PUBLICATION CENTER

When Steven Kops opened Main Street EFX Photography 13 years ago in Laurel, Mont. (about 10 miles from Billings), the town only had two other photography studios. Today, the community’s population hasn’t grown much, but there are at least seven studios in Laurel, including several part-time photography businesses whose owners hold full-time jobs and shoot pictures on the side. Making the competition even tougher is the fact that the number of studios in nearby Billings has ballooned from about 8 or 10 to well over 40 studios.

Kops believes he might not still be in business if he hadn’t made some smart decisions about outsourcing and marketing. In recent years, he has brought all of his printing in house, diversified into new markets, and found a great graphic designer to help him differentiate his products. He continues to look for additional ways to promote, diversify, and differentiate his services. In this quest, he often turns to LexJet for advice and ideas.

In-Studio Printing

Three years ago, Kops decided to stop sending most of his printing to a lab and do most of it himself. Some of his customers had started grumbling about the quality of the prints they were getting from the professional lab that Main Street EFX was using. The problem was getting so bad, it was starting to cost the studio business. So, when Jamie Walters at CJ Creative and Consulting called and promised she could set up a drag-and-drop printing system for Main Street EFX, Kops decided to listen to what she had to say.

“I know that many owners of small studios are scared to think about jumping in and doing their own printing,” says Kops. “I was one of those people. I love taking photographs, but I’m not enthralled with color management. Like other small studio owners, I worried about who would be there to help me when something went wrong.”

But he decided to take the plunge anyway. After Kops bought an Epson Stylus Pro 4800 printer and ImagePrint RIP software from LexJet, Walters spent two days setting everything up. She not only set up the printer and installed the RIP, but also loaded all the profiles and layout templates for the print packages that Main Street EFX sells. Kops says it truly is a drag-and-drop system. He prints nearly every job in his studio, including prints for his client’s wedding albums.

Kops hasn’t regretted the decision to print in-house for a minute: “The customer service at LexJet is awesome.” he says. “I’ve only had a couple of crashes in three years, but LexJet’s technical support staff quickly told me how fix the problem. And, my account specialist Michael Clementi is always trying to help me out.”

Plus, Jamie Walters continues to be available when he needs help. “If I don’t want to color correct my own stuff, I let her do it,” says Kops. Because he uses the ImagePrint profiles supplied for LexJet materials he rarely has to reprint a job because of color issues.

Kops particularly likes printing on LexJet’s Sunset Photo eSatin Paper 300 g because its heavier weight and thickness provide a quality difference that customers can feel.

Because of this perceived value, Kops feels comfortable charging more than competitors who deliver prints on the same type of photo papers clients could get themselves from Costco or other mass-market retailers.

In-house printing also gives Kops the flexibility to be more creative in how he markets his work. For instance, when seniors come in to view the slide show of their portrait sessions, Kops says, “We always have an 11 x 14 in. print sitting in front of them. We call it the Photographer’s Choice. After watching the slideshow of their photographs on the screen, then seeing a print on the table, chances are they’ll buy it.”

This fall, he plans to use LexJet Sunset Select Gloss Canvas with Hahnemuhle’s Galerie Wrap system to produce small, ready-to-hang prints that he will offer as an incentive to seniors who order higher-end packages.

He prefers using the gloss canvas because it holds photographic details better, particularly on smaller-size prints. With the Hahnemuhle Galerie Wrap system, he can have a stretched canvas assembled in just 10 or 12 minutes.

Recently, Kops bought the Voyager 3 Mega Briefcase tabletop display from LexJet. When he sets up a table to sell prints at sports events, he’ll print promotional materials for his other services and display them in the kiosk. So, parents who buy prints of their athletes can immediately see that Kops shoots senior portraits and dance-team pictures as well.

Outsourced Design

The other way Kops differentiates his studio from competitors is by partnering with a graphic designer. “We design custom logos and graphics for every event and every group,” says Kops. “And we customize our posters. In addition to putting the organization’s name and logo on the print, we also put the child’s name on it.” These neat little touches give each poster some visual pop, while making it special and personal. Kops believes this non-template-based approach to poster creation is helping him attract new business in the sports and dance-team markets: “Our business continues to grow even in an economy that isn’t so good.”

He uses a thinner, lighter-weight paper to print the posters, because people expect posters to cost less than the photo enlargements printed on LexJet’s Sunset Photo eSatin Paper.

Rising to the Competitive Challenge

“There are photographers who are eating us alive on pricing.” admits Kops. “We work hard to make sure that our studio isn’t being evaluated on our prices, but rather on the quality and creativity of our work.”

He acknowledges that the stiff competition coupled with the bad economy has “energized us to be more creative. We’re exploring all the time, to figure out what else we can do to make our clients excited about our work.” He is quick to credit LexJet for making it easier for studios to evolve. And he doesn’t hesitate to admit that “LexJet has helped keep my business alive.”