ecosse Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Thinking of going kodak express and switching to apex system as my dks minilab getting old and tired plus falling print volumes . wanted to make ourselves stand out a bit as we are curently a FIS shop but local asda is all fuji using same paper etc. Put in 4 kodak kiosks 6 months ago and customers love them . just wonder if there was any KEX people out there with any advice. Many thanks Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Amies Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Out of interest Ian , is it the Kodak branding that is the burning issue, or the replacement of your kit? I am guessing the latter. How about just being an independant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmk Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 I think branding is quite important too at the moment. i am a Kodak Express and I have benifitted greatly from the Kodak name above my door. I have a Snappy snaps and an independant photo store within a 5 minute walk, and another snappy about 15 mins away. Granted that the support from kodak could be better, and that I am not in accordance with everything Tetenal and Kodak say...I believe that for the sums involved ie the license fee and certain other commitments, I dont think that you could get as much awareness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecosse Posted February 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Thanks for responding guys i suppose im a bit unsure about getting into bed with kodak as ive been indipendant for 25 years now also a bit unsure about change over from wet to thermal were so used to having a minilab my staff are a bit unsure of quality . on our kodak instant kiosks havent had any complaints about quality might loose some semi pro work but thats all but gone now . Thought the apex system would improve our work flow and leave staff more time to work on canvas,banners,etc which we are doing very well on at moment. Any body out there moved from wet to thermal that could offer any advice ? thanks Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmk Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 We had the very same concerns and must say none of them have been realised. We moved on to the Apex from a Noritsu 3001 and have not had even 1 comment leave alone complaint of the print quality. Infact we have been able to use the "benefits" of dye sub, ie water and tear resistant etc.etc. We definitely dont miss all the mixing of the chemistry and the smell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecilh Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 The Kodak name above the door is good. Kodak is one of the world's best known names. Although you pay £1000 per year, this is more than made up with benefits. Over the last couple of years they have circulated special offer leaflets in our local paper that would have cost us almost £2000 each time to do ourselves. Tetenal's staff are excellent and they hold good stocks. We have 4 G4 kiosks and our customers love the prints that they produce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernlab Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 We moved from wet process (dls 88) to Apex last May/June and on the whole, I think it worked for us. There are plus and minuses as with any system. On the up side, the Apex is clean, easy to run, fast and gives great quality from a digital image. Customers have got used to the odd paper feel and finish and there is little waste. On the down side, you're limited to a 6x4 print which can mean cut off on some digital images ( the dls had auto advance) If you still process film, the scanner available with it cannot scan b&w or APS film. Finally, the limited supplier(s) of paper and ribbon means the price is high but we adjusted our prices and I don't think we've lost many customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernlab Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 sorry about the smiley in dls. I don't know how that got there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 Apex can and does have digital formats on the later software versions. It also has background whitner and image placement software. The Apex will also print film if you have a film scanner conncted to a PC, It is only the 135mm Pakon which connects directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernlab Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Chopper is correct. We kept the 660 scanner and computer from the DLS and use that to scan film. The Apex then finds it in archive and prints the image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Went to Focus and saw Apex i printed an image on my 3101, one on d430 fuji and one on Apex, and it is a fact that the Apex print gave more shadow detail in the blacks in the background the quality was also better the inkjet print was blue and lacked detail in the contrst areas. The wet print was not as crisp as the thermal printing from Apex! Very Impressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GadgetnGizmo Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 We have an apex with 3 g4's and the 2100 printer we have been very pleased with the quality and can offer 4 x 6, 5 x 7, 6 x 8, 10 x 8 and 12 x 8 prints. We would like to be a Kodak express to get more known and custom with the help of kodak, but not sure if we could have all the stock needed to qualify. But that a side big fan of the apex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 If you are interested in Kodak Express speak to Tetenal and ask for Oliver Biddles, he will be able to help you sort out what you can and cant do, in relation to Kodak Express. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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