PMA Magazine - Connecting the Imaging Communities articles from October 2008

PMA Magazine - Connecting the Imaging Communities archives from October 2008

Association leadership.(Connections)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "People are hiring their friends or the weekend warriors to take pictures. But for us, the [weekend] photographers are bringing us the images to print; so our business is going up. We can easily print packages, and...

Young Achiever finalist wins Australian retail award.(Newsline)
October 1, 2008... The New South Wales (NSW) finalist in the 2006 PMA Young Achiever of the Year awards, Ian Sackett, was named the Young Retailer of the Year by the Australian Retailers Association. "It's great to see a NSW Young Achiever winner succeed on...

MOO cards (with or without cows).(Newsline)(MOO MiniCards )
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you don't know what MOO cards are, here's a tip: They don't necessarily involve cows, though they could. London, United Kingdom-based MOO (www.moo.com), prints products, using images customers upload directly or...

Kicking it with Keds.(Newsline)
October 1, 2008... Ever want your photos on your shoes? Even if you never did, you can do it now with Keds. Keds, a subsidiary of Lexington, Mass.-based The Stride Rite Corp., recently launched its Keds Studio website at www.keds.com/text/ kedsstudio that lets...

PMA data watch: when on-site photo book production is justified.(Newsline)
October 1, 2008... According to the 2008 PMA Camera/Camcorder and Digital Imaging Survey, only 25 percent of photo books made in 2007 in the United States were ordered inside a store. The rest were ordered online. Photo book revenue could be a great help in...

What the duck.(Newsline)(Cartoon)
October 1, 2008... THE HEROIC. I CAPTURE MOMENTS IN TIME. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE ROMANTIC. I KEEP MEMORIES ALIVE. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE IDIOTIC. DOES "ERASE ALL" REALLY MEAN ERASE ALL? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Prints in a minute: the Anonymous Consumer makes prints at a northern California photo retailer.(Connections)(Report)
October 1, 2008... The Anonymous Consumer (AC) was in northern California with a USB memory key full of pictures. With an hour or so until his next appointment, he decided to make some prints at a local retailer. His first stop was in a bustling shopping...

Inside the crystal ball: see the future of imaging at 6Sight conference.(Connections)(Alexis Gerard)(Interview)
October 1, 2008... As its name portends, the upcoming 6Sight Future of Imaging Conference (www.6sight.com) promises to give attendees a glimpse of tomorrow. Cohosted by the Association of Imaging Executives (AIE), PMA, and Future Image Inc., San Mateo, Calif.,...

Price controls: PMA attorney Philip M. Moilanen explains new U.S. antitrust policies.(Connections)
October 1, 2008... Old strategies to penetrate the market with products have received new life. Those concerned about the internet and brick-and-mortar retailers cannibalizing product distribution by discounting will be encouraged by the recent decision by the...

Online advantage: wedding photographer Dane Sanders gains an edge with website, videos.(Trends & Technology)(Dane Sanders )(Cover story)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] If it weren't for the internet, high-end wedding photographer Dane Sanders wouldn't have the business he does today. The photographer, based in Costa Mesa, Calif., shoots about 15 destination weddings per year,...

Standing out in a crowd: retailers must differentiate themselves from competition and communicate those differences to potential clients.(Business & Marketing)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Attracting and retaining customers is a basic goal of any business. Picture framers, like other retailers, compete for consumer dollars. Framers not only have to motivate the public to buy custom framing, but also to...

The big picture: managing your people well is often the key to success.(Business & Marketing)(employee management relations)(Shewmakers Camera)
October 1, 2008... Here's one of those questions business authors and consultants love to throw around: "Are you running your business, or is it running you?" The answer, for many business operators, is as common as the question: "It's running me." If that's...

Closing time: independent photo retailers speak out about store closings and what they learned.(Business & Marketing)
October 1, 2008... Opening a business is tough. Maintaining that business is tougher, and making the decision to close is the hardest of all. Ask any independent retailer who has closed a store--it's never an easy decision to shut down a business that's been...

Lessons learned: Lisa Fedele shares what happened to her scrapbook operation when passion overcame business sense.(Business & Marketing)
October 1, 2008... Lisa Fedele was passionate about Cherished Scrapbooks, her two-store retail operation. The use of the past tense is deliberate. Fedele shut the doors on her business this spring, forced into bankruptcy because her passion overran her business...

Evolving into press: after a return to the lab business, press products help Evolution Photographics thrive.(Trends & Technology)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Steve Niezer and his son Brad decided to open Evolution Photographics (www.evolutionphotographics.com), Overland Park, Kan., in 2001 lots of people thought they were crazy. But this was hardly a case of...

Print progression: automated production and silver-halide photo books spur growth at Dutch photofinisher.(Trends & Technology)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The early history of online photofinishing is replete with price wars so fierce and frequent, many thrifty consumers maintained an almost daily internet vigil in constant search for the lowest price. Startup...

Shape of the future: PMA magazine talks with Olympus President F. Mark Gumz about the future of innovation and technology.(Trends & Technology)(Interview)
October 1, 2008... F. Mark Gumz, president and CEO of Olympus Corp. of the Americas, Center Valley, Pa., recently discussed changes in the company and the industry. PMA: Olympus relocated two years ago from Long Island to Pennsylvania. Can you tell us more...

Proactive portraits: professional imagers launch new products, services to encourage sales in an evolving market.(Trends & Technology)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When it comes to portraits, the consumer has an ever-growing list of options. Digital technology has come so far, so fast, consumers can take their own high-quality images at home. Many "weekend warrior"...

Blurring lines: [F/22] Consulting Inc. looks into how the line between retail and home are blurring in the photo products market.(Trends & Technology)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's still too painful for consumers to create, order, and fulfill their digital imaging output products via brick-and-mortar retail stores. In fact, it's often a frustrating experience of difficult file management...

Better business: trend analyst Laura Heller offers suggestions for an expected tight holiday sales season.(Business & Marketing)
October 1, 2008... If you're approaching the upcoming holiday season with some trepidation, you're in good company. Sales during the fourth quarter 2007 were disappointing; but consultants and forecasters are talking about how bad this year will be. For the...

Selling in the long tail: Phil Gresham, owner of Fotofast digifoto, puts "The Long Tail" theory into practice in his Australian store.(Parting Shot)
October 1, 2008... Like many, I walked away with Chris Anderson's book, "The Long Tail," after his entertaining keynote DIMA 2007 address wondering, "Where does this all fit with our business model." It soon became apparent the theory would indeed affect us....