not convinced, the Pictli folks are offering our readers a 20% off coupon, good until the end of June. Just use the code JW1506 when checking out.
Note: I received a framed photo for review purposes.
