Cue up the dead horse, but this question comes up A LOT, and has been asked of me again quite a bit. Here is a listing of available options that I am aware of. Again, we all know where I stand on the subject and I make no commentary on any of the options listed. Well, there are a few slaps at one company but whatever. It’s a list and I am sure that it is probably an incomplete list but here you go:

Workflow software listing from September 2006.

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Had a very long discussion today with a guy I have spoken with a number of times regarding the lab and his debate about returning to lab printing as opposed to the inkjet’s that he has done for a number of years. He wanted me to convince him that printing in the lab was better than inkjet printing and to his surprise I refused. Both methods have their strengths as well as weaknesses, but >better< is in the eye of the beholder.

Back in the early days of inkjet printers the prints weren’t so great. The color was fabulous as even the early inks delivered a wider color gamut than RA-4 papers but the benefits ended right there. Resolutions were low, paper options were limited, per print prices were sky high and the prints couldn’t stand up to a sneeze test let alone any kind of real moisture test. Kind of like the early digital camera days. Way back when $20,000 bought you about 1 effective mega pixel and the product was shit. I was at that time very anti-inkjet and it had everything to do with the longevity and print quality.

Digital cameras grew up and so have inkjet printers. The color is even better than it was, paper options are abundant and with pigment inks the prints last and last. Which is better? That’s for you to decide for yourself, but I can tell you that many people elect to do both and they do so happily. Epson, Canon and HP all make excellent printers and with proper use the results are fantastic. So, you think you want to buy an inkjet and you want to know some of the pitfalls? I’ll tell you the big ones right now and I’ll even tell you how you can avoid them.

The first pitfall is time. Print times can be 3 minutes or more per 8×10 print and this can seriously cut in to time that you might better spend doing other things. First print out at the lab is about 4 minutes or so but that is dry to dry. The first print come out in 4 minutes but the next print is hot on it’s heals. With inkjet 3 minutes x print quantity = the amount of time that you will be occupied with the process. Next, though print prices for inkjet printers have come down you must always keep in mind that when you are doing your own printing you are responsible for any mistakes that are made. Every single 8×10 print that you throw in the garbage comes right out of your profit and not the lab’s. This is the one that no inkjet salesman really talks about. If we hose 100 8×10’s in the lab the hit for that paper waste comes out of our pocket, not the photographers. Third, you alone are the responsible party when it comes to print quality. If your print come out green the only person that you can yell at is yourself. Should these two reasons keep you off of inkjet? In a word, no.

Use good quality monitors that are calibrated and profiled on a schedule coupled with proper profiling of your printer. You must expect and demand print quality from yourself that you would expect and demand from your lab. Shoot with proper white balance, work in a tightly controlled calibrated & profiled environment and your results will be there. Go in to the process without learning the basics and you will do much more harm to your reputation than you can imagine. Under no circumstances should your customer shoulder the burden of poor execution.

Monitors from Eizo or View Sonic. Profiling hardware and software from Gretag Macbeth. Workflow software like Darkroom Core or Professional. A calendar to keep track of your profiling schedule. These are some of the tools that will help you be a successful self printer and save you many hours of wasted time and consumables.

That’s really it for me on the subject. My boss reads this blog and this post really seems like an inkjet printer commercial and that isn’t what I intended it to be.

What did the guy on the phone decide? Well, I am pretty sure that I convinced him to upgrade his Epson Gemini to the latest version. He has a lot of money invested in the system and his results are really very good. There is no advantage to him or to his customers to change his method. We’ll see over the next few days what he will do. What should you do? Investigate your options. Ask a dealer close to you for a demo. Get some sample prints off of the machine that you like and compare the models. If the print quality is there for you and you can maintain your discipline give it a shot. Just remember to buy from a dealer that you know and trust. In those first few weeks you will want the support that only a professional dealer can provide.

Technorati : Canon, Epson, ExpressDigital, Inkjet Printers

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It’s that time of year again. The time when ExpressDigital releases an upgrade version and raises the anger of a few people over the fact that upgrades cost money. I get the point about the cost of the software on the front side and then the ongoing annual cost of support and upgrades, but I also see the other side of the picture as well. Being a Labtricity lab I get to deal with Express often. Probably much more often than they would like, but it does give you perspective.

“Adobe doesn’t charge $495 for a Photoshop upgrade. Why should ExpressDigital?” That’s the question that I am answering here. Why should Express charge this much for an upgrade? The answer begins with the fact that you can’t compare Photoshop to Darkroom. Photoshop appeals to photographers across a very broad spectrum and even at $1,295 full retail it would outsell Darkroom by the same numbers. Darkroom isn’t exactly a niche product, but the potential audience for the application is small compared to Photoshop. Adobe is a multi national company with offices and employees around the globe which further extends it’s appeal to photographers of all skill and income levels. A full copy of Photoshop is $700 and is a true image editing application. Darkroom is a workflow management application that includes some image editing tools.

Your product is priced for the market that you serve. Look at Adobe’s own offering of Photoshop Elements. Yes, it is less feature complete than Photoshop but go buy a copy and look at all that you get for $99. I did. It is amazing to me that they give you what they do for $99 which is what I paid for it on sale at Staples I think it was. Why would Adobe do this? It’s simple really. Photoshop appeals to a very narrow audience. Compared to the numbers of PC’s (People With Cameras) out there Photoshop has a very limited audience being so narrowly focused on professional photographers. Consumers buy digital cameras at the rate of millions (if I weren’t fat and lazy I would break out the PMA report and get the actual numbers to insert here) every year and Photoshop Elements at $99 or $149 makes perfect sense. To maintain and develop Photoshop the money has to be right. Given it’s narrow focus those that need it must be willing to pay the $700 upfront price and the $149 annual upgrade fee if they want the application.

So, Photoshop is a narrowly focused application? It is when you put it in perspective and compare it to a consumer application that appeals to millions and millions and millions more people. So now we look at ExpressDigital and how this all relates. Photoshop and it’s millions of potential customers around the world are what keep the price of Photoshop as low (that’s right, I said low) as it is. If Photoshop had a potential market size as small as Ed’s Photoshop would cost substantially more than it does today. Oddly enough, just as ExpressDigital is now Adobe would be forced to earn their money by appealing to a very small subset of a very large group of people and would charge for their product accordingly. If their product appealed to a large enough portion of that subset then Adobe would be just fine. If it didn’t there would be no Adobe.

Everything in life boils down to value. Does the software give you a great enough return on your investment to justify the expense? This isn’t a hobby and every dime that you spend must be an investment and not just an expense item. Are you investing in greater productivity and enhanced services for your own customers or not? If you don’t find that kind of value in the software put your credit card back in your wallet and get back to shooting. If you do find the kind of value in the application that justifies the expense (as I do and thousands of others) you know what to do.

Oh, and as a side note I can get an upgrade to Photoshop CS 3 for $149. Microsoft wanted me to pay $249 for an upgrade to Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook. At no time do all things make total sense, but this one was very easy to pass on.

Technorati : Adobe, ExpressDigital

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ExpressDigital Extends Darkroom Software with Connected Pro Services, Template Making Elements and Retouch Tools

ENGLEWOOD, CO and AUSTIN, TX -March 8, 2007- ExpressDigital, the leading provider of digital workflow software, Internet storefronts and lab solutions, announced today an enhanced version of its flagship product ExpressDigital Darkroom. The new version, Darkroom 8.8, includes connected pro services, enhanced template making elements, and new retouch tools.

"We are proud to announce the release of a new version of Darkroom packed with features designed to help photographers make more money in their photography businesses," said Graham McFarland, Founder and CEO of ExpressDigital. "With input from over 20,000 professional customers worldwide, we are able to consistently enhance Darkroom and focus on business changing features that photographer's desire."

Connected Pro Services
The connection from Darkroom to professional photography services such as on-line selling and lab fulfillment has never been easier than with the addition of the Pro Services section in the software. Photographers can effortlessly manage their PhotoReflect.com Internet storefront with easy access to pricing, shipping, discounts, taxes, activity reports and more. Managing the connection to professional labs has also been added to the Pro Services section. With over 200 professional labs instantly connected to the Darkroom software, real time information on pending orders and fulfillment costs are easily and readily accessible.

To help manage your on-line storefront, a new PhotoReflect.com Tool Bar has been created within the Darkroom software. The PhotoReflect.com tool bar provides the professional photographer instant access to on-line sales data, number of customer visits and photo cards sent, along with other vital published event information.

Template & Border Making Elements
One of the most popular features of Darkroom, the Template Workshop, is now more robust with new features and functionality. Calendar objects have been added which include the ability to create custom calendars for any desired month or year format. Design grids have been added along with snap to grid functionality to make creating your own borders easier than ever before. Pan and zoom tools have joined the Template Workshop to provide the detail needed to accomplish even the most difficult design. Templates can now also have multiple graphic elements, so one border can be built with selectable graphic layers that can be turned visible or invisible depending on its desired use.

Enhanced Retouch Tools
The recently announced, Darkroom's built-in Retouch Workshop eliminates the need for costly, third-party image editing software. A new healing brush has been added to the Retouch Workshop joining the other 9 tools designed specifically for professional photographers to edit and enhance their images.

New Hardware Supported
Darkroom 8.8 has direct connectivity to the best new cameras and printers in the industry. New cameras supported include the Canon 30D, Canon Digital Rebel XTi, Nikon D40, Nikon D80 and Fuji S5 Pro. New professional printers supported include the HP 9185, HP Z2100, HP Z3100, ICI OP800, ICI OP900, Shinko S2145 and the Noritsu NPS powered printing solutions.

Pricing and Availability
New Darkroom Version 8.8 is expected to ship at the end of March 2007. Darkroom is available for sale through authorized dealers and labs in the United States, Canada, UK, Germany, Norway, Australia and South Africa. Software is also available for sale at expressdigital.com. For a list of authorized dealers and a link to our online store, visit www.expressdigital.com/purchase.

About ExpressDigital
ExpressDigital enables those engaged in the business of photography to maximize profits using technology. ExpressDigital designs products that cater to digital photographers, labs, and large corporate photography businesses. ExpressDigital has a rounded product offering called Digital Everyday that includes Darkroom software, PhotoReflect.com INTERNET storefronts, Labtricity lab connectivity, and Enrichment business services. The Digital Everyday product offering empowers any size business using digital photography to incorporate a profitable workflow. ExpressDigital is a leader in the digital photography market and operates on the core values of service, innovation, and knowledge.

For more information please contact: 888.584.0089, www.expressdigital.com.

© 2006 Express Digital Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved. ExpressDigital, the ExpressDigital logo, Darkroom, PhotoReflect.com, and Labtricity are registered trademarks of Express Digital Graphics, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Technorati : Darkroom, ExpressDigital

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ExpressDigital’s PhotoReflect.com Goes International and Adds More Money Making Features for Professional Photographers

ENGLEWOOD, CO and AUSTIN, TX -March 8, 2007-ExpressDigital, the leading provider of digital workflow software, Internet storefronts and lab solutions, is releasing a new international version of PhotoReflect.com designed to expand and enhance the ability for professional photographers to make more money.

“PhotoReflect.com continues to grow beyond our expectations and now literally beyond our borders,” said Graham McFarland, Founder and CEO of ExpressDigital. “Entering Canada, Europe and Australia with an on-line tool designed to help photographers grow their business, provides a natural expansion of our services and demonstrates our commitment to the professional photography industry.”

International Currency
PhotoReflect.com has established banking relationships across the globe and photographers can now receive payment in the currency in which they transact business. PhotoReflect.com will now support sales in the Canadian Dollar, Pound Sterling, Euro and Australian Dollar.

Color Choices, New Storefront Designs and Multiple Photo Packages
Several new money making features are now available in PhotoReflect.com. Consumers can now preview their professional photos in black & white, sepia and retro color choices on-line. 45 brand new storefront designs have been added to allow photographers to select the look and feel that best matches their photography business. In addition, new options now let customers select multiple photos to fill photographer defined packages, along with a la carte print and fulfillment items.

Custom Storefront Services
PhotoReflect.com photographers now have the option to customize their Internet storefront to exactly match their existing website or create a new and unique web presence. PhotoReflect.com custom services will design a tailored skin for your storefront, including company logo, colors, search selections, advertising, order receipts and other requested design elements.

Opt-in Revenue Sharing Advertising
A new program called PhotoReflect.com AdShare is being launched which allows photographers to make money from the traffic visiting their Internet storefront. The new AdShare program is optional, and can be turned on and off at the discretion of the photographer. If a photographer selects to participate, small text ads will appear on various web pages of their site. PhotoReflect.com will then share any advertising revenue with the photographer. The new AdShare program allows photographers to make revenue from web site traffic, in addition to already making money on selling prints and other fulfillment items.

PhotoReflect.com Marketing Plans
In an effort to help photographers grow their business, PhotoReflect.com is launching all-inclusive marketing plans for professional photographers. The marketing plans include custom design, printing, and on-going planning and execution of valuable marketing tools, such as direct mail campaigns, e-mail campaigns, prospect lists and much more.

Expanding Lab Partners
Over 200 professional labs are now directly connected to PhotoReflect.com and just a click away from helping photographers fulfill their orders. PhotoReflect.com allows photographers the ability to assign prints and services to one or more labs, with the added convenience of drop ship or studio delivery.

About ExpressDigital
ExpressDigital enables those engaged in the business of photography to maximize profits using technology. ExpressDigital designs products that cater to digital photographers, labs, and large corporate photography businesses. ExpressDigital has a rounded product offering called Digital Everyday that includes Darkroom software, PhotoReflect.com Internet storefronts, Labtricity lab connectivity, and Enrichment business services. The Digital Everyday product offering empowers any size business using digital photography to incorporate a profitable workflow. ExpressDigital is a leader in the digital photography market and operates on the core values of service, innovation, and knowledge.

For more information please contact: 888.584.0089, www.expressdigital.com.

© 2006 Express Digital Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved. ExpressDigital, the ExpressDigital logo, Darkroom, PhotoReflect.com, and Labtricity are registered trademarks of Express Digital Graphics, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Technorati : ExpressDigital, Photoreflect

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OK, so you’ll recall the update from version .1192 to .1206 and then we were back to .1192. That related to smart memory mates not working properly in .1206. Express released .1244 and all appeared to be well, but some users (my lab network) still had some odd issues with smart memory mates.

I am not clear on another 8.7 release before the new version comes out at PMA. There may be one, then again there may not. If you rely on smart memory mates stick with version .1192. If you don’t have the installer and are a customer of our lab drop us an email at support@bbcolorlabs.com and we will provide you with a download link to it.

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Technorati : Darkroom, ExpressDigital

This post has been edited. How many loud mouths with a blog does it take to piss someone at Kodak off? Apparently only one. At the request of my boss I have edited out some of my personal opinions of Kodak. Bob wanted the entire post removed, but we settled on removing the bit about the, well, that bit that was at the bottom. I stand by it in it’s entirety but I make too much money to take a stand here.

I was just on the ExpressDigital support site and saw the instructions for making Labtricity interact with DP2. I gotta say, I am totally at a loss for words here. I really don’t understand why Express made this move. DP2 is a first class pain in the ass. As I have described in the past, it is like running your printer with a spreadsheet. All I am going to say about that.

Express made this move to make Labtricity a more appealing option for labs that are heavily reliant on DP2 and reluctant to add another incoming option. I get that. Any number of labs use DP2 to various degrees of satisfaction and on the surface this looks like a good move. Then again, let’s look at Kodak.

My “Straight off the top of my head list” of products that Kodak has thrown huge sums of money at over the last few years only to kill off in a schizophrenic like manner:

• Kodak KPIS
• Kodak Pro Backs
• Kodak Pro D-SLR’s
• Black & White Paper
• Kodak 20″ LED
• Kodak RP30*
• Kodak RR30*
• Kodak HR500
• Kodak ML500
• Kodak Digital Analyzing Workstation
• Kodak Minilab DLS
• Kodak ProShots
• Kodak ProShots Groups
• Kodak ProShots Basics
• Hicks Equipment**
• Applied Science Fiction**
• Bremson**

I could go on. I won’t, but I will say that all they have left are some Pro films, paper and chemistry along with dye sub printers and ….DP2.

You never heard someone talk so down about the competition like you will if you discuss a product with a Kodak sales rep. ******removed to make the guy that pays me happy****** I can hear it from them now, “Labtricity is so bad that ExpressDigital wants you to export all of your work to DP2″. ******removed to make the guy that pays me happy******

Aside from reasons already given, how long will it be before Kodak adds DP2 to that list of dead products? I have some minor issues with Labtricity and wish some things could be different but if Bob told me to pick between DP2 and Labtricity, Kodak wouldn’t even be given a thought. DP2 sucks. Kodak sucks (oops). Soon enough ExpressDigital will realize how badly Kodak sucks.

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Technorati : ExpressDigital, Kodak, Labtricity

Every week I get at least five phone calls or emails that all ask the same question. Why don’t my prints from you match my monitor? Every one of them is a very time consuming conversation because there isn’t a simple answer. Volumes as thick as a dictionary are written on the subject, but the photographer doesn’t need this level of understanding. I am going to post a few links here to some useful color management documents to hopefully help in understanding this subject. X-Rite makes available their Complete Guide to Color Management.

This PDF file is an excellent over view of what color management is all about. What the problem is, how to solve it and making color management work for you. There is even a glossary and a section about soft proofing as well. The PDF file is free of charge, all that you have to do is register with your name and email address. Use a throw away if you are leery of spam and you will be richly rewarded.

The next guide is done by Scott Martin at On-Sight.

Really I don’t know a lot about Scott, but I do know that he consults with ExpressDigital and teaches their color management class at their Austin facility. Scott has done an excellent PDF file for setting up color in the ExpressDigital software. His site says that:

These files on this page are intended for onsight customers and curious wanderers. Customers and soon-to-be customers are welcome to contact me about these files.

Be a wanderer and go download Scott’s guide to setting up ExpressDigital for color management.

Lastly if your monitor is calibrated and profiled, or if you think it is there is a quickie test that you can run online.

Go to MonitorSetup.com and follow the instructions there to test the overall calibration of your system. This is a visual check, but if you download the PDF file from the top right of the page it will instruct you as to what you should be seeing when you view the image file in your browser.

Technorati : Color Management, ExpressDigital

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I wrote a really short article about using the ExpressDigital software to perform custom white balance adjustments on jpeg images for the December issue of SEP Action News. I promised a follow up video as the article was rather short. For better or for worse, here it is.

Please go easy on me. This is my first ever video. Having now done one I know why I have avoided them all these years. ExpressDigital .jpg White Balance Adjustment

Technorati : Color Correction, Darkroom, Darkroom Web Edition, ExpressDigital, Photoreflect

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Take advantage of the free online training for Darkroom Web Edition/Photoreflect.com directly from ExpressDigital. Topics covered in each class include storefront settings and package creation. Huge topics for people that are new to Photoreflect and Darkroom Web Edition.

You can learn more and get login information as well as days and times at the ExpressDigital Online Training Center

Technorati : Darkroom Web Edition, ExpressDigital, Photoreflect

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