How to Print HEIC Photos

You upload HEIC photos to Shutterfly to print 4x6 photos. Shutterfly rejects them as unsupported format. Print services standardized on JPG decades ago and have not updated. HEIC is not on their approved list.

Which print services reject HEIC

Major print services that do NOT accept HEIC:

• Shutterfly: Only JPG, PNG, BMP.
• Walgreens: Only JPG, GIF, PNG.
• CVS/Pharmacy: Only JPG, GIF.
• Costco Photo: Only JPG, TIF, BMP.
• Snapfish (HP): Only JPG, PNG, GIF, TIF.
• Local photo labs: Almost universally JPG or TIFF only.

Every major print service defaults to JPG. HEIC support is not on the roadmap.

30-second fix: convert HEIC to JPG

1. Use HEIC to JPG Converter (extension) or Cloudconvert (web).
2. Drag HEIC photos, click Convert, download JPG.
3. Log into Shutterfly/Walgreens/print service.
4. Upload JPG files instead of HEIC.
5. Complete order normally.

Takes less time than designing the photo order.

Print quality: JPG vs HEIC

For printing, the quality difference between HEIC and JPG is imperceptible:

• HEIC at 90%: 2.5-4 MB per photo, visually lossless.
• JPG at 90%: 5-6 MB per photo, identical visual quality on prints.
• On a 4x6 print: Both formats look identical. Print resolution is 300 DPI, human eye cannot distinguish compression differences.

No quality penalty for converting to JPG for printing.

Batch converting photos before uploading to print service

If you have 50-100 photos to print:

1. Use Automator (Mac) or PowerShell (Windows) to batch convert all HEIC to JPG (see batch conversion guide).
2. Upload all JPGs to print service at once.
3. Select sizes and quantities, complete order.

Automator converts 100 files in under a minute.

At-a-glance comparison

Frequently asked questions