Foto City

You wouldn’t think much of Foto City to look at it. It’s in Lynn Valley mall, which can be swarming with the residents of neighbourhood elderly homes if you hit it at the wrong time, and the store front almost comes across as a very cheesy novelty shirt place. This has been far from my experiences there.
I’ve been here for passport photos because they are so reasonable to work with. 20 minutes, from walking in without a smile and walking out with terrorist photos, and the cheapest in North Van ($ 10). I’ve also had a couple of important shirts made here.
The first epic t-​shirt was for a friend’s stag; it was a replica from The Game stating «I WAS DRUGGED AND LEFT FOR DEAD IN MEXICO — AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS STUPID T-​SHIRT». The shirt came out beautifully and looked like it could have been stolen from the set.
The second shirt was for a friend’s birthday. I went in on a Sunday to chat about the best way to bring my idea to life. Two colours of nonstandard text on a coloured shirt? Easy, bring in a PDF so it’ll scale without any distortion. I was concerned about the turn around time and they responded that while they do have a big project in the works, if I got it to them on Sunday, they could have it for me on Wednesday. I didn’t make it back until Tuesday with my files. We committed to a shirt style and colour, chose the colours of the text, and placement on the shirt. Since it was a one-​off printing, they only offered Vinyl printing (silk screening is available for larger runs), so I took what I could get. He told me he’d still have it ready for Wednesday. When I told him I didn’t need the shirt until Saturday and that he could relax a little and have it ready for me by Friday evening, he was very thankful. Picked up the shirt with no trouble and was all set for the party. When my buddy opened up the shirt with the Left Rights lyrics «Hardcore Honky Galore» his face lit up and said «I didn’t know they made this shirt! Where the fuck did you find it!?» I was so pleased that he felt it was commercial quality. All this for $ 25.
I’ve had a friend use Foto City for embroidery work. Turns out they’re the cheapest game in town for this too. I told my brother about this for when he was getting hats and patches made for his business. Now both of them are happy with their products too. While my brother did wish for a higher quality product, he also said that the product he got for the price was great.
I don’t have any experience with it, but they also do video transfer services, photo printing onto mugs/​key chains/​etc., photo engraving, mounting, laminating, business cards, and a variety of photo finishing services.
Next time you’ve got some digital imagery to print, give these guys a call. They’re always great to talk to and want to make sure they give you a quality product you will be happy with at a reasonable price.