The question is: If there was a state of the art self help lab, Do-it-yourself type, in your area would you use it? Imagine 10 Mac-pros w/30 inch monitors (all calibrated) in individual cubicles with all the needed programs such as Photoshop and all the plugins you can think of. Wide format printers loaded with papers from glossy to canvas. The ability to rent calibration equipment for you to calibrate your monitor at home. In the back, a studio you can rent with all the lighting equipment needed, just bring you own camera. A professional on staff to help with all questions and you print while you wait. Open seven days a week until late. Prints available from wallet size to 40x60. We would have 4-Epson 9880 Printers, 2 Epson 7880 printers and a couple of 3800's. State of the art t-shirt printer that does full color on colored shirts or plain white in less than a minute. The ability to print wall paper from your photo and print on window blinds. Lamination up to 54" wide. Plus more
I could see either the studio rental or the print facility. I think you are onto something as I have wished there was place where I could go do my own big prints without buying my own giant printer.
OK, random idea...when you go to the gym there are trainers. How about processing experts to help photographers with their photos. I know many very good photographers who just don't know how to use photoshop, aperture, lightroom etc. They could charge a fee for their services and pay for the ability to work in there (like a hair salon where stylists rent a chair from the salon owner).
Just thinking...most of us have computers and access to printing. So it needs something more outside what most of us already have to make it stand out. Professional help that costs you nothing (and even provides income) could be an added service that draws in people who think, "I have a computer and this photoshop thingy...why bother?"
I would like to have access to the large format printers. Using your computers and software wouldn't interest me much. I like the comfort of my own computer with everything set up to my preferences. But I could see coming in to use a printer. But, throw in some great coffee and pastry and maybe I'd try your Mac's.
Personally, I wouldn't - but that's because I hate digital printing (it takes me FAR longer than darkroom prints ever did). Printing test strips, readjusting colours and contrast, re-printing test strips, making final adjustments, re-printing test strips, printing final print (and repeating the process for your next image) drives me round the bend.
So I prefer to just give my files to the printers and put up with any minor inconsistencies I see when I get the print back (it's less stressed that way).
butchM wrote:
It all sounds great except for the calibration rentals. Don't you need to license the calibration software for each computer you are calibrating?
Some manufacturers offer the software/hardware for commercial use like this at a much higher fee.
Which manufacturers, as I have a few clients I would like to offer this service to. Seems when you discuss monitor calibration with some folks, their eyes glaze over ...
No, I wouldn't. It would likely be more expensive to print that way than just sending my files to Adorama or WHCC, not to mention the loss of my own time. Machines for editing on have no allure for me, as I'll either edit at home or send files out for retouching. What you're proposing is a sort of high-end Kinko's, and I think you'll find too few consumers in any given target market to displace an actual Kinko's.
Marc Kurth wrote:
I suspect that you will need to charge more than most people are willing to pay. See Simin's comments above.
Good luck with your endeavor
It looks like small prints will be inline with local one hour stores. The large prints will be similar to online labs. The big difference is you can get it now and you will get pro help with the software or you can just drop it off.
Thanks
I have all the editing equipment and software in my studio and at home. It's plenty easy for my to upload my final images to my lab without having to drive somewhere else.
krieves wrote:
I have all the editing equipment and software in my studio and at home. It's plenty easy for my to upload my final images to my lab without having to drive somewhere else.
and then you get them in a few days? as opposed to today. What if you just decided to lighten it a little after you saw the print? Upload it again and wait, as opposed to just reprint right then. It's a fulfillment of "I want it now". Not for everyone but it gives some photographers the edge to deliver next day, just one more tool to put you ahead of the guy that does it for half price.
I can't imagine an area that would have sufficient demand to support that level of equipment. Besides, most areas have strong competition for the casual business. Places like Kits (at least in my area) offer all the printing services and pretty cheaply at that. Not the best quality, but in order to make a go of this business you need high volume. And that means soccer mom printing, not 40x60.
David M Ford wrote:
It looks like small prints will be inline with local one hour stores. The large prints will be similar to online labs.
You've done an honest and ruthless P&L projection on this? I have trouble believing that an independent brick-and-mortar shop, with retail location rent and the wages of highly-trained customer service personnel, can beat the prices of a virtualized service provider without doing significantly-greater bulk materials buying. Your overhead to do the same amount of business could be easily 2-3x Adorama's, which seems like it has to be reflected in the service prices, especially as you're scrabbling for even initial clientele.
Moreover, as a brick-and-mortar business, you've got a much smaller potential customer base and revenue pool. What market are you talking about? Were this NYC or LA, I could see you competing with printing houses like Duggal Digital who also have one-on-one printing consultations and provide retouching services...we've got maybe 2000 professional photographers in our market and a lot more hobbyists. Art photographers might pay $100/each for gallery-quality prints output right in front of them by a technician. But in a market where you might only have 40 working pros, can you float a business like this on soccer moms printing a few 5x7's at a time and paying WalMart rates for little automated printing kiosks?
