How to Print Instagram Photos

Today we’re going to learn all about how to print Instagram photos using the Walgreen’s mobile app.

I’ve you’ve ever seen my instagram account, you know that it’s 97% kitties. Seriously. If you don’t believe me click over. The other 3% is mostly made up of my family and my crafty happenings. Like most people, I use my Instagram to share with others the things I love and that totally includes my pets, my family and my creativity.

And when it came up that I needed to print  Instagram photos I realized that I didn’t really know where to start. My first thought was to lay the pics out in Photoshop on a regular piece of paper and print them at home. That is, until I got to thinking about how much money all of that freaking ink would cost me. Since I needed the pics for a project that I’d be working on the next day (which will be at Mom Spark tomorrow, y’all!) there was going to be none of this ordering online and waiting a week. I needed these things printed up quickly.

And I found that I could do that at Wal-Green’s for about 39 cents apiece. What’s more, I could install the Walgreen’s app and lay down on my bed, scrolling through my pics and deciding exactly which ones I wanted to have printed. No sitting at my computer laying anything out and no special tools or anything needed. Extra score that there are apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. So download the app to your device and let’s get started.

So I’ve booted up the app and chosen “Photo” in the navigation bar at the left side of the screen. Now I have the option of where to select my images from. I selected Instagram.

Now you log in to your Instagram account. It pulls up the screen asking if it’s okay to authorize and all of that yada yada.

And then you have access to all of your instagram pics in the app. Now, my Instagram app popped  up a handful of times at the very beginning, but after I scrolled down a bit it stopped.

Select the images that you want to print. They’ll become darker and have a check-mark on them showing they are selected. (FYI – when selecting images directly from the device you have an upload limit of 10 at a time – since the Instagram pics are already online for the program to grab it’s much, much quicker and there is no limit that I found to how many you can choose in one go).

When you choose all you want hit the “print to Walgreens” button at the bottom.

Next this will pop up asking if you have more to upload. Now, from my experience, say no and continue on with the order. I tried printing images from multiple Instagram accounts onto the same order and it timed out on me. Just do all accounts as a separate order.

Now you get to review the size and quantity. If you upload from Instagram you have the option of choosing 4×4 but NOT if you upload from the iPad even if they’re Instagram, square shaped photos. Those uploaded from iPad will be printed at 4×6 and it doesn’t look pretty.

Now you can’t actually see the images and change your mind and remove ones and twos here and there so be sure the ones you’re uploading are the ones you want or you’ll have to start over from the beginning.

Choose the size and number you need, add any coupon codes (I used SAVE25 which the screen in the Apple Store shows as being an offer for mobile printing for a “limited” but unspecified time – give it a go, it just might save you a few bucks!). Review the price and hit “next”.

Choose the location that you want to pick your images up at BUT I’d highly recommend calling the store to verify that they print 4×4 pics. The first go I printed my images at a store that apparently wasn’t able to print 4×4 and they just printed them up as 4×6 images. They looked awful and weren’t what I wanted so I didn’t pay for them or take them. It was frustrating because I drove 13 miles to pick these suckers up and had to go home and re-order at a store that DID make 4×4 prints.

Lastly you’ll fill out the contact info for the order and they’ll shoot you an email confirming the order was received and then another when the order is ready for pick up.

When you get to the store review your photos to make sure you are happy with them, pay and you’re done.

One of the great things, if you ask me, is that since you pay at the store, you get to be 100% positive that the photos are done right and done well.

I hate to be that kind of a person, but the first go my pics were 4×6 instead of 4×4 and that’s a big difference. The images were stretched out to be 6 inches wide and then the sides were cut off to accommodate. The pictures were pixilated and extreme closeups of the center of the image. If I had to prepay I may not have gotten my money back but since I was going to pay in the store I was able to say – these are messed up and I’m not paying for them. If I hate something it’s spending hard earned money on something that is just going to go straight into the garbage.

A lot of the pictures in my Instagram feed are totally spontaneous images that I never would have gotten before the days of a smart phone. Take this picture of my sister. It’s one of my favorite pictures of her. My dad had just had open heart surgery and we were heading home from the hospital and we were all sad and tired and just plain worn out from the stress and worrying. My gas light came on and we had no option but to get off of the highway and fill up.

It was the last thing any of us wanted to do but when we were coming out of the gas station we saw this car that was all sorts of tricked out. It. Was. Awesome. My sister and I introduced ourselves and chatted with the guy and my sister posed for pics with him and his car. It was a totally impromptu little photo session and I don’t think this guy has any clue just how much he cheered the both of us up that day. And now, I don’t just have that pic on my phone… I can hold it in my hands. And that, my friends is awesome.