It's Mother's Day soon and I saw an advert on TV this evening that I didn't quite believe. I've checked it out and no, it's not a joke. Here it is ....
A sweets company is offering to print a photo or a message for Mum on confectionery. The treats in question I think used to be called Smarties and perhaps have been re-introduced as M&Ms. But yes you can have a photo scanned and printed (using edible black ink) onto little sweets. I found it hard to believe but there it is.
If you're stuck for an inspired gift for Mum on Mother's Day and Mum isn't on a diet you can get all the details here - mymms.co.uk
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Sunday, March 9, 2014
You've Been Framed?
I had a print made. Then I put it in frame and impressed myself. Why? How?
Well as a Zenfolio user I got an offer from one of their print partners that was brilliant, less to get 10x8 prints than the cost of a small print in Boots, so I thought why not? I have recently taken a couple of night shots that looked pretty good on-screen so I sent those away to be printed. I know its blowing my own trumpet but I was pretty pleased with the results. Like most (now digital) photographers, I don't often see my more recent images in print.
We had a couple of frames left over from something so I took one of them and inserted a print, a night shot of St Paul's Cathedral in London. As i looked at it I struggled to remember the last time I saw a photo I've taken actually framed, in a decent photo frame. Must be years. I put it in our living room and then last night, having forgotten it was there, I went into the room and caught sight of it. I was impressed, although maybe I shouldn't say so again.
So, what has this got to do with a photo scanning service?
Have you thought of doing that with one of the photo we've scanned for you? One of the reasons we scan at 600 dpi is to give you enough photo data to be able to crop, edit and enlarge a print. So why not give it a go? OK, we're going against the modern grain but why not impress yourself with your own photo abilities with a simple print and frame combination.
Well as a Zenfolio user I got an offer from one of their print partners that was brilliant, less to get 10x8 prints than the cost of a small print in Boots, so I thought why not? I have recently taken a couple of night shots that looked pretty good on-screen so I sent those away to be printed. I know its blowing my own trumpet but I was pretty pleased with the results. Like most (now digital) photographers, I don't often see my more recent images in print.
We had a couple of frames left over from something so I took one of them and inserted a print, a night shot of St Paul's Cathedral in London. As i looked at it I struggled to remember the last time I saw a photo I've taken actually framed, in a decent photo frame. Must be years. I put it in our living room and then last night, having forgotten it was there, I went into the room and caught sight of it. I was impressed, although maybe I shouldn't say so again.
So, what has this got to do with a photo scanning service?
Have you thought of doing that with one of the photo we've scanned for you? One of the reasons we scan at 600 dpi is to give you enough photo data to be able to crop, edit and enlarge a print. So why not give it a go? OK, we're going against the modern grain but why not impress yourself with your own photo abilities with a simple print and frame combination.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
What's Next?
So, you've got your scans back. What's next after photo scanning?
Here's a simple suggestion which can transform your images. Learn how to crop your photos.
What's cropping? It's simply a process of removing anything in the frame that distracts from what the image is, or ought to be. Just as we used to trim photos with a pair of scissors today's photo editing software offers ways of removing parts of the original that really don't help.
How? Take a look around the Photo / Edit and you'll see a Crop command. In Apple's program Aperture you simply click on the crop icon then click where in the image you want the new frame border to start, then drag it across the image until you're happy with the result. Let go of the cursor and click Enter. Just takes a few seconds and you have a more dramatic picture.
Any rules? Well, it helps if you have an understanding of compositional guidelines but beyond that the only rule is there are no rules. Just don't be afraid to go in tight, remember the saying "if your photos aren't good enough, you're not close enough". We scan at 600 dpi so you'll have enough detail left in the image to get decent resolution after even a severe crop, so don't be afraid to go for it.
Here's a simple suggestion which can transform your images. Learn how to crop your photos.
What's cropping? It's simply a process of removing anything in the frame that distracts from what the image is, or ought to be. Just as we used to trim photos with a pair of scissors today's photo editing software offers ways of removing parts of the original that really don't help.
How? Take a look around the Photo / Edit and you'll see a Crop command. In Apple's program Aperture you simply click on the crop icon then click where in the image you want the new frame border to start, then drag it across the image until you're happy with the result. Let go of the cursor and click Enter. Just takes a few seconds and you have a more dramatic picture.
Any rules? Well, it helps if you have an understanding of compositional guidelines but beyond that the only rule is there are no rules. Just don't be afraid to go in tight, remember the saying "if your photos aren't good enough, you're not close enough". We scan at 600 dpi so you'll have enough detail left in the image to get decent resolution after even a severe crop, so don't be afraid to go for it.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Video Cameras?
I'm glad I don't manufacture or sell video cameras. Actually I'm glad I don't depend on any hardware, the lesson I learnt years ago in the mainframe computer industry is just how hard it is to compete in the global hardware market. Of course IBM sold its once all conquering PC business to the Chinese company Lenovo and just this last week it is said Sony have found a buyer for their laptop product line. Not so long ago I saw Sony as the Microsoft based alternative to Apple, with well designed hardware almost as attractive as the Mac product line.
Then, yesterday, I saw the 30th anniversary video on the Apple website. The subject matter is a glossy, colourful and (in fashion terms) exciting catwalk show. Lots of trendy people, lots of swishing clothes. The subject matter didn't interest me, what impressed me is that the whole movie was shot on a collection of iPhones. Believe me the video lacks nothing, it is broadcast quality with lots of clever tricks. As the movie develops you get snippets of the way iPhones were used - clamped to standard tripods, hoisted on clever poles, mounted in pairs and groups, pointed and fired simultaneously. With great results.
Some years ago I was party to producing a business plan for a small video business - weddings, local business promos. The cost of decent cameras was the main item. A few years ago a passable video camera was £1500. How many iPhones would you get for that? Four, five? then there was the cost of video editing software, and training.
Do you think in a few years time we'll be thinking about buying dedicated video cameras? Or perhaps using multiple iPhones to work alongside or maybe even replace the now standard video recorder? Yes, today I'm glad I'm about to fire up the computers and start work on our photo scanning service.
Then, yesterday, I saw the 30th anniversary video on the Apple website. The subject matter is a glossy, colourful and (in fashion terms) exciting catwalk show. Lots of trendy people, lots of swishing clothes. The subject matter didn't interest me, what impressed me is that the whole movie was shot on a collection of iPhones. Believe me the video lacks nothing, it is broadcast quality with lots of clever tricks. As the movie develops you get snippets of the way iPhones were used - clamped to standard tripods, hoisted on clever poles, mounted in pairs and groups, pointed and fired simultaneously. With great results.
Some years ago I was party to producing a business plan for a small video business - weddings, local business promos. The cost of decent cameras was the main item. A few years ago a passable video camera was £1500. How many iPhones would you get for that? Four, five? then there was the cost of video editing software, and training.
Do you think in a few years time we'll be thinking about buying dedicated video cameras? Or perhaps using multiple iPhones to work alongside or maybe even replace the now standard video recorder? Yes, today I'm glad I'm about to fire up the computers and start work on our photo scanning service.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Photo Scanning - MFP
I don't know anybody who scans more photos, slides and negatives than we do - particularly across Nikon, Kodak and Epson scanners. So I follow other peoples comments on photo scanning hardware with particular interest, most often via various blog posts. The photo scanning topics vary with several common themes recurring in posts. There are the "how tos" (scan, improve colour, crop, rotate, email, share and backup online) alongside several reviews and recommendations of hardware and software.
Over the last few days several posts have popped up with the theme "don't scan photos on an MFP device". Really? If you're not familiar with the abbreviation MFP stands for multi function print, those combined units that will print, fax and scan documents and prints. Given that you can buy one in my local supermarket for around £50 the quality of each functional unit isn't going to be as good as a dedicated printer or a dedicated photo or document scanner. But does that mean you should never, ever think of using an MFP unit to scan photos? Of course not, thanks to the help of one of my neighbours I checked scan quality on an Epson unit. At 300 dpi the scans of a decent print were more than acceptable. Hike the quality setting and scan images fell away, but modest results were achieved at lower resolution.
Are MFPs a photo scanning solution? If your needs are modest, and you only have a few photos to scan I think they could be. But they suffer from chronic slowness, as does any flatbed scanner. It's a one-by-one process so it will take a long time if your archive comprises hundreds of photos. Certainly you'll get a better result if you increase the quality of scanner you use but I would certainly not say you should "never" use an MFP to scan photos.
Over the last few days several posts have popped up with the theme "don't scan photos on an MFP device". Really? If you're not familiar with the abbreviation MFP stands for multi function print, those combined units that will print, fax and scan documents and prints. Given that you can buy one in my local supermarket for around £50 the quality of each functional unit isn't going to be as good as a dedicated printer or a dedicated photo or document scanner. But does that mean you should never, ever think of using an MFP unit to scan photos? Of course not, thanks to the help of one of my neighbours I checked scan quality on an Epson unit. At 300 dpi the scans of a decent print were more than acceptable. Hike the quality setting and scan images fell away, but modest results were achieved at lower resolution.
Are MFPs a photo scanning solution? If your needs are modest, and you only have a few photos to scan I think they could be. But they suffer from chronic slowness, as does any flatbed scanner. It's a one-by-one process so it will take a long time if your archive comprises hundreds of photos. Certainly you'll get a better result if you increase the quality of scanner you use but I would certainly not say you should "never" use an MFP to scan photos.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Small Business Saturday Brentwood
We are a small business, in a couple of days it will be Saturday, we are based in Brentwood, Essex; so what is happening at the weekend? Well it's Small Business Saturday.
What is Small Business Saturday? It's an initiative to get shoppers to think of using their local suppliers rather than the bigger national names, the obvious suppliers who support their efforts with massive advertising campaigns. American Express have been supporting the campaign with full page newspaper adverts and TV coverage too. Their printed advert talks about the butcher, the baker and the vintage dress maker. Well we're none of those although there are several in Brentwood along with the cluster of TOWIE shops and beauty parlours.
As a buyer we try to think local, for obvious reasons, but it's hard to sustain a truly local buying programme. This week we've bought technology devices (mainly USB hard drives and a USB hub) which we've got from Maplins in the High Street. OK, maybe not what the campaign had in mind but it highlights a difficulty of the campaign in that we aren't left with many truly local suppliers, certainly in retail, here in Brentwood. Sure we use the local post office but we've also engaged a local book-keeper and a local handyman for a bit of site maintenance. The Small Business Saturday has certainly helped us to "think local".
What can we offer you? Well if you decide to use us for photo scanning (assuming you're in Brentwood, Shenfield, Ongar, Billericay, Hutton, Kelvedon Hatch, Pilgrims Hatch or anywhere within striking distance) we'll collect and return your photos free. And more - if you place an order on Saturday we'll give you a 20% discount.
What if you live outside the Brentwood area? If you mail your photos to arrive here on Saturday, or if you post your parcel on Saturday, then we will return your photos free. Yes, free postage for Saturday's orders. And more - for orders of over 1,000 photos we'll also give you a 20% discount. That's it - photo scanning and Small Business Saturday in Brentwood.
What is Small Business Saturday? It's an initiative to get shoppers to think of using their local suppliers rather than the bigger national names, the obvious suppliers who support their efforts with massive advertising campaigns. American Express have been supporting the campaign with full page newspaper adverts and TV coverage too. Their printed advert talks about the butcher, the baker and the vintage dress maker. Well we're none of those although there are several in Brentwood along with the cluster of TOWIE shops and beauty parlours.
As a buyer we try to think local, for obvious reasons, but it's hard to sustain a truly local buying programme. This week we've bought technology devices (mainly USB hard drives and a USB hub) which we've got from Maplins in the High Street. OK, maybe not what the campaign had in mind but it highlights a difficulty of the campaign in that we aren't left with many truly local suppliers, certainly in retail, here in Brentwood. Sure we use the local post office but we've also engaged a local book-keeper and a local handyman for a bit of site maintenance. The Small Business Saturday has certainly helped us to "think local".
What can we offer you? Well if you decide to use us for photo scanning (assuming you're in Brentwood, Shenfield, Ongar, Billericay, Hutton, Kelvedon Hatch, Pilgrims Hatch or anywhere within striking distance) we'll collect and return your photos free. And more - if you place an order on Saturday we'll give you a 20% discount.
What if you live outside the Brentwood area? If you mail your photos to arrive here on Saturday, or if you post your parcel on Saturday, then we will return your photos free. Yes, free postage for Saturday's orders. And more - for orders of over 1,000 photos we'll also give you a 20% discount. That's it - photo scanning and Small Business Saturday in Brentwood.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Christmas Gifts via Apple Mac computers, iPad and iPhone
Just got this link from Apple, how to use standard software to create great photo based products for Christmas gifts. Shows what can be done, some help in the "how-to" field.
All with that lovely Apple look and feel.
All with that lovely Apple look and feel.
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