Whats the lowdown with selling framed prints

juno_first · 26 Mar 2015 at 14:01

I saw at a market someone selling framed b&w photos of the nearby countryside in a flimsy frame. They were being sold for £30 a pop :eek:

The photos were nothing amazing & I think its because they were framed b&w that made them look good. 10x8" photo in a 16" frame.

Being as I like b&w & have a laser printer that can churn them out quite cheaply I was thinking about trying this myself.
I was wondering about any copyright issues etc. Or are there any other unknowns about doing this?

thanks

a1ex2001 · 27 Mar 2015 at 08:23

No copyright issues provided they are your photos and they weren't taken on private property without permission. The issue is actually selling them and making money lots of people have this idea that it's easy and it really isn't otherwise everyone and his dog would be doing it!

juno_first · 27 Mar 2015 at 08:33

Ok thanks, I thought there was a catch & i dont even have a dog but will see what I can do.

D.P. · 27 Mar 2015 at 11:35

The issue is maiking any kind of money.

Best. Et, if you have some good photos, and I mean what other people think are good not you or your mum or your GF, then make a large framed print (10x15s and 20x30). Get these placed in local cafés and bars with a price tag (£200-300) cafe gets free art, you get advertising, you might get sales without having to do any work. Cafe willget soe thing like 20% of sales.

If you live in a touristy place then postcards can be sell well but won't generate much income.

Raymond Lin · 27 Mar 2015 at 12:14

Is there any profit to be made for a framed print at £30?

Even cheap £5 frame, a print from DSL, + postage + travel + tax. You are looking at like £10 profit. You are going to have to sell a hell of a lot to make it worthwhile.

john_s · 27 Mar 2015 at 13:46

juno_first said:
Being as I like b&w & have a laser printer that can churn them out quite cheaply I was thinking about trying this myself.

I wouldn't have thought a laser printer would turn out particularly good quality photo prints (the colour ones certainly don't!). If you're going to do it, at least turn out decent prints to sell.

juno_first · 28 Mar 2015 at 08:35

I've got a Dell c1760nw laser & it can churn out an A4 colour print in a couple of seconds & very good quality too, hardly distinguishable with an ink jet. Except an ink jet takes ages to print & uses up ink a lot faster than toner.

a1ex2001 · 28 Mar 2015 at 10:44

juno_first said:
I've got a Dell c1760nw laser & it can churn out an A4 colour print in a couple of seconds & very good quality too, hardly distinguishable with an ink jet. Except an ink jet takes ages to print & uses up ink a lot faster than toner.

I find it hard to believe that using proper photo cartridges and paper you can't see a massive difference if laser really was any good for prints the pro's would all be using it as the time and cost savings are potentially huge!

Remember your asking someone to pay upwards of thirty quid for a print a cheap laser image on a4 copier paper is not going to cut it and won't last!

D.P. · 28 Mar 2015 at 11:26

A cheap laser print certainly won't cut it, and if you think it will you probably shouldn't be doing this at all.

juno_first · 28 Mar 2015 at 18:05

The hardest bit about printing a photo on a modern day laser printer is finding heavy glossy paper. There is hardly any difference to ink prints cus at 640dpi there's only so much the eye can see, especially from a distance.
I've printed the same photo side by side & just end up realising what a mugs game ink jet printers are with their tiny cartridges.
I peinted at Kodak for years so know what a good print looks like.

These forums never change for some ppl.

Ev0 · 28 Mar 2015 at 18:35

I had thought about doing something similar with some of my dad's old shots (some here http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18640053).

Was thinking more limited run type stuff but haven't had the chance to look into any of it yet.

juno_first · 28 Mar 2015 at 19:19

Nice pics from that era. I'm sure there are ppl interested in that but it's finding them & pitching the work.
I suspect the key is presentation. As most b&w look good enlarged in a frame.

a1ex2001 · 28 Mar 2015 at 20:13

juno_first said:
The hardest bit about printing a photo on a modern day laser printer is finding heavy glossy paper. There is hardly any difference to ink prints cus at 640dpi there's only so much the eye can see, especially from a distance.
I've printed the same photo side by side & just end up realising what a mugs game ink jet printers are with their tiny cartridges.
I peinted at Kodak for years so know what a good print looks like.

These forums never change for some ppl.

Why do none of the commercial printer use laser then given the savings.
.

Amp34 · 28 Mar 2015 at 20:14

Ev0 said:
I had thought about doing something similar with some of my dad's old shots (some here http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18640053).

Was thinking more limited run type stuff but haven't had the chance to look into any of it yet.

If you go for hand printed using traditional techniques with a high quality frame you could probably market them at quite a high price. You'd just need to work out where to sell them.

juno_first · 28 Mar 2015 at 20:32

a1ex2001 said:
Why do none of the commercial printer use laser then given the savings.
.

Probably because inkjet is the only viable option over A4 whereas the fancy inkjet from tesco is designed to lure you in where after printing a dozen photos you need more ridiculously priced ink.
Whereas on my £100 laser printer I've printed dozens of photos & still on the half size toner that came with it.

Even if you can source cheaper ink I recon for home use the laser wins outright.