How to sell print-your-own photo albums for digital pictures

Published by www.opusalbums.com

For pictures please see www.opusalbums.com/dealerguide

Welcome to OPUSalbums – we hope that selling OPUS albums will be profitable and generate more satisfied customers for all your product offerings.

We like to keep in touch with our dealers.  Please do not hesitate to e-mail or call us for advice and provide us with stories which can benefit the OPUS community.

There are two range of albums:

1.       The high quality OPUS range with metal edged covers and the best giclée papers available. – for the professional and the serious amateur,

2.       The practical, good-looking and easy-to-use Print & Bind with high quality cast photo-glossy paper – for anybody with a digital camera.

 

For the Professional and the Serious Amateur

The OPUS range of Albums

 

OPUS Fine Art Presentation Albums – printed yourself for that beautiful, lasting record of those unforgettable events

The OPUS range of blank inkjet Fine Art & Photo albums await your treasured photos, memories and presentations. OPUS is a full album kit which consists of all you need to Print and bind your own elegant album or limited edition book. Almost everyone owns a digital camera, or mobile phone with a camera. With wide accessibility and ease of use, we snap many hundreds of images each year. Finding an easy, fun and simple way to share them is important. OPUS albums are the perfect solution for the digital photographer, containing 20 sheets of double sided archival papers to print up to 40 or more images.

The A4 pages are pre hinged and punched to fit the simple yet stylish post system which also allows you to change and add to the content and order of the album. Refill packs are available.

The outer cover is made from high quality archival museum mount board with metal protective corners and a protective hard sleeve.

Nothing less than the best paper is good enough for your album. That is why we have selected three papers which we source exclusively from Innova Art Ltd, one of the foremost manufacturer of digital art papers.

INNOVA Soft Textured Natural White Double Side 215gsm. This has a natural white finish with a slightly structured, soft-textured surface equivalent to a traditional etching fine art paper making it ideal for digital fine art and photo reproductions. The surface has a special matte coating on both sides designed for high quality fine art and photographic reproduction with inkjet (giclée) technology.

INNOVA Smooth Cotton High White Double Side 225gsm- This silky smooth surface structure has been designed to ensure we maintain the natural characteristics of a smooth high-white art paper whilst maintaining the necessary natural aesthetics demanded by artists. The surface has a special matte coating on both sides designed for high quality fine art & photographic reproduction and print applications with inkjet (glycée) technology.

INNOVA FibaPrint Warm Tone Gloss 300gsm. This robust award winning single sided paper has been selected for the best results for your album. This acid –free paper features the heavyweight look and feel of a traditional fibre based dark room ‘bariet’ paper producing excellent results with monochrome images giving deep blacks and smooth greyscales. It has a microporous gloss coated surface and a special acid inhibiting layer.

OPUS Albums make a perfect coffee table book, gift book or wedding album plus many more applications. Artists can create editioned books or portfolios of their work using an inkjet printer. The page is a true A4 size, with an 8.5 x 11” printable area. There is no costly binding to be outsourced. OPUS preserves your digital memories and photo collection.

 

 

 

OPUS Albums come in four sizes:

A4	Landscape bound – photo record book
A3	Presentation photo book
12”x12”	Photo album size
8”x8”	Scrapbook size

Target Customers

If the customer knows what he wants, in particular if he understands printing then I would recommend the OPUS album.  This uses Innova’s paper.  There offer three different papers according to the customer’s taste.  There is a natural white soft textured art paper – nice feel, but it needs careful treatment and if you are printing a lot scuff might be a problem.  The alternative is a high white rag paper – very smooth and with really good results.  This is more of a photographic paper.  These are both double sided.  Then there is Innova’s flagship Fiba gloss – which professionals – especially those in monochrome seem to rave about.

A good test is that if the customer understands what you are talking about when you say, for example “ICC Profile” then he/she should be a good prospect for OPUS.

Selling hints

Seeing is believing.  We recommend that you have an album made up – make it up yourself.  (We are working on having a demonstration album made up by a professional photographer).  You can then show customers what can be done.

Have FotoSlate IV on hand to demonstrate how easy it is to lay out albums.

Technical note

OPUS Photo Art Albums produce excellent results with the standard printer settings:

Archival for the soft textured and smooth cotton papers

Best quality photo for the FibaPrint

However advanced users will obtain even better results by downloading the appropriate ICC profiles from Innova’s site www.innovaart.com

For full paper specifications Innova Art Paper Specifications

To get a better view of the quality of print, look at the valuable website set up by the prestigious Rochester Institute of Technology – the world’s foremost institution for digital printing – in Rochester NY.  - www.digitalsamplebook.com

 

Printers and Profiles

To get the best you need to use a semi-professional printer.  I have just invested in an Epson R1800 and this is fine.  The R800 had feeding problems – it does not really like the heavy grades 250gsm plus.

The customer would do well to experiment on settings.  I would also recommend that you use the Epson archival matte settings rather than an ICC profile. 

However most prefer to use an ICC Profile.  It is important that the OEM colour management is turned off when using this.  The ‘official profile for the paper can be downloaded from Innova’s website:

          http://www.innovaart.com/profiles.php

 

Pricing

The recommended pricing is as per the www.opusalbums.com website.

 

Description	Ex VAT	Inc VAT
OPUS black A4 photo art album with 20 sheets of INNOVA Soft Textured Natural White Double Sided paper 215gsm (SKU: OA107-A4)	£23.40	£27.50
Refill – 10 sheets for OA105-A4 (SKU: OAR07-A4)	£5.91	£6.95
OPUS black A4 photo art album with 20 sheets of INNOVA Smooth Cotton High White Double Side paper 225gsm (SKU: OA105-A4)	£23.40	£27.50
Refill – 10 sheets for OA105-A4 (SKU: OAR05-A4)	£5.91	£6.95
OPUS black A4 photo art album with 20 sheets of INNOVA FibaPrint Warm Tone Gloss paper 300gsm (SKU: OA130-A4)	£23.40	£27.50
Refill – 10 sheets for OA105-A4 (SKU: OAR30-A4)	£5.91	£6.95
OPUS black A3 photo art album with 20 sheets of INNOVA Soft Textured Natural White Double Sided paper 215gsm (SKU: OA107-A3)	£37.87	£44.50
Refill – 10 sheets for OA105-A3 (SKU: OAR07-A3)	£11.87	£13.95
OPUS black A3 photo art album with 20 sheets of INNOVA Smooth Cotton High White Double Side paper 225gsm (SKU: OA105-A3)	£37.87	£44.50
Refill – 10 sheets for OA105-A3 (SKU: OAR05-A3)	£11.87	£13.95
OPUS black 12”X12” photo art album with 20 sheets of INNOVA Soft Textured Natural White Double Sided paper 215gsm (SKU: OA107-12IN)	£25.11	£2.50
Refill – 10 sheets for OA107-12IN (SKU: OAR07-12IN)	£8.47	£9.95
OPUS black 8”X8” photo art album with 20 sheets of INNOVA Soft Textured Natural White Double Sided paper 215gsm (SKU: OA107-08IN)	£16.60	£19.50
Refill – 10 sheets for OA107-08IN (SKU: OAR07-08IN)	£4.21	£4.95

Discounts should be given for quantities – we suggest that this starts at five albums.

 

For anybody with a digital camera

The Print&Bind range of Albums

 

Print & Bind – elegant and economical albums for your digital photographs

Print & Bind albums are ideal for holidays, weddings, parties, your children and grandchildren – or any family or social events. All you need is a digital camera and an inkjet printer.

The Innova Print & Bind kit comprises everything you need to get started.

• 15 pre-punched sheets of high quality 230 gsm photo glossy cast coated paper
• Quality plastic covers
• Unobtrusive and reliable post system binding
• And so easy to use with FotoSlate IV

There it is – simple, straightforward and with FotoSlate IV so easy to use.

Target Customers

Anybody can use Print&Bind and produce really good results.  It is so easy.

Selling tips

Try and sell multi-pack – in any year people have several events they want to record.  And also suggest that if they are with the family they want to produce several identical albums for gifts.  After all when you have laid out one album – then to print another copy is so easy.  Once people standardise on Print&Bind you have a ready repeat market.

Have an album you – or an amateur friend – produced.  Relate it to the local people and place.

Use the counter top display merchandiser.  When people come to have their cards printed (on 6x4’s) suggest this as an added item. 

Technical Notes

The album has no special requirements.  When printing select ‘premium photo glossy setting’.

With FotoSlate IV select Innova Print & Bind (when implemented)

Pricing Guidelines

We have found that £9.95 including VAT is an ideal price for this product.

Offer a special 5-pack for £39.50.  This is a saving of over £10.

Of course if an end-user wants a complete merchandiser pack then offer a further discount £109?   You do not have it in stock?  Enter the order with a special delivery address, and we will send it out for you.

Special deals – over £2000 per delivery or £10,000 per year – please contact us.

 

OPUS Services

We have two dealer services

With fulfillment – we will ship out the order for you.  Delivery charges as per normal.  Goods are normally dispatched the day after receipt of order. 

Stocking – we deliver to you.  Of course our discounts are greater here.

Specials – should you have a special need (provided we are talking about 500 OPUS or 2000 Print&Bind albums or more), please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Conclusion

We shall keep you regularly updated with guidance.

If you want to contact me, please feel free

Daniel Roberts

OPUSalbums.com

c/o Incartek (Ink Cartridge Technologies Ltd)

PO Box 561, Rochester, Kent, ME1 9DF

Tel 0845 8386 286

e-mail daniel@incartek.com

© D J Roberts, 2007