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How Tormasi Photographers has leveraged digital photography and wide-format printing to grow its business in dynamic directions.
Tormasi Photographers represents the next generation of photography in more ways than simply the digital aspect of capture and process. Digital technology, and specifically wide-format printing, has given the young owners of Tormasi Photographers – Thomas Hoeber and his wife, Krisztina Tormasi Hoeber – the freedom to pursue their own unique vision, to control quality, and to innovate.
Tormasi Photographers' digital production room, which includes two Mac Quad core computers, a 30-in. Cinema Display, two LaCie monitors for color corrections and printing, and an Epson Stylus Pro 9800.
“I took the traditional ideals of the darkroom and looked for all the corresponding links in the chain of the digital world. The LexJet team played a big part in helping me with that, from incorporating the ImagePrint RIP to utilizing the right materials for our prints. Once I started doing that, I saw an instant increase in customer satisfaction,” explains Thomas. “It also got me more excited about what I was doing, which translated to more confidence about what I was selling, and more sales. I knew the client would get a quality custom print and I wouldn’t have to worry about sending it back three times to be re-done.”
Thomas describes it as a “rebirth” in photography as he and Krisztina moved from the traditional darkroom to the digital darkroom. The ability to print any time they wanted or needed, coupled with the ability to control the process to their exacting specifications, set Tormasi Photographers on a path that would lead to personal fulfillment and financial success.
Digital Difference
Tormasi Photographers began in 2000 in the Hoeber’s home in Niagara Falls. The couple soon moved their business to St. Catharines, Ontario, and, during the transition, they began to focus more on the business end of their photographic art.
Tormasi Photographers uses the drafting area to proof work with their clients. It also provides a daylight and tungsten lighting situation for print optimization and final inspection.
“We were outsourcing our printing in the beginning, and it was too much work tracking everything down and getting consistency from our suppliers. We wanted to be able to deliver a wedding package within 30 days, but we couldn’t do that working with multiple vendors that didn’t uphold the turnaround and quality values we have,” says Thomas. “When I upgraded to ImagePrint everything changed because I could use any media I wanted without having to know everything about profiling. We know a lot more about it now, but ImagePrint made the learning curve much quicker because it has the tools I need to do it well.”
Along with printing in-house, they found a local book binder and began making their own wedding albums. At first, each album was a one-of-a-kind creation as the Hoebers experimented with different styles, like French-fold books.
These are some of the new arrivals in Tormasi's album product line. They are linen-cover albums for children's photography packages, thus the two primary colors of pink and blue. Tormasi uses a screw post design so that clients who buy into a larger package can add to the album as they purchase more sessions.
Over time, they settled on the most popular styles and set up production methods to build the albums more efficiently. Moreover, Thomas says they discovered the perfect paper for the albums, Sunset Hot Press Rag. “It holds up best in an album because it’s resistant to scratching, flaking, and cracking,” he says. Basically, Tormasi Photographers found a healthy balance between customization and production, an approach that impacts every phase of the business.
Thomas and Krisztina were quickly realizing that the photography business could be multi-dimensional; that capture and output could work together for an effective and artistically-satisfying holistic result.
“Our enlargement sales were in a lull about six months into our launch of the digital darkroom. People didn’t seem interested. But when we started printing on canvas and fine-art papers in unique ways, sales grew accordingly. We were becoming more innovative in our presentation with the custom printing ability,” says Thomas. “Now we’re doing large-format prints in a way that’s more like décor and less like traditional photography, which has been very hip and popular in this market.”
Tormasi's GTI pre-press viewing booth is used for color correction from monitor to print. It also provides flat storage to keep prints from being damaged while they're in the output process.
Last year, Krisztina started working on a photography project for a children’s educational book highlighting the ecology and history of the Niagara peninsula. As the spectacular image library grew they began printing the images. Soon, and by happenstance, clients took notice and requested fine-art photographic prints for their homes and businesses. “It gives us an appeal we didn’t have before. People look at us as artists as well as photographers,” says Krisztina.
Photography Plus
Though wedding and portrait photography represents about 70 percent of their business, demand for fine-art printing was such that they decided to open an art gallery, featuring their work and the work of Canadian artists, including fine art, contemporary, sculpture, and jewelry. They believe their photographic art co-exists very comfortably with these other art forms.
The gallery resides in a renovated, turn-of-the-century home, which is also where the digital darkroom and their Epson 4800 and 9800 printers are located. The photography studio is down the street and has been purposely segregated. “When we go to the studio, we’re focused on the photography itself,” says Thomas.
“The gallery attracts clients who might not normally be drawn to us as photographers. It’s creating traffic from a totally different clientele that’s allowing us to sell some of these incredibly high-end products from the photography world to them. We didn’t open it for that reason; that’s just how it worked out,” says Thomas.
This is the main entrance to the art gallery side of Tormasi Photographers' studio. This space is used for hosting events and to display the work of artists the studio regularly showcases.
A number of photographers from the surrounding area are taking advantage of their printing expertise to help boost the quality of their photographic output
"They don't see us as a competitor. They know that we focus on a quality result. And, we know that the more our quality message is delivered, the demand for our services can only grow,” says Thomas.
And, a number of artists who show in the gallery are using their printing expertise to produce quality marketing, promotional materials, and reproduction printing.
“The main building block has been the digital darkroom and being able to come up with different applications on the fly. LexJet has done an excellent job beyond the sale by staying ahead of the market and helping us meet our goals,” says Thomas.
This is the rear section of the art gallery. One of Krisztina's digital art pieces, printed on Sunset Select Matte Canvas and displayed in a floater frame, can be seen in the back alcove.
Since demand has risen for their printing services, they have recruited one full-time employee to assist with photography and production and a part-time employee from a local university.
For more information about Tormasi Photographers and the studio's digital darkroom services, email info@tormasi.ca or call 877-682-5072. Web: www.tormasiphoto.com and www.tormasiphoto.com