Looking to sell my prints - Print my own or send to a company?

Dael_Pix

Dael_Pix

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David
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Decided to try and sell some prints of wildlife and landscapes on a website that I'm planning on making (I already have a blog but am wanting to go for a paid version).

Unsure if I want to print photos or find a company to print them.

I was thinking that I would like 2 sizes and 2 different sorts of prints. Prints could have a border round them, or 'full size' prints with no border.
 
Before forking out for a decent printer, maybe see what the demand for prints is first and get the initial ones printed by a lab. Once you’re confident that you are selling enough to justify the cost of one, splash out on something decent.
 
Dael_Pix said:
Decided to try..........

I was thinking that I would like 2 sizes and 2 different sorts of prints. Prints could have a border round them, or 'full size' prints with no border.
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I am none too sure what you mean by talking about 'border or not' in the way that you have done?

Why do I say that? Well, whether you have a border or not the print is still going to be a specific size e.g. 12x8".......... adding a border would/should not change the actual printed area IMO.

For exhibition sale I have always printed (using a commercial printer) with a border because I always mounted them, and to mount a print using a "matt" and backing board you need a border! NB having said that for my in-house tests using my my budget printer (Canon TS8250) I have printed borderless.......because the small prints are only going on a whiteboard.

HTH
 
I wish you lots of luck trying to sell Wildlife images- there's just not a large market for them IMHO :)

Les
 
What I mean is to have a border round the image on the paper. It was just an idea I had and may go off it and keep prints full size on the paper.

I'm considering and looking into getting photos printed at a company, just looking for one locally. If I print them myself it will become an expensive job

I have some ideas on the way I sell photos.

Need to decide on the sizes I want and get the printing sorted first, and secondly, how to post them to customers and then thirdly I'll find out about either hosting Wordpress on a website, or by using something like Squarespace.
 
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viewfromthenorth said:
I always print with a border, easier for mounting in a window mount.
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:agree: :plus1:
As I said in my post above, unless there is specific reason for printing borderless I see no reason not to print with a border ;)
 
Dael_Pix said:
What I mean is to have a border round the image on the paper. It was just an idea I had and may go off it and keep prints full size on the paper.

I'm considering and looking into getting photos printed at a company, just looking for one locally. If I print them myself it will become an expensive job

I have some ideas on the way I sell photos.

Need to decide on the sizes I want and get the printing sorted first, and secondly, how to post them to customers and then thirdly I'll find out about either hosting Wordpress on a website, or by using something like Squarespace.
Click to expand...

Quite a few online print labs will mail them to a different address than the billing address (ie your address), that way you are not left with the hassle of sourcing packaging material.

Borderless prints are fine if the intention is to surface mount, ie glue them directly to a mount board. In my experience most people don’t do this outside of camera club competitions.

I’d you don’t already have a website or an online presence, then you’ll need to give some thought to how you are going to market your images. The market for landscape / wildlife prints isn’t big at all, according to a friend who is a pro - he makes his money from workshops.
 
Dael_Pix said:
What I mean is to have a border round the image on the paper. It was just an idea I had and may go off it and keep prints full size on the paper.

I'm considering and looking into getting photos printed at a company, just looking for one locally. If I print them myself it will become an expensive job

I have some ideas on the way I sell photos.

Need to decide on the sizes I want and get the printing sorted first, and secondly, how to post them to customers and then thirdly I'll find out about either hosting Wordpress on a website, or by using something like Squarespace.
Click to expand...

I think you need to find customers before worrying about print options :)
 
One way or another you want your system to be automated. so that is as hassle free as possible.

With the customer's selection to go directly to the printer of your choice. and the balance of the cost straight to your account.
It should incur no upfront costs at all. That way you might earn some pin money at least.
If you print yourself, your unit costs are unknown as are your profits, if any, With lots of money tied up in equipment and materials. and the associated cash flow problems.

The agreement with the printer should be set up so as the cost of complaints, delivery problems, reprints, or refunds, should be the concern of the Printing company not yourself.

If you were to end up making very substantial sales, then it might be worth setting up a printing business to support them... but I doubt it.

What ever you set up must be a self sustaining profit centre to be viable.
and preferably scalable.
 
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I would have a look at something like Zenfolio where you can create a web site and people can order prints directly from there , from what I can see of it ( I use Zen for storage not for selling) it offers a package where you can do everything.
I am sure there are others which offer the same sort of thing I just don.t know of them
 
Currently waiting on a local printing company to get back to me with a quote, but might take a while because I think they're on lockdown.
I've tried Vistaprint, but I don't like the way photos come out on screen after converting them to CMYK in PS (I use LR). It takes colour and contrast out of the photos. I tried messing around in PS but they don't look as good as in LR.

I have a WordPress blog but no one is interested. I'm looking for my 'niche' and think walking/hiking will be it, and probably cycling. I can write about the trip and incorporate photos. I'll have a separate page for my photography that is for sale with photos I've taken in the past.

I'll try Facebook first and make a page on there and see if I get anything out of it.

I'll look into printers that will forward prints but may just print them myself.
 
You could also join a print on demand site, they take care of all the printing and postage, you can order your own prints through some of them at a very fair price if you wanted to go out and do craft fairs.

Have a look at a site called Lens2Print
 
Thanks I'll take a look at the site. I wouldn't do fairs because I'm not a people person/outgoing.
 
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Kinda forgot about this post.

I received an email from local print company and the prints in A4 and A3 cost less than £10 per 10.

I also started creating a website on thursday and it went live on friday
https://www.daelpixphotography.co.uk/

I'm currently taking it slow in creating shop pages, but still considering how to get them printed.
 
Hi David

That printer IMO sounds amazing "value" but I do wonder what the quality is like?

Have you tried them yet to check the service and quality of the prints?
 
Dael_Pix said:
Kinda forgot about this post.

I received an email from local print company and the prints in A4 and A3 cost less than £10 per 10.

I also started creating a website on thursday and it went live on friday
https://www.daelpixphotography.co.uk/

I'm currently taking it slow in creating shop pages, but still considering how to get them printed.
Click to expand...

I'd check out the quality of this and other labs to see how they compare. Think about it this way - do you really want your best work being presented on low quality prints? I tend to sell my work digitally, but when I do sell prints I either print them myself or go for a lab like DS Colour or Photobox as I'm happy with the balance between quality and cost.

The website looks good and you've got a nice selection of photographs on it, but I'd ditch the bit about what gear you use - in my experience, very few people outside of camera clubs are in the slightest bit interested about what gear you use. However, if you feel your site is incomplete without it, then maybe add a line into your 'About Me' page. I'd also keep it just about your photography, keep the PC game reviews off it unless you think you will get a lot of traffic from that bit of the website. Lastly, I know it's not finished yet, but there is an unfinished sentence on the 'About Me' page,

Hope this helps.
 
Hi Andy. Thanks for the input.
I'll link you to THIS thread for printers.

I've updated the gallery page since yesterday and it looks better now.

I'll leave the photography gear I use.
I may take the pc reviews off at some point but I'll see how it gets on.
I've fixed the About Me page.
 
Dael_Pix said:
Hi Andy. Thanks for the input.
I'll link you to THIS thread for printers.

I've updated the gallery page since yesterday and it looks better now.

I'll leave the photography gear I use.
I may take the pc reviews off at some point but I'll see how it gets on.
I've fixed the About Me page.
Click to expand...


The Print Space are very good, they print stuff for The Guardian - I have a Denis Thorpe print from them. If they’re the ones doing 10 A4’s for £10 I’ll use them as well!
 
viewfromthenorth said:
The Print Space are very good, they print stuff for The Guardian - I have a Denis Thorpe print from them. If they’re the ones doing 10 A4’s for £10 I’ll use them as well!
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:plus1: Though if they are........what type of prints are they for that offer???
 
Remember to watermark those on the internet to stop someone copying and using as their own
 
Dael_Pix said:
Kinda forgot about this post.

I received an email from local print company and the prints in A4 and A3 cost less than £10 per 10.

I also started creating a website on thursday and it went live on friday
https://www.daelpixphotography.co.uk/

I'm currently taking it slow in creating shop pages, but still considering how to get them printed.
Click to expand...

Get a couple of samples done and leave them out in direct sunlight. Decent printers will use good inks and paper so there shouldn't be any noticeable deterioration but cheap inks can fade pretty fast, as can some cheap papers.
 
I won't be printing them myself. I'll be using theprintspace.
 
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How did you get on in practice? I see you are selling photography prints and artwork side by side which is something i am looking to do.
Which web hosting service did you go for in the end?
 
I'm not selling artwork, only prints (and I haven't sold any to this day).

Squarespace - I was going to use a photographers discount, but then I found more of a discount on the website itself.

Domain - £16 for the year
Website - £180 for the year
 
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Dael_Pix said:
I'm not selling artwork, only prints (and I haven't sold any to this day).

Squarespace - I was going to use a photographers discount, but then I found more of a discount on the website itself.

Domain - £16 for the year
Website - £180 for the year
Click to expand...

Re: domain ~ do you own the domain name or do they? If the latter that means they will charge you to transfer it into your ownership....or unless you can confirm to the contrary, if you do own it, they may charge to transfer to another host if you decide to in future!
 
support.squarespace.com

What to do with your domain if you cancel your website

Best practices to consider for managing your domain before officially canceling your Squarespace site. Before you cancel your website subscription, review any custom domains connected to your site....
support.squarespace.com support.squarespace.com
 
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viewfromthenorth said:
Before forking out for a decent printer, maybe see what the demand for prints is first and get the initial ones printed by a lab. Once you’re confident that you are selling enough to justify the cost of one, splash out on something decent.
Click to expand...

I would echo this as it'll likely be more cost effective in the beginning. If you do go down the route of buying a printer you'll also want to consider one that uses pigment inks as they're more durable and lightfast. You will also have the additional cost of monitor calibration tools, printer ink (pigment ink isn't cheap but even my Canon Pro 100S inks aren't cheap and they're not pigment so, yeah) and good paper. Also packaging and delivery. You'll likely have to cover this cost anyway when using a lab as you'll want to double-check the prints but at least you can use their packaging. Just some food for thought.
 
@YoshiK1 Thank you for your comment, but you need not reply as I created this thread in the middle of this year and things have changed since then.
 
Dael_Pix said:
@YoshiK1 Thank you for your comment, but you need not reply as I created this thread in the middle of this year and things have changed since then.
Click to expand...

Ahhh so you have. I really should read the whole thread. Apologies, I think it's Bed time! Hope it picks up for you.
 
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