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September 14, 2006
[ PUZZLEME photo jigsaw ]
Price: $17 for A4/20 piece; $18 for A4/50; $20 for A4/150; $26 for A3/300
Highly recommended
The low-down: The PuzzleMe photo jigsaw service turns digital images into puzzles of A4 to A3 size, cut into 20, 50, 150 or 300 pieces.
Ordering and transferring of image files can all be done through the company’s web site or via post — PO Box 218, Mulgrave Vic 3170. Phone 03 95451788. You choose a puzzle size and the number of pieces -- A3 is 300 pieces -- upload the photo and make payment online.
The service is quick. We had our puzzle back within four working days even though the company says to allow up to 10 days for delivery. PuzzleMe emails the customer to advise that the order has been posted. The puzzle comes in a box with the original image pasted on the lid for reference when doing the puzzle.
Like this: The quality of reproduction is spectacularly good. We sent a picture of a bird, straight from the camera, 3000 by 2000 pixels at 300dpi, with a lot of detail in the feathers and a softly blurred background and the printed image is absolutely true to the original. Detail, sharpness and colour accuracy are exemplary. The puzzle is nicely cut, but be aware that an A3 sheet cut into 300 pieces produces some very small bits!
Dislike that: We found that using Firefox we could not complete the online transaction. We had to ring the company to be told that their site only works with Internet Explorer.
Parting shot: The PuzzleMe jigsaw puzzle service is excellent. We asked the manager, Michael Ly, how he achieves such a high image quality producing a one-off puzzle -- it looks like good magazine printing. Michael says that when he started the business two years ago he spent a couple of months developing his work process to get the best results with the least labour input. He passes the digital image to a high quality colour copier for reproduction and then to the puzzle cutter. At this stage A3 is the maximum size that can be produced at a reasonable cost.
We wouldn’t want to encourage Michael to increase his prices but we are bound to observe that he is charging a very low price for an individualised product which comprises both the puzzle and the unique box. Highly recommended.
Posted by terry at September 14, 2006 12:40 AM
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