I needed some nice prints for a video project. I wasn't sure who to talk to, so I messaged a few local print shops, and one of them directed me to LightSource as the best fit for my project. It really impressed me that another local business would forward a potential customer to LightSource. I wasn't completely sure what I needed. The staff were very patient with me, asking questions and explaining the options. Once we agreed on the work to be done, they used their in-house expertise with color to make the results much better than I could have on my own. They seemed personally invested in my project and always responded to my emails within a day. They could have phoned it in due to how clueless I was, but they didn't. High-quality professionalism and zero snootyness. I'd happily go back for any similar project in the future. read more

LightSource - Test prints for my project - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

I went to LightSource to do high resolution scans of my film photos. I was recommended by a neighbor in our building who had done some high resolution scans for print there. The team is highly skilled, polite and professional. They work with a super cool drum scanner to do wet scans that give you the best results. Everything was straight forward and easy. Highly recommended to all my artist/photographer friends. read more

I've used LightSource SF two times now, and they are a joy to work with. Printing large photographs at multiple different sizes could be complicated, but their attention to detail made the job easy. The quality of print was worth every penny, and they are reasonably priced. Caleb and Steven have been a breeze to work with, and everyone there gets back to you super fast when you have questions. On the phone or by email, you never have to wait long for an answer. They have my business moving forward. Thanks, LightSource! read more

I wanted to get pictures printed for a friends wedding - they were of grandparents and great grandparents so pretty old and in black and white. The brides mother wasn't too tech savvy and sent me the pictures as pictures she had taken on her iPhone of them still in the glass frames. So they were crooked, blurry, and had glare on them. Anyway, Ward helped turn these into beautiful pictures that I could use and put in frames on the wedding day. He was patient with my questions and back and forth and was not daunted by the project in the least. He also gave great recommendations when I didn't know a lot about photography. I will definitely be using LightSource again. read more

LightSource made prints of several gouache and watercolor paintings of mine. The prints looked as good as the originals. I appreciated the care they took with my order and how quickly it was completed. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, asking the right questions to ensure that the printing and paper most suited the task. I'll definitely use them again. read more

Lightsource is THE best fine art printing lab in the SF Bay Area. Wouldn't use or trust anyone else to handle my fine art photo printing. Skilled experienced printers, knowledgeable working artists, professional services not to be matched elsewhere in my experience! read more

First of all, thank you to yelp for helping me find LightSource. Second of all:::: THANK YOU LIGHTSOURCE! Thank you for helping me bring my San Francisco punk rock photography from the early 1980s to life in 2012. Even the prints that had to be scanned and enlarged from old prints due to my inability to locate the negatives.....AMAZING. Thank you for being so respectful of my work, and for your enthusiasm, care, and skill. Cassi, JP and Sam, you are all very special and talented people. The best. read more

Sam and crew at Light Source have a long history of serving the professional photography and printing communities in the San Francisco bay area. My latest project with them was printing and mounting a 10-foot long panoramic photograph. The job was exquisite. The service excellent. It was great to have everything done locally. I recommend them highly. read more

I have now purchased 2 canvas prints from lightsource. I am not a photographer and this is a very professional place. With that said, Sam and Cassi were very helpful even though I don't know much about photography. They helped me understand how I could make my photos look their absolute best on canvas. They even gave me a few tips on how I should be taking future photos. The 2 canvas prints look great in my living room. I think its amazing that a my photos are now art. read more

Sam Hoffman went above and beyond the call of duty in printing large posters for a big event at our studio (4th Street Studios) last night. In addition to having a website chock full of excellent tips on how to get the most out of your digital file, LightSource makes exquisite prints and not only printed properly, and mounted properly. He patiently answered all my questions about uploading files and called me to let me know when the upload failed due to my error, not theirs. LightSource really cares about nurturing artists and supporting the greater community, not just their paying customers. I've worked with a lot of pro labs in my career, and LightSource deserves TEN stars, if Yelp would only let me! read more

Superb photo printing professionals. Easy to work with and the results are great. When there was an issue with one print they quickly and fairly resolved it with me. Highly recommend. read more

I found out about LightSource last year and have not looked for anyone else in the city to print my work! Sam and JP go the extra mile to help on every project and have done such a wonderful job! We have done some really big amazing pieces and each one has turned out with the best quality and expert work! Sam has help with expediting piece for mounting which has turned out to be a big help! Thanks for your hard work Sam! Bill Cendak II read more

Lightsource was recommended to me by an experienced art gallery owner here in San Francisco. As a professional artist, I use Lightsource for archival inkjet printing and high quality scanning. Sam and his crew are very professional, meet promised timelines, and I have been extremely happy with the work that they've done for me. If you want high quality art prints and scans, I highly recommend them. read more

Love these guys!!! My husband and I recently took a trip to Utah and Arizona and shot some great pictures of the Antelope Canyon, Zion, etc. Upon returning, we had the photography bug and wanted them printed and in our home right away! We did our research and visited a few places in the area, but LightSource was the most knowledgeable and had the exact mounting style that we were looking for -- 1/4 inch plexi mount with aluminum back. JP was very attentive and helped us decide on which photos would look best with this mount, gave us cropping suggestions, adjusted the photos to perfection, and even stacked our photos from horseshoe bend - making them look better than we could have imagined! We got our pictures within 2 weeks and we honestly can't stop staring at them. JP had suggested we use the 1/4 inch thick plexi - as it would make the photo pop, and he was right.. it feels like we are back in Antelope Canyon. The pictures are absolutely perfect - worth every penny! Thank you to the guys at LightSource, we are your newest loyal customers! read more

Every time I go to LightSource JP has been very friendly and helpful. The last time I had prints, there were very small blemishes, and Sam was generous enough to have it printed and reprinted 3 times to get it right, at no extra charge! Very knowledgable staff. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for, and what you get is top notch! read more

I've been printing both my commercial and fine art work with LightSource for over 3 years and they've become the only lab I print with. 1. Knowledgeable, 2. friendly, 3. willing to work with me on pricing, and to top it all off they even 4. bring my print orders across the GG Bridge (I moved from SF to Marin) free of charge! Sam and staff combine custom boutique service with prices low enough to compete with web-only businesses (that can't match LightSource's hands-on, eyes-on service and choice of papers). Try them once and you'll keep coming back. read more

Quick feedback - the 'Contact Us' button atop your Facebook page is a broken link right now. Cheers!

Lightsource has been printing my work for the better part of 8 years (yikes has it been that long!) Anyway, you'd think I would've bought my own large format printer by now, but no! It's better to have the printer pros do what they do, they keep and eye out and find things that I dont see, plus they have the facility required to properly package the large prints I make. I'll sometimes use them for smaller prints too, and the occasional scanning needs, oh and the photo mounting options they offer are all top shelf. It's like having your own team working with your best interest as their concern, seriously they've saved my butt on several occasions! read more

LightSource, and specifically their employee Caleb, has been incredibly helpful to us for our photography needs. We bought our home last year and while decorating, had a pretty specific photo project in mind (I saw a Kate Moss doctored photo on Instagram that I liked and wanted to blow it up, mount it, and install it in our bathroom...suffice it to say it was a pretty big ask). The only info I had was a low res photo screenshot. Caleb managed to add grain to this low res photo (and all of the other magic that he worked on it), blew it it up to a 48x48 print and managed to make it look high res. It was pretty remarkable and is one of my favorite pieces in my home. Caleb has also done multiple other photo projects for me (one of them was a custom-created a black and white gallery wall for me and installed it personally), and is very communicative and a pleasure to work with. I am so happy with this business and will continue to use LightSource & Caleb for any photography/print needs I have. Highly recommended!! read more

LightSource - Photography Stores & Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

My first experience at LightSource... Super responsive, processed my request in a rush and in timely fashion. Great looking prints. Sam and his staff are very friendly, professional and all around great to work with read more

I have a wide experience working with professional labs, not only in the US but also in Europe. I have to say that LightSource had exceed my expectations. Sam is not only very responsive and kind, but he goes beyond to keep you happy and help you with your business as much as he can. The customer service is excellent and all the deliverables are incredible good. With them I don't need to look further, they have all I was looking for in a professional lab. read more

LightSource is phenomenal for quality, service and knowledge. My experience with them greatly exceeded my expectations. The service is excellent and the quality of their prints is unsurpassed. The quality of my print (8x14) was way beyond my expectations. The colors are vibrant, rich, and have a beautiful tone. The paper that you can chose from is varied and nothing but high quality so there should be an option for everyone's needs. Their pricing is very reasonable and is well worth it! The service is above and beyond. I received my print same day (larger orders or prints might take longer) and their Digital Imaging Direct, Ward Long, was incredibly friendly and exceedingly helpful. I chose to pick up my print and their atelier is clean, bright, and aesthetically pleasing. They are obviously dedicated and serious professionals whose passion for printing reflects in their quality, service, and pricing. read more

Amazing service and results! Went in to do an image capture of 12 pieces. I dropped them off, had the photos within a week and picked them up again. Experienced staff who are artists themselves. read more

I'm a professional photographer. I've known Sam Hoffman, owner of LightSource, for almost 25 years, and have used the services of companies he's owned for that long. There are a lot of good reasons why. First met Sam when he was co-owner of The NewLab, one of the top professional film processing labs in the country, when film was king. Back then Bay Area professional photographers used The NewLab because of its outstanding quality control, customer service, on time processing and its dedication to creating as environmentally friendly a service as was currently available for film processing technology at the time. Sam's focus has always been on three primary things: 1. The highest quality output 2. The best customer service 3. Delivery on time. Who could ask for more? Now Sam is at the helm of LightSource. Those three values still steer its course. I just had a big print made by LightSource for a very discerning client. This after having had unsatisfactory and time consuming results from two other vendors. The image file I had worked on for way too many hours still had one technical issue I couldn't resolve. Sam's expert Photoshop artist/tech Steve quickly came up with a solution to the problem and created a truly outstanding 4 by 6 foot print. Test prints were right on, as was the final big print. No re-do's or corrections. This print and its final presentation had to be perfect. It now hangs on a wall, in clear view of the video camera in a video conference room in the headquarters of California's largest foundation, so it's going to be seen by a lot of people, here and beyond. I'm told everyone in the office really loves it. Sam and his team at LightSource were always reachable on the business phone or cell phone, or through quick responses to my e-mails. How many businesses can make that claim? I tried a lower priced Bay Area lab that gave me a bad print, on the wrong surface. It took days for my phone calls to be returned. You obviously get what you pay for. Thanks abundantly Sam, Steve and everyone else at LightSource. Although I'm not a big client with lots of repeat business, I know I'll always be treated like I am one. read more

Jeff is an all-star. I'm no artist, but I like professional work so I always go to Jeff for my printing needs both personal and professional. He is quick to respond to my e-mails and gets me my prints in a very timely manner. he also makes reccommendations so the final product is exactly what I want. 5 star service for sure. Love their work! read more

I recently had some small prints made at Light Source. They came out beautiful. The people who work at Light Source are efficient, helpful and respectful. As a photographer I appreciated them greatly and will definitely return. read more

I can't recommend LightSource highly enough - they do beautiful and professional work! It's clear that the LightSource team cares about artists because they are artists themselves. I've come to them with a variety of projects, and they've helped me implement my vision each time. Most recently, Steve helped me put the finishing touches on a large scale project by digitizing my collage work, vintage prints, and archival photos. His expertise, enthusiasm, and attention to detail were invaluable. I'll be back! read more

I had an excellent experience using them on my first try. I sent them a template I found online for my client, and they had it ready the same day. Communication was a breeze, and a quick look around their studio showed me the level of quality and excellence they provide. I will be using them from now on for all my personal/business printing needs. They exceeded my expectations at an affordable price, and I can't thank them enough. read more

These guys are amazing, professional and very helpful. They did a great job printing my art work and I'll definitely go there again. read more

I've been producing my archival pigment prints at Lightsource for a couple years now and couldn't be happier with the results. Though I especially love working with Sarah, I've found everyone there to be highly qualified, professional and with impeccable attention to detail. Sam the owner is also great about offering a discount with a high volume order, which I really appreciate and helps keeps my fine art business running smoothly. read more

I found out about this fine art print shop through my photography club. Although located in a hard to find remote area (inside a warehouse, 2nd floor, walk to the end of the hallway), the service and print quality are excellent. Sam, Brad and JP are very helpful and knowledgeable. read more

I've been in the photographic world for over 20 years, having been exposed to many labs and the characters who inhabit them I'd say LightSourse is a true gift to the industry. From the moment I walked in, it was obvious that they know how to extract the most out of ones files and how to transfer such information on to one of many high quality paper they offer. . I had my own Epson Printer for a year, at first it seemed like a good idea, the inks started to run out and the expense was a sting, then the rollers started making marks so many prints were ruined, when the print head started making weird wiggly lines I realized that it was not cost effective nor as good as a professional printer such as LightSource. read more

This print shop is your absolute best ally in making art prints or fine photography. I printed two photos with LightSource and couldn't be happier with my results. The team at Lightsource helped me pick the images to print, provided advise for sizing them as well as choices of paper. These people love what they do and really care about the results for their customers. They also provided me with recommendations for framing. I could not be more delighted with this place! read more

I had a signed, 35-year-old famous cartoon by the well-known political cartoonist of the day, Hugh Haynie. The original 20"x14" was yellowing and fading. I wanted to copy before it further deteriorated. The crew at LightSource did a great job. They color-corrected the piece back to its original white and even eliminated imperceptible finger prints on it. It looks like the day I got it. I thought each person I dealt with -- from Steve and Cassi to Dylan -- had to be the owner. Actually, none was. It's a rare firm that fosters that brand of exceptional knowledge, skill, quality commitment and customer-centric style among the whole team. Sam must be a great leader-manager. I was a one-time professional photographer. Guess who's going to do my prints going forward? read more

I'm a documentary photographer producing exhibition prints for galleries and museums. Light Source is an extraordinarily fine scanning and digital printing shop, with exceedingly fast turn-around. Back in February of 2010 I required twenty-five 16x20 and 20x30 inch museum-quality exhibition prints to be ready in less than 2 weeks and only had my original time-worn 35 mm negatives. Sam Hoffman and JP did remarkably fine Heidelberg wet drum scans, which saved me an enormous amount of Photoshop scratch clean-up time. Their scans were much sharper and had more dynamic range than I'd previously achieved with an Imacon scanner. In addition, they were able to match and in some cases exceed the quality of my old silver prints. The final prints had exceptional quality and looked like knockouts on the gallery walls. Thanks! And now, Sam, JP, and Cassi of Light Source just delivered to me a dozen beautiful prints that are going into the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. The goal of all photographers is to team with a photographic printer who can anticipate your intentions and efficiently respond to your professional needs...and who can produce the finest print images from one's negatives. These exceptional prints went from raw negative to final exhibition print in less than ten days. A truly fine performance. read more

Sam had met my pro film processing and scan needs for many years, so when I heard he had developed LightSource to provide high end scans and prints, I had to give a try. I sent my huge file, following the web site instructions, to his server. I didn't show a match print or even have a conversation about the job. All I did was choose the paper, surface finish, and print size. When I visited the shop to pick up the large print, the results blew me away! Sam understands photography and photographers, and works hard to get it really, really right! Excellent! read more

LightSource has been a great print shop to work with! I am an independent artist, and finding a great print shop can be hard to find, and sometimes very pricey. Doing a ton of research, LightSource was hands down the best! Not too expensive, and they do great work-not to mention they are patient with you and your needs, they always give you honest and great feedback, and the prices aren't too high, definitely the best value, especially with the great service and work they give and do! A big shout out to Jeff Young who works there; he's been helping me since day 1, and continues to do so-thank you Jeff and LightSource! read more

Sam and his crew finished scanning a very large set of 4x5 chromes on their drum scanner and the results are amazing! Super professional and with great care and expertise, they completed the job on time and the client was thrilled! read more

I love this place. Professional, friendly and helpful. Excellant quality work. Good prices too. J.P. worked closely with me on a custom project. I appreciated his patience and expertise. The experience was very positive. The atmosphere at Light Source is calm, quiet and productive. The premises is not fancy but is very functional and the various large format printers and scanners are impressive and clearly well maintained. Sam (the owner) introduced himself and was nice. I got the feeling that I was being well looked after. Also, they have a picture of the Sex Pistols at Winterland on the wall. That's worth a yelp star on it own, in my opinion. read more

I have had 6 large photos done along with mounting and the quality of the work was really good. They also steered me away from one file that had some issues I had not picked up on, now that is being professional. James W. read more