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The Cost of Printing at Home

Lesson 28 from: Portrait Startup

Sue Bryce

The Cost of Printing at Home

Lesson 28 from: Portrait Startup

Sue Bryce

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Lesson Info

28. The Cost of Printing at Home

Next Lesson: Digital Sales

Lesson Info

The Cost of Printing at Home

I wanted to show you this 'cause it's really really important. Two years ago when I built the reveal wall, first thing I did was got online and ordered the Canon Pro 1. So this is a $999 printer. If you go to ... I looked at B&H and all the biggies, Adorama, they do $250 dial-back rebate on this printer, so you can actually get it for 750 or 749. Basically I got it, and the most hilarious thing happened. I bought paper, I set it up, you know, I read the manual, I didn't read the manual, nobody reads the manual. I'm a creative ... Who reads the manual? I printed these images. Look how bad they are. I hated it so much, I was like, "What a waste of $1000. "I spent $1000 on this printer and they look like bad ..." There's no close up, but I'm trying to take a close up photograph so I can blog about it, 'cause this will crack you up. I promptly kicked the printer, left it on the floor in my office, and promptly ignored it, and started outsourcing back to the lab again. Here's the funny ...

thing, I was talking to somebody and I was like, "Oh yeah, I got the Pro 1, "I need to spend more money on a printer." And he was like, "Why? "The Pro 1 is really good." And I said, "No, it's not. "It's like bad inkject, "like Kinkos does a better copy than that, come on. "That's horrendous." And he's like, "Did you download all the printer profiles?" And I was like, (laughs) "Yeah." And he was like, "Did you get the right paper profiles?" And I said, "Paper profiles? What?" So yes, he came to my studio and he showed me how to do it, and then he got me all the right paper, and I tried everything from hahnemuhle bamboo to all the Canon paper that matched the printer, and last things that are coming out of my printer look like this, and it's blowing my mind. I cried when I saw that. And I'll tell you something, I cried not because, as you know I'm an emotional passionate woman, I cried because there is nothing more beautiful in the world than seeing your work come out on paper, and I don't just mean as a photographer. People cry when they see their images. It's like, it's being made by you. I just want to show you this, and break this down. So basically, that printer is $ and you can get a kick back from it. If you can, bonus $250. This paper, I went through every paper until I found this one, and this is a Canon paper, because the paper that works best with the printer you buy is usually the same brand of the paper as the printer, 'cause they have the best profiles for it. I went through all the paper, hehnemuhle, I did finite paper, I did the rag, and they're beautiful. They drink ink, and they're gorgeous, and yes. But, this was luster. $35 for 50 sheets. $35 for 50 sheets, and it prints two 7x10s. So if I'm printing a reveal wall, 10 sheets. So 10 sheets, 70 cents a sheet. Okay, two images, 35 cents an image. The ink for it costs $335, that's the expensive part, and Tatyana, one of our mentors, just posted in (mumbled), a great blog on which printers uses how much ink, and the Pro 1 is actually one of the most cost effective. So you're looking at, for the big printers, even the big Epson printers, the big 7900s, the really big big ones, around $2.70 for a 20X24 inch or a 24x24, so that's 2x2 feet square. That's extraordinary value. Now, why would you do that? It saves you money, and it's fast, and you can print it yourself. Now, I've never, I've used .... In Australia I used the IDG, in America I've used White House, I've used Bay Photo. They're great, but if you're ready and this is something you want to do, this is really cost effective, and I'm addicted to it. I can't even tell you right now, that just makes me feel incredible when I'm doing it, and I just love watching it. I've taught my assistant how to do it. She loves printing, everyone loves watching them come out of the printer. It has an entirely different vibe, and I feel like it's an extraordinary way to sell. So the breakdown sales-wise for me is huge, and it works out to be $2 a print, and I get two prints off of each print, and it's 100 years quality inkjet, they say. Who knows? We won't be alive long enough to know. Question from from Kyanne Sue just to clarify, is this printer that you're using just for the reveal wall, or are these the images that people take home, and that you're selling as well? They take home the reveal wall. So the idea is that you print them, and you finish them, and then they come in for their viewing, and then they take it with them. Right then and there. So the images are done, printed in matte. They get put into a box, they get gift wrapped. They give you their credit card, you swipe it, and they walk out that hour. That is a now generation, old style printing. So we're doing old style printing, with a modern reveal.

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Ratings and Reviews

Sandra Sal
 

How glad I am that I have purchased this course! Sue is just wonderful woman, photographer, business person and life coach. This course is so informative, inspiring, educating and just AMAZING!! Simply a must have! Don't even think "should I get it" just buy it and you will be blown away! I loved every second of it and will keep re watching it many times more! Thank you to Sue, wonderful mentours and Creative Live!!

Laura Captain Photography
 

As a person that is new to portrait photography and to starting a portrait business, this class has been extremely valuable to me and well worth my time. It is also very helpful to hear from the mentors. I have a lot of respect for Sue, her work and her wisdom. She is genuine, has a passion for her work and has a wealth of information to share. I believe this class will actually allow a person to achieve their goals and build a business. I now feel more knowledgeable and more confident about pursuing a photography business. Thanks so much Sue and thanks to CreativeLive for providing wonderful online education.

Janice S.
 

i just finished watching this workshop. though i'd seen sue's name on the list of creative live workshops, this is the first one i've done. to me, she is effectively partnering life coaching with photography education. which is awesome. between being an ER nurse for almost 20 years, as well as arriving at my late 40s not unscathed, i can relate to much of what sue has said and would like to think that i'm in a better position to tackle the business of business ownership than i would have been 20 or 30 years ago. the other thing i noticed was hints of rhonda byrne. this may or may not actually be the case, but it seems like it. the power of positive thinking essentially. i loved the whole thing. though i'm not really close to implementing the business practices taught here, i wanted to watch the whole thing before moving on to her glamour photography workshop. i wanted to understand what i would be moving toward as i go through my technical education. i believe i will be adding 28 days to my class list too. thank you sue!

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