The wood photo panels from CVSPhoto.com are sturdy without being overly heavy, high gloss, and high quality. Prints do not look like a piece of paper glued to the top of a piece of plywood, these photo panels are certainly of a high quality that could hang in any situation or art show. The only downside of these panels is that the high gloss finish seems to welcome fingerprints with an unholy glee so be sure to keep lint free cloth handy when hanging these panels.
Print Quality
The print quality on the sample photo panel we received from CVSPhoto.com is quite simply beautiful. Rich color, good exposure matching, and lots of fine detail with true blacks and whites that were not blown out make the print quality on this photo panel outstanding.
The high gloss surface seems to be relatively well protected and not subject to random scratches although the slightest touch will result in a fingerprint or smudge. These smudges do clean easily with a dry lint free cloth so be prepared to clean the print once you have finished hanging it. I would also suggest giving a lint free cleaning cloth with the panel if you are using the panel as a gift.
The high gloss surface seems to be relatively well protected and not subject to random scratches although the slightest touch will result in a fingerprint or smudge. These smudges do clean easily with a dry lint free cloth so be prepared to clean the print once you have finished hanging it. I would also suggest giving a lint free cleaning cloth with the panel if you are using the panel as a gift.
Construction
Edge detail of photo panel from CVSPhoto.com
Photo © Liz MasonerThe CVSPhoto.com photo panel is a wooden block with beveled edges. There is a nice weight to the block but it is not overly heavy for its size.
The edges are finished in a neutral black that does not take away from your photo. Hanging holes are predrilled on all four sides of the back of the block. The hanging holes are a keyhole/keyslot design (round hole with horizontal slide) so they are more suitable for a screw or know hanger instead of a hook.
The edges of the block are beveled back so that the print surface is seamlessly blended into the rest of the block. As mentioned earlier, the print finish is a smooth, very high gloss surface.
The edges are finished in a neutral black that does not take away from your photo. Hanging holes are predrilled on all four sides of the back of the block. The hanging holes are a keyhole/keyslot design (round hole with horizontal slide) so they are more suitable for a screw or know hanger instead of a hook.
The edges of the block are beveled back so that the print surface is seamlessly blended into the rest of the block. As mentioned earlier, the print finish is a smooth, very high gloss surface.
Ordering
The CVSPhoto.com ordering system is relatively straightforward. A Javascript allows you to browse photos on your computer for upload and you then select the options for your print. A word of warning, the ordering system can only see a relatively few high level folders. If you store your photos on an external drive or in a custom folder you'll likely need to save a copy of your photos on your desktop or in the default "pictures" folder for the upload system to work.
Once the photo is uploaded the ordering system uses a graphic interface so that you see exactly how your photo will be placed on the photo panel and allows for adjustment to the alignment.
Basic edits such as cropping, sepia, and black & white are also available within the ordering system.
Once the photo is uploaded the ordering system uses a graphic interface so that you see exactly how your photo will be placed on the photo panel and allows for adjustment to the alignment.
Basic edits such as cropping, sepia, and black & white are also available within the ordering system.
Pricing/Sizing/Shipping
Only one size of photo panel is currently available through CVSPhoto.com. However, the 11x14 size is a good all purpose size though and would work very well in groupings of multiple panels where you need something larger than a single 11x14 image.
Currently the pricing is $29.99 for a single photo panel so it is certainly not the lowest cost option for an 11x14 print display but the quality is worth the price.
There are two shipping options available for the photo panels. You can chose to pay shipping and have the prints delivered to you directly or you can have the prints shipped to a local CVS with no shipping charge. Panels take about a week and a half to arrive when selecting the local store option.
Currently the pricing is $29.99 for a single photo panel so it is certainly not the lowest cost option for an 11x14 print display but the quality is worth the price.
There are two shipping options available for the photo panels. You can chose to pay shipping and have the prints delivered to you directly or you can have the prints shipped to a local CVS with no shipping charge. Panels take about a week and a half to arrive when selecting the local store option.
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.