SPECIALFEATURES> MINILABS

The people behind the machinesWho are your key people for minilab distribution and servicing, and what do they offer?We get the lowdown from those working for you in this competitive business.

When you make as big an investment as adigital minilab, you want to make sure youare aligned with the right supplier for yourafter-sales and training needs. And as thelab environment changes, there is a varietyyou can choose from. The culture ischanging, with some smaller playersforming alliances with larger entities andsome choosing to stay small anddifferentiate in the market. We took a lookat three companies going places - PhotoDirect, Kodak/ Noritsu and IndependentPhotographic Supplies.

A profitable partnershipTracy Lints, formerly of AgfaPhoto, is salesdirector of Photo Direct, which recentlytook over the distribution of KIS minilabs

from elab digital. The former distributornow concentrates just on the installation,training and service of labs.

"We are responsible for delivery of thatservice but outsource that to them. Theyare technicians, so it's a good partnership,"says Lints.

"We can offer the e-station kiosk with a

choice of software [KIS, Lucidiom, Axiomor d-scope]. Agfa had to offer Agfahardware so now it's good to be able tooffer lots of other options."

Lints s~s the partnership works well asPhoto Direct is able to offer elab digital'spost-installation help.

"It's no good putting in a machine ifthere's no-one there after that to help you,"she says. "elab comes in, sets up andfollows up - that's what they do. Becausewe don't have our own stores it's up to usto make sure stores are successful."

She can see so many opportunities forretailers in the current environment. "Theindustry has heaps more legs and there areso many more people expecting to do morewith their images. That's why we need tokeep educating customers [on theiroptions]. Now we can do things like putimages onto calendars and postcards,jewellery and magnets - anything. Thesefeatures are not necessarily found inminilab equipment but in peripheral gearthat can hang off it. You can get imagesfrom mobile phones and put them oncoffee cups - consumers just need tobecome aware."

She says retailers need to focus on addingto the 6x4. "There's no point only using 10per cent of the market's potential."

PHOTO & IMAGING NEWS IMAY 2006

"In terms of selling brand newmachines the market's smaller,

so the bigger investment isin software." .

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For her the biggest investment you canmake is time. "There's new stuff they cando [but] you have to keep up-to-date withsoftware. Regarding minilabs, there's noneed for hundreds of thousands ininvestment anymore - unless you were oneof the ones who got in early and need toupgrade. Most of the investment is time,and marketing."

Lints views the teen market as a majorgrowth area, with most enjoying thenovelty of taking pictures of each other ontheir camera phones. "They need to knowthat when they are walking past a retailerthey can go in and get their pictures printedor stick them onto things."

She says most of the industry should havegone digital already, but for those with five-year-old machines an upgrade might betimely due to the need for greater capacity.

"In terms of selling brand new machinesthe market's smaller, so the biggerinvestment is in software. You've got to godigital - film is not dead but there's less togo round. It's about kiosks, online printingand software solutions that will be the bulkof the investment required."

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Ian McEliister is the IPS Queenslandrepresentative.

Lints believes photo retailers arecurrently very fortunate due to the recentdrop in price of paper and chemistry. "Itcame down 40 to 50 per cent last October.If retailers are not under contract they're ina good position," she explains. "The end ofAgfa kicked it off - no-one was undercontract. Other contractors were left to

scramble to pick up that business. WhenKonica Minolta exited there was anotherfeeding frenzy for distributors andwholesalers. Contracts are really not ahappening thing. You don't need acontract. So wholesalers and distributors'emphasis has been on price."

Now, she says, you have the flexibility tochoose who you want to go with, and themargins are actually better in terms of retailprices per print. Up till now, Australianpaper and chemistry prices have been highcompared to the rest of the world.

"It was a neat and tidy market - now it'snot," Lints continues. "We might see moredownward pressure as people jockey for aposition.Now that Konicaand Agfa are out- as key paper and chemistry suppliers -there is an evening up of demand and supply.The best advice is to make hay while the sunshines if you're not locked in a contract. Ex-Agfa people are lucky in that sense."

KoCiak and Noritsu

Kodak has helped enhance the Noritsuminilab range while launching the newG4 kiosks.

Kodak's consumer output businessdevelopment manager Shane Kealley saysthe company has nearly 75,000 of thekiosks at retail locations worldwide, linkedup to the Noritsu labs.

"We have shown that repeat printingfrom digital images rises by over 70 percent when consumers see how easy it is toget digital photos at retail," he says.

Kodak and Noritsu together offer the

QSS32, 33 and 34 Series of digitalminilabs, with output options such as largeformat prints, add-on services and thepossibility of instant prints via connectivityto Kodak Picture Kiosks G4.

Kodak has more than 1200 installed

Noritsu machines throughout its retailnetwork in Australia and New Zealand. Thecompany acts as the agent for Noritsu KokiPty. Ltd in Australia and New Zealand.

"Digital picture printing at retail is thefastest growing printing solution in theindustry," says Kealley. "

Connectivity between Kodak PictureKiosks and digital minilabs meansconsumers can preview and place theirorder at the station, then print to theretailer's onsite digital lab system.

All these Noritsu labs provide anetworking option, including thePrint@Kodak web service.

"It's pointless having a great lab at theback of the store it you have no presence toconvey the services on offer," he continues."The key to driving profitable digital printgrowth is creating a comprehensive front-of-store customer digital environment. Youneed the opportunity to showcase yourdigital services."

The independent era

Minilab paper and chemistry supplierIndependent Photographic Supplies Pty Ltd(IPS)is currently celebrating its fourth yearof trading. The company has experiencedsignificant growth in recent months, whichhas seen the closure of Agfafoto and thewithdrawal of Konica Minolta from thephoto channel.

The company has sought to differentiatewith quality products, service, and goodvalue pricing.

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"[This] has been our platform since ourbeginning and has proved to be a winningformula for us," said IPS managingdirector Stuart Holmes.

"These closures have shown the marketthat exclusive supply contracts and serviceagreements with large multinationals canbe worthless.

"The backbone of Australianphotographic industry is the 'mum anddad' indep~ndent businesses. It is our viewthat major suppliers have turned theirbacks on these people and used the profitsmade from them over the years to fundtheir push into the photo channel with theconsumer electronic companies today."

Establishing itself as the independentminilab support specialist, IPS has threetechnical sales agents in NSW withadditional representation in every state.

Rob Voysey is the sales and technicaldirector, Mark Sotheran, David Duboisand Doug Plant work on NSW operations,Ian McEllister covers Queensland, DavidTracy on Victoria, James Tovo - SouthAustralia, John Mullavey - Tasmania andJohn Hayes - Western Australia.

Voysey said many labs had converted toTura paper and CPAC chemistry, and IPShad worked on demonstrating vast qualityimprovements and passing on cost savings asa result of optimising chemical performancein customers' labs.

In addition to the field support team, IPShas two technicians working on a daily basisto provide technical QC help. "Ourcustomers' control strips are professionallyassessed with graphs plotted and emailedback to the lab. Phone follow-up calls keepthe lab operators informed of emergingtrends and ensure technical recommendations

are communicated simply and clearly."

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WHYWAIT?Thereis no time likenowto godigital.

. Usingthe latestSony LCD/LEDtechnology,

. It installs easier, has higher resolution& prints up to 500 6"x4"'s per hour.

.It prints up to 12"x18" without the needfor additional lenses in the photo labprinter.

I .Also it is a more attractive design.

.You will be able to print from all digitalI media,printto print,restoration,

download from email, dust and scratchremoval plus a whole host of otherexciting possibilities.

TheC-Carriersuits mostNoritsu,Konicaand Fuji models.

JCarriers are now installed in NSW,Victoria & Queensland.

>MINILABS

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One of Kodak's latest kiosks.

Holmes added that it was possible toimprove print quality output while savingthe lab further time and money byimproving process consistency.

"We are truly seeing the dawn of a newera where the 'independent way' is the newand viable alternative."

ContactTerryGoddardat 0411492251.Byfax on 02 95662622,

by emailatsales@goddard.ccOr ordervia our websiteat www.goddard.cc

> MINILABS

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Supplies Pty Ltd

The Photo-Lab Paper&Chemical Specialists

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22 IPHOTO & IMAGING NEWS IMAY 2006

The brains of printing

Many of you will have already made anexpensive investment in a new lab to meetthe growing demand for digital prints. Butif you converted early, you might now belooking at an upgrade. If you haven't yetmade the shift, there are also plenty ofshort-term or inexpensive solutions to helpyou switch your analogue machinery todigital. Follow our guide to who's doingwhat, as well as a minilab price and featurecomparison.

APE offers optionsAustralian Photographic Engineering(APE) has tWo models in the Doli digitalminilab range.

The 1210 has all the digital printerfunctions in a compact, easy-to-usepackage for around $70,000. Its low costand small size allows an easy entry into themarket. The larger 2300 has a speed of 780prints per hour and a maximum print sizeof 12x18 inches. Its versatility means theentrepreneur can diversify their services.

APE supplies products to suit any brand ofminilab, including the low-cost Mitsubishipaper which can be used on digital andanalogue machinery. It is available in sizesfrom 4" to 50" in gloss and lustre. Russellchemistry can be used in all minilabs andprolabs and can usually be added withoutthe need to remove existing chemicals.

Australian Photographic EngineeringTel: 1300727906

The Doli 2300

Another new FrontierThe new Frontier 500 digital minilab isFujifilm's most compact system, with afootprint of 1.34m2.

It delivers up to 800 4R (4x6) prints perhour and is designed as a dedicated systemfor digital prints, including a standaloneprinter processor (LP5000). But it may alsobe expanded to accommodate film with theaddition of a matched tabletop scanner(SP500).

-IThe Frontier 500

The Frontier 500 also incorporatesImage Intelligence - an integrated systemof digital image processing softwaretechnologies - for better prints.

The LP5000 includes 8" paper handlingfor print sizes up to 8x12", a footprint ofjust 0.84m" CP49E cartridge chemistryand a dry-to-dry time of 87 seconds.

The optional scanner includes a tabletopunit with a footprint of just over 0.5m2. Itaccommodates APS, 135 rolls, 135 stripand 135 mounted films and includes anautomated 135 carrier with optionalmanual carriers for 135 and APS films.

The Frontier 500 is available in Australia

from May.Fujifilm Tel: 1800226 355

Web: www.fujifilm.com.au

Print solution rivals labsSony's standalone 'lab' can produce printsin 13 seconds. Known as Snap Lab, the unitcombines a Sony dye-sublimation printerwith an eight-inch colour LCD withGraphical User Interface.

Weighing 11 kilograms and with afootprint of only 275x380mm, it hasprofessional and business applications forparties and events, weddings, hospitality,legal, education and rental.

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