Matt Laur 
, Jan 06, 2009; 11:05 a.m.
Howdy, event-minded people.
Egads, I've been talked into doing the stand-up sorta-formals for a small-scale, ball-like event (coinciding with the upcoming inaugural events in the DC area). Fun. Happy to do it. The organizing brain trust has decided that the ability to dish out some prints, on the spot, would be nice. The shooting will be as much a form of entertainment as anything else (picture a life-size Obama cut-out as one of the optional props... you get the idea). The set will be available to people walking up with P&S and cell-phone cams, too (but they don't get to use my strobes!).
Some parameters:
I don't expect to produce more than 50 prints over the course of three or so hours. I expect that 4x6's will be fine, but 5x7's would be better (that seems to greatly narrow down my options, here!). After the fact orders for larger prints is no problem - that's well in hand.
I'm not at ALL worried about lighting, backdrops, shooting, or the cat-herding aspects of getting people over in front of the camera and more or less behaving themselves. That's covered. People will be milling about, and can swing by a table later for the prints. But not a LOT later. I'm an IT guy - have no problem with plenty of on-the-spot computer horsepower, and will likely shoot to RAW+JPGs so that I can have a fair shot at some some quickly rendered slide-show material that will be rotating through a large flat-screen display I'll have on site - just for eye candy, NOT for kiosk type ordering. No need for that level of sophistication. No, I won't be taking credit cards, or bartering for chickens, etc.
Obviously, this calls for a dye sub printer. I'm not enamored with the $99 scrap-booker specials. But neither am I in the mood to drop over $400 (on the hardware only), under the circumstances. I have to take into account the reasonableness of the consumable materials, but that seems pretty competitive between Hi-Touch, Canon, Sony, etc.
It seems I've got a lot more options if I don't mind sticking with 4x6 prints. I could even have an utterly un-trained assistant printing JPGs right from CF cards, using one of the soccer-mom speciality devices (the inexpensive SELPHYs, for example) and consider the device to be essentially disposable. But I'm trying to think past this immediate little project, and consider the utility of the unit for other uses. I get a fair number of after-the-event orders for 4x6 and 5x7 prints, and wouldn't mind the ability to print longer-lived, Frontier-ish-quality output at home to fill those small orders on the fly (hey, I like going to Costco, but only when I'm in the mood).
I'm just asking for a general temperture-taking from people who use the more modestly priced dye subs for once-in-a-while low volume, small-format site printing, and trying to figure out where the sweet spot it is, in terms of make/model and performance. From a revenue point of view, I think the ability to print at 5x7 would probably more than pay for a modest increase in equipment costs. But full-on Santa-At-The-Mall, big-ticket Sony or Kodak hardware just isn't in the cards this time around.
Thanks in advance, folks. I'll appreciate any insights, war stories, and specific recommendations.
Maria McManamey , Jan 06, 2009; 11:19 a.m.
Well, we shelled out a few years ago for a Kodak 1400 dye-sub that prints up to A4 and have been really pleased with it's performance, although we wish it were a hair faster. We started out offering either 5x7s OR 8x10s, but have found that to be a bad idea, and now offer only 8x10s (speed of processing, and no wasted scrap if people won't buy 2 5x7s).
Last year, just for grins, we picked up a Kodak 4x6 only dye-sub - one of the soccer mom specials - because it was on clearance ($70!!!!) Well, it would figure that the 4x6 actually produces sharper prints than the 1400. It's also quite speedy. It debuted at a Ren Faire in 2008 as our backup, just in case we ran out of 8x10 paper for the 1400 (which we did on day 3!) This year it was the sole printer at our church fall festival, and did it's job well, spitting out about 50 prints in 2 hours.
I would prefer to run the bigger prints, but with being able to buy the 4x6 print kits at WalMart, Sams, and I'm sure Costco, it is super convenient to run the 4x6. Buying the large quantity 4x6 print kits make it actually easy to make money, as long as you don't have to cover booth rental and ESPECIALLY if you're more concerned with post-print sales.
Search for the Kodak 1400 on Shopzilla - as I recall, the price was right in the $400 range 3 years ago. Unfortunately, the exact print kits we like are impossible to come by, but Adorama has THE BEST price on the 8.5x11 paper size kits. Something like a ball, I have NO problems being able to sell $15 8x10s ($10 for any additional), and NO we do NOT trim anymore at all. Too much time. People have not complained even once about being handed a large piece of paper with their photo in the middle. The trick we HAVE learned with the Kodak 1400, btw.... do NOT run the matte layer. It is an option that can be turned off, and I HIGHLY recommend doing so. Running the matte film over the print KILLS the sharpness. I generally hate glossy, but I'll take it over soft pics any day. (I almost forgot, cause we just learned that spring 2008).
Ian Danziger , Jan 06, 2009; 02:11 p.m.
I do Santa photos each year for my local MainStreet and Chamber of Commerce. Just a way to get out in front of my community. Not a big money maker, but is a lot of fun. Anyway, I use three of the Canon Selphy dye-sub printers and my laptop. I do the same setup for a local country club's Santa photos. I often am approached by organizations or companies wanting this service in an environment where realistically nobody is really going to want to pay for the prints, but the organization still wants this "added value" to their event but doesn't want to PAY me anything for my time. I turned down a new years eve party for a local radio station wanting a "red carpet" paparazzi photog and an onsite printing photo booth. I would earn only what people would pay me for their onsite prints. Realistically, people bring their own cameras to these things and don't need to shell out even $5 for a print. Obviously Santa photos and anything with kids is a little different. And speaking of that, at one venue, I just charged the parents a flat $10 and captured maybe four or five images of their child with Santa. Then I put everything online and let them freely download the images or order .50 prints.
I know I veered off topic here. I am assuming the host is either paying you nicely or you are doing this for the publicity. The Selphys are very fast. I use a cardstock 8.5x11 sheet folded over and tape the 4x6 photo inside. I preprint the card covers with event artwork and my business card on the back. Mostly I shoot weddings, but the event photography fills in.
Matt Laur , Jan 06, 2009; 02:27 p.m.
Thanks Maria, and Ian. I may be underestimating the usefulness of the little Selphy units, it sounds like.
Ian Danziger , Jan 06, 2009; 02:42 p.m.
I got my Selphys on clearance for $49. Watch for them at Staples.
Greg Jansen , Jan 06, 2009; 06:35 p.m.
Hi Matt
I've done a ton of this sort of thing and have used many of the printers out there. A step up from the Selphy would be the HiTi, or Hi-Touch printers. They are resonably fast, very inexpensive, and produce a nice quality print with a nice water-resistant type finish. I had the model that you could drop the flash card in and preview the shot on a little hand-held viewer thing. It is imperative to have one person devoted to printing. Easiest way to do it is to use two cards. Shoot a few images, maybe 5 or 10, on a card, hand it over to the assistant to print. they can select which of the two or so shots to print and send them to the printer. People get really impatient at these things. If there is some sort of dinner, tell them they will be ready for pick-up after dinner (they will still check beforehand if they are done).
For a really great printer try the Sony Snaplab. I love that thing. Maybe someone in town rents them. It would be worth renting one just because you won't have to change paper or ribbon during the event, and the printouts will be fast. Does 5x7, too. 4x6 is awfully small for these events. No computer needed either- they have a large touch screen and card reader built in.
Maybe you could find one on Ebay.
Another big thing is to make sure you shoot in the smallest file size possible. Large files really slow down the printers. Figure out what the smallest file you can print from yields acceptable prints on the printer you are using. Get the printer driver and camera settings tweaked so you can print directly from the card- no photoshop needed.
I used to kind of dread these things, until I got a good system and good printer. Now they are easy money as not too many people do them, or do them well I should say. It's easy to market it in winter for company parties.
That little Snaplab I have has paid for itself many times over.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Matt Laur , Jan 06, 2009; 07:22 p.m.
Ah, Greg - the voice of experience! I sure appreciate it. Good point about the file size. Think I'll be shooting RAW + a smallish JPG for that very reason. RAWs for larger post-event sales, if that even comes up (I have my doubts!).
I've been looking at the HiTi 731ps - it seems like the lowest rational (for me) point of entry, this way. The Sony unit looks like a dreamboat, but the economy of the situation may not make sense just yet. But I'll look under the couch for some change.
Greg Jansen , Jan 06, 2009; 11:34 p.m.
SOny used to make the UP-DR100. They can be found used for $100-200 or so. They are really nice, well built units. I don't know how much the media (paper and ribbon) s for them. That would be a much nicer unit than the HiTi. I believe they are SCSI, but that shouldn't scare you.
If you got a used real dye sub, you could use it for in-house printing. I have abandoned all my inkjet printers and all the headaches I use to have with them. I use the Snaplab for 4x6 and 5x7, and a Shinko for 8x10's (wedding albums). The dye sub printers are so reliable. I get the same color, same finish, same look every time I print on one of those. Stuff looks like a smooth finish C-print. For 11x14's I do the Costco thing.
ALthough a bit old, dye-sub technology hasn't changed much. What's so great about them is not ink to clog, smear or change.
I would say go for a used good quality dye sub over the Hiti mainly because you will get more use out of it after the event.
Matt Laur , Jan 07, 2009; 09:26 a.m.
Thanks, Greg. The timing of this particular event may preclude me getting in a succesful hunt for the right (working!) used equipment and the chance to procure materials for it, complete with testing. This little gig sort of snuck up on me! But you do make some good points. I'm certainly happy to avoid farming out my small printing tasks to third parties, that's for sure.
