Update: The KodakGallery $15 gift certificate totally works.

Last week I posted about a KodakGallery offer where they're giving out 100,000 $15 gift certificates every week through November 13. I tested it out myself, and just received my order today, which was fairly quick for a custom photo gift, I think.

I ordered the porcelain filigree ornament, which turned out to be very pretty and delicately patterned in real life. The photo quality was clear (albeit a bit darker than the original image), but the big thing was that it didn't crop the same as the onscreen tool pictured it. Mine is a head-and-shoulders close-up of two people, and it cropped the top of one person's head completely off, which is not how it showed onscreen. You'd think whoever was manning the machines would figure that a customer wouldn't want the subjects' heads to be lopped off and tweak it accordingly, but no.

This may not be such an issue for items like mugs or mouse pads where there's a larger printing area, but if you're doing a very small item like the ornaments, make sure to give yourself a generous margin on all sides. Still, since I got it for free and paid $2.99 shipping, I'm pretty satisfied with the result. If you've always wanted an ironic photo mug, here's your chance!