2 March 2006
As consumers and businesses seek new applications for their images, both in the home and in the office/boardroom/reception, and the facilities provided by cameras with ever-increasing sophistication open up and encourage greater use of photography (GfK market analysis), so a new channel of revenue and profit is developing for minilab operators who install the PrintHunter system from Fuji Hunt Digital Solutions to become 'Color Service Centers'.
The PrintHunter system enables outlets to output large format high quality prints via the system's PC as easily as operating a kiosk. Input can be via all the usual methods - floppies, CDs, camera Smartcards, Flashcards, UBS, etc. - as well as through a connected scanner or from the Internet.
A wealth of adjustment and correction options is available by way of Adobe Photoshop software which is ready loaded, while the latest RIP and colour management solutions ensure that what is seen on the monitor is faithfully reproduced by the FUJIFILM/EPSON Stylus Pro printer
The resulting output is achieved in glorious full density colour or beautifully toned black-and-white according to the operator's choice by taking full advantage of the remarkable Stylus Pro printers which incorporate specialist technology far in advance of any alternative inkjet methods.
The availability of the Color Service Center comes at an ideal time: recent changes in the photographic and imaging industry - some positive, some negative - have all contributed to accelerating the rate of change and evolution which the industry would naturally undergo over the course of time.
The key to not just keeping abreast of change, but taking advantage of it, is to be aware of the current and potential demand, and, for minilabs in particular, to be prepared to adapt to meet the new challenges.
For outlets to become Color Service Centers does not require major investment or franchise agreements, simply the purchase of the PrintHunter system consisting of a touchscreen PC loaded with all appropriate software and a FUJIFILM/EPSON Stylus Pro large format inkjet printer. Extras such as high-resolution scanners are available, along with high-grade consumables and a total customer support programme which is unmatched in the industry.
The total cost of a Colour Service Centre will vary according to the printer and the software options chosen, but is likely to be approximatelyA34,000. Given the high margin (75 to 85 per cent minimum) on the 'super-enlargements' of up to 24x30ins or larger which the system produces, an outlet averaging just five prints of varying sizes per day will achieve a total return on investment in less than four months.
Those outlets which take their customers, be they consumer or commercial, up to having their prints on canvas will excel even these figures, and that's without taking into account the value of accompanying sales of frames.
"Minilab operators frequently complain of a shortage of added value additional services which they can offer to customers to help them compete with online processing services and home printers," says Fuji Hunt Digital Solutions UK director Greg Jackson.
"The Color Service Center gives them just that - a different banner under which a wide range of large format prints can be offered which customers are unlikely to be able to produce themselves. This means that realistic price levels can be set without fear of being undercut, thereby producing the kind of margins of which today's retailers can usually only dream."
For further information on the Color Services Center from Fuji Hunt Digital Solutions, contact Greg Jackson by telephone: 02476 455 575, email: gjackson@fujihunt.com