Studio01 Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Understanding customers are not experts in image composing I lately have this situaton in my shop (and I think I'm not the only one). We all know that to make an image composition, the right way is Photoshop or any other stuff for editing images. But some customers do they own compositions with the software they have and they understand. I think that many of us have this situation: A customer that brings a Powerpoint-Word-PDF. In this case I use to say to them that we are a Lab so we don't print, we reveal. They have to go to any printing center and we neeed a photographic file (JPEG-TIFF-BMP). I know that, with more or less quality, files can be converted, but I don't want to do that, only to print one file. So my question is: Is only my DKS 1510 not capable of print photos from a WORD file PDF or Powerpoint? Or all wet LABS can't do that? Dry labs can do it? No LAB can do it? Why? Thank in advance for your answers Studio01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach Photo Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 I tell customers that no mini-lab can print documents. Most word/pdf's are documents and we only print photos - jpegs - they have to go to a printing center. I also explain that we use photo chemicals and photographic papers and their one page document will cost $12.99 but at the printing center it is only $1.00. Powerpoint are basically slide shows, so why would manufacturers add to the cost of their machines to do Powerpoints or PDFs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio01 Posted February 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 I agree and I tell the same to my customers. But many of them try to save money and customize their own designs adding text to a photo or creating a collage with the tools they only know (wrong tools) as they ignore many many things of image world. Create a collage with Powerpoint is the easiest way for most people and we are not able to reject those possible prints, the same growing market that are mobile photos, every day more and more people have their photos in their mobile and we are lucky if they want to print them in our shop (is tedious but are more customers to the business). So I don't know if superior machines to my DKS 1510 are capable to manage this other files too, like PDF's. being so populars. Dry labs can handle them? or only JPEG-TIFF-BMP-1 layer PSD are allowed? Studio01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dave Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 We have a color laser printer, so these are easy for us IF they only want their prints on plain paper. Otherwise, you can open the document in whatever format it is, save as PDF, open in photoshop, import all pages, and save all as JPG to print on your wet (or dry) lab. Of course this should have an additional conversion charge. Then again, we also have customers come in with photos printed on plain papers from a laser printer (made at their local copy shop) that they are either unhappy with the quality, or want more copies of -- they're price sensitive and just want cheap. If they can get a Letter (A4) size photo in color for $1 they'll do it. We also charge $1 for color laser prints on plain paper. And sometimes they want photos printed on plain paper! The problem customers are the ones that think they know what they're doing and have created "cool" party flyers they want printed at 6"x8" but the resolution of the JPG they give us is 432 pixels x 576 pixels, then they complain that we don't know what we're doing...... this happened 2 days ago.... Or the "amazine designer" girl that can create "really cool" invitations she wants printed at 5"x7", but the image she provides is 4.3" x 9" and only 72dpi..... and PNG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio01 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Oh yes, this is our amazing daily work: to deal between what they bring us and try to explain why is not possible to print at a reasonable quality that low-res unproportionated and wrong format file. And, what about all the pictures that lately customers bring from Facebook and others with a very low resolution? Nobody has opened a file that is just a thumbnail (impossible to print) and have to say to the customer: This is the thumbnail you see in the screen of your mail, you have to bring me the attatched file that they sent to you. I know that today are more open doors to make photos, millions of people taking photos over the world and not only with a standard camera. Only a part of these photos wil be printed but more people means more opportunities to keep our business on. People need somebody who can advise them, not only a simple employee on a Photo Shop. Lots of people come into my shop after bad prints and treating with somebody that works in a photo shop the same way that in a clothing shop or a supermarket. So patiente.... Studio01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.