If you want prints from slides, Dwain's photo does a nice job, I have never used them for prints but I have seen their prints from slides and they looked good.
If you don't mind some Digital in the process then have your slides scanned when they are processed and take them to a local 1 hour place that can print on FUJI CRYSTAL ARCHIVE paper from a scan. This is not unusual, my local Rite-Aid, CVS, and Walgreen's can all do this. To answer your next question, yes there is a major difference in quality between a gloss print on Crystal Archive and ink jet. Ink jet prints look like they were done on notebook paper IMO.
As others have said if you are not projecting your slides and you just want prints shoot color negative like Ektrar 100 and have it processed locally. If you want some artistic control have the film processed and scanned then crop and retouch then bring the photos back for printing, I know this is not a true full optical process, but it is better than ink jet prints. I can get a roll of C-41 processed and scanned to CD (on a $30,000 Noritsu scanner) for less than $3 a roll, optical prints (made from digital projection in the machine) on Fuji Crystal Archive run from $0.15 to $2.00 depending on print size and make ink jet prints look like the junk they are.
If you can get prints on Kodak Endura paper, they look great as well, but finding a place that uses Kodak optical paper is almost impossible.
Also wanted to mention that if you are worried about film by mail, don't I get film by mail all the time and it is fine, also your local camera shop gets film by mail a lot of the time as well.
If you don't mind some Digital in the process then have your slides scanned when they are processed and take them to a local 1 hour place that can print on FUJI CRYSTAL ARCHIVE paper from a scan. This is not unusual, my local Rite-Aid, CVS, and Walgreen's can all do this. To answer your next question, yes there is a major difference in quality between a gloss print on Crystal Archive and ink jet. Ink jet prints look like they were done on notebook paper IMO.
As others have said if you are not projecting your slides and you just want prints shoot color negative like Ektrar 100 and have it processed locally. If you want some artistic control have the film processed and scanned then crop and retouch then bring the photos back for printing, I know this is not a true full optical process, but it is better than ink jet prints. I can get a roll of C-41 processed and scanned to CD (on a $30,000 Noritsu scanner) for less than $3 a roll, optical prints (made from digital projection in the machine) on Fuji Crystal Archive run from $0.15 to $2.00 depending on print size and make ink jet prints look like the junk they are.
If you can get prints on Kodak Endura paper, they look great as well, but finding a place that uses Kodak optical paper is almost impossible.
Also wanted to mention that if you are worried about film by mail, don't I get film by mail all the time and it is fine, also your local camera shop gets film by mail a lot of the time as well.
