Anyone ever used pictureframes.com?

Mike LaneMike Lane Registered Users Posts: 7,106 Major grins
edited February 10, 2008 in The Big Picture
I'm like the idea of offering matted or matted and framed pics to people. I like the idea of not having to ship the image to myself, try to find some way to figure out what colors and frame a person wants, frame it myself, and ship the finished product to the customer. So I've been searching around to find some way to automate this at least a little bit. I came across pictureframes.com which seemed fairly cool. I can upload an image, use their interactive tools to choose the matting and frame and then have them ship it.

It's probably not perfect. I'm not sure if I can set my own price for one thing. I'm not 100% certain about the quality of the print or the matting/framing material for another. Also I'm not 100% sure the customer won't have to do at least some assembly - I can't quite tell if the mounting hardware is assembled or not and I think that frames with a combined width and length of > 50" do not come assembled.

Anyhow, I was hoping that someone in here had some kind of experience with them.
Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance.

http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/

Comments

  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited August 23, 2005
    i've not used them but since you started a frame thread, i'll throw my 2c in for really good, really cheap pre-made 13x19 frames with mattes.

    frame destination

    just basic stuff, but for under $60, a good alternative and i use them for sample framed shots in a couple gallery situations.
    Andy

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  • Mike LaneMike Lane Registered Users Posts: 7,106 Major grins
    edited August 23, 2005
    andy wrote:
    i've not used them but since you started a frame thread, i'll throw my 2c in for really good, really cheap pre-made 13x19 frames with mattes.

    frame destination

    just basic stuff, but for under $60, a good alternative and i use them for sample framed shots in a couple gallery situations.
    That looks pretty sweet, thanks!
    Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance.

    http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
  • Scott BuelScott Buel Registered Users Posts: 134 Major grins
    edited January 9, 2008
    Framing?
    Hello-

    I realize this is an old thread, but I've recently been researching options for matting and framing. I've been told several times over the holidays that people would really like to order images that are matted and framed directly from me and hesitated to buy because having to get something framed on their own was too time consuming.

    I would like to offer this as a service online as a "sister" site to my SmugMug site or will consider other options that do not include me being the one assembling a mat and frame and doing the shipping.

    I've been in contact with pictureframes.com and really like their interface. However, it involves a lot of coding. They offer a couple different options. Here is the information I've received from them so far.

    Your digital images will need to be a minimum of 300 dpi tiffs or jpgs and in RGB format.
    http://www.pictureframes.com<wbr>/html/stepOne.html

    You will maintain your site and be responsible for all the information. We give you the requirements and your programmer will write the code.

    We would offer support between our technical staff and the development process. So, your programmer could communicate with our technical people.

    Our Basic Reseller Account is $100.00 a year. This program will give you a 5 percent discount on all merchandise. The merchandise would ship in plain brown boxes and would not mention Pictureframes.com or Graphik Dimensions. This basic program will allow you to create specific packages to display as static imagery on your website. When you are ready to proceed with an order, you will go back to the Pictureframes.com site and place the order. The order then gets blind shipped to your client.
    http://www.pictureframes.com<wbr>/html/resellers-account.html


    The Integrated Fulfillment Suite (IFS) is $249 a year. (see the attachments above) This program also gives you a 5 percent discount and enables you to create an interactive framing and printing experience. You are able to select frames, mats, printing, and pre-selected packages. The order then gets blind shipped to your client.

    With the IFS program you will develop a full custom printing and framing interface and/or offer pre-selected framed packages using our code requirements. You will maintain your site and be responsible for all the information. We give you the requirements and your programmer will write the code. We would offer support between our technical staff and the development process. So, your programmer could communicate with our technical people if they can not find the information in the attachments.

    You would pass an image and selected framing treatments to the IFS image rendering service. The image will be rendered with the selected framing treatment, so that your client can preview their selections while on your site. You would also pass the image and selected framing treatments to the IFS pricing service. The pricing service will return the cost for the package. You would be responsible for adding a retail mark-up and displaying the retail price to your client.

    Your shopping cart will need to handle a customizable product. Pictureframes.com/Graphik Dimensions will go into your site to retrieve orders using XML. Any images that come through with the orders will need to be retrieved for printing via a secure file transfer.

    I hope you find the information in the attached documents helpful. These documents were prepared by out technical staff with your needs in mind. Obviously, they would contain more information than I could convey in an email.
    I was thinking of at least starting with the Basic Reseller account, but the issue of having to hire someone to code keeps hitting me as a barrier.

    How have any of you dealt with your customers' framing needs?

    As my sales increase, this is an option I want to seriously pursue. Are there any plans for SmugMug to offer matting and framing in the future? I'd much rather stick with you guys for many, many reasons.

    By the way, if anyone wants to see the technical documents they mention above but do not want to be bothered with their sales people, PM me and I will send them to you.

    Thanks,
    Scott
    Check out my galleries : scenes from the past

    Scan Cafe: let the pros do it
  • Scott BuelScott Buel Registered Users Posts: 134 Major grins
    edited January 12, 2008
    Anyone? ne_nau.gif

    SmugMug ever consider getting into this game? This seems like it would be a natural fit for an offering.

    Thanks,
    Scott
    Check out my galleries : scenes from the past

    Scan Cafe: let the pros do it
  • Scott BuelScott Buel Registered Users Posts: 134 Major grins
    edited January 15, 2008
    Scott Buel wrote:
    Anyone? ne_nau.gif

    SmugMug ever consider getting into this game? This seems like it would be a natural fit for an offering.

    Thanks,
    Scott

    Ok, if nobody else is interested in an online solution, how do y'all handle framing?
    Check out my galleries : scenes from the past

    Scan Cafe: let the pros do it
  • Scott BuelScott Buel Registered Users Posts: 134 Major grins
    edited February 10, 2008
    The Pictureframes.com option is too expensive for me at this time, so I've opted for the Imagekind.com option. The freebie option allows 1 gallery, but I'm going to give them a run.

    http://scenesfromthepast.imagekind.com/


    Thanks,
    Scott
    Check out my galleries : scenes from the past

    Scan Cafe: let the pros do it
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