Newbie. Better online prints or local lab

voicelit

Trying to get my canine photography biz up and running. What does anyone think : better to have clients order on line themselves, order from me, or use a local lab ?
Does local lab speed the process, give me more control of something , cheaper 'cause no shipping cost ?
Next I'll be asking about lightjet printing v. inkjet and all that.

Thanks for any help,

Marty ( dotfur.com)

unknownphotography

most likely local lab is gonna be significantly more expensive, at least thats what i have found

denisegoldberg

Another consideration may be SmugMug's print guarantee.

http://www.smugmug.com/prints/our-guarantee.mg

--- Denise

dogwood

And yet another consideration -- some local labs will require written permission from you (the photographer) before printing for your clients. This can be a little frustrating for unsuspecting clients and can delay their prints.

voicelit

thanks for all the replies
thanks for all the replies. SmugMug uses EZPrint ? Kodak paper ?
Are prints from SmugMug inkjet ? laserlight ? Dye ?
Any preferences ?

Marty

(dotfur.com)

Andy

Marty, our prints are on true photographic paper and true photographic printing process (Kodak), printed at EZprints.

tomauto

Don't forget about the latest offereing either

http://smugmug.com/prints/metallic-paper

Cameron

voicelit wrote:

Trying to get my canine photography biz up and running. What does anyone think : better to have clients order on line themselves, order from me, or use a local lab ?
Does local lab speed the process, give me more control of something , cheaper 'cause no shipping cost ?
Next I'll be asking about lightjet printing v. inkjet and all that.

Thanks for any help,

Marty ( dotfur.com)

The EASIEST is going to be to have your customers order from smugmug directly. Shipping costs are minimal and you won't have to play middle-man to deliver the prints. The good part is you won't sacrifice print quality by using smugmug printing either! I recommend ordering a variety of prints from smugmug using a few different sizes and paper types so you can judge the quality for yourself.

PeterGar

I mostly shoot weddings. I use a combination of SmugMug/EZP with other local and national labs to fulfill my clients' print orders and package prints. In the passed I used only SM, but lately I've been moving more towards professional wedding and portrait labs like Accucolor Imaging, Candid Color, and Miller's/MPIX. I've been happy with EZP's quality, but not satisfied with the limited finishing options.

However, I promote my SmugMug site to my clients' friends and families, either directly or through my clients. This way my clients' friends and family can view images from the wedding and order prints and other items directly from SmugMug and neither my clients nor I have to be the middlemen since SM collects payment and ships direct to the friends and families.

The prints my clients order through me are given special attention, with the images being manually retouched in Photoshop for color, contrast, and effect. The orders SM fulfills for friends and family only get a slight manual color correction by me before I upload to SM, and then I let them go to the lab with Auto Color.

mike.strock

Like Peter above, I get most of my printing done through SmugMug, but I use BayPhoto for specific items that SmugMug doesn't carry, such as Memory Mates for sports teams, or trading cards, etc.

The smugmug site is easier for me with customers who may be in other countries (Canada comes to mind), as I don't have to deal with shipping issues.

Here's what I would do. If you have a local lab you are currently using, print some 8x10s or 11x14s from them. Print the same photos through SmugMug. Compare the two. Which one do you like better?

What's the cost differential? What's the cost differential if you factor in the time you'll have to spend collating the orders, getting them to the local lab, getting them back from the local lab, getting them to your customers, as opposed to having them order directly from your smugmug site?

Is it worth it? For me, the answer is a resounding yes. Your mileage may vary.

Mike.