Print Packaging

How do you package and present prints to your clients? Which vendor do you purchase your materials from? Thanks!

My print orders are all sent via courier. Clear plastic ziplock bags, inside a rigid cardboard envelope, inside a courier bag.

Albums are the product my customers mostly get, they're presented in a much nicer way.

Albums aren't a big part of my business, for some reason. I include them in a few packages, but the clients are never that excited by them for whatever reason. It depends a lot on the client to me, actually. I will bring some clients their photos in a nice hard backed, leather "executive-type" folder, or if my clients are more practical, younger and a bit more "funky" i will give them a tote bag with my logo on it. It's nice to see them around town!

My prints are done at a local lab, i pick them up by hand when they are done.

PMCphotography wrote in post #8579667
Albums aren't a big part of my business, for some reason. I include them in a few packages, but the clients are never that excited by them for whatever reason. It depends a lot on the client to me, actually. I will bring some clients their photos in a nice hard backed, leather "executive-type" folder, or if my clients are more practical, younger and a bit more "funky" i will give them a tote bag with my logo on it. It's nice to see them around town!

My prints are done at a local lab, i pick them up by hand when they are done.

What kind of albums do you use?

I usually use photobook australia.

They are great quality and the prices are okay, but what my clients usually are more excited about is a DVD slideshow of their photos. They like the multimedia component of that, i've been told. I always put the music they walked down the aisle to and their first dance, things like that. They usually go for around 20 minutes to half an hour. I always do a custom DVD insert as well. I like to send one to any parents/grandparents who couldn't attend as well.

Don't get me wrong, they like the album, but get much more excited about the DVD slideshow, so i focus most of my energy putting that together.

You should try using real albums instead of books, they're MUCH more impressive. Albums Australia, Jorgenson (sen?), Queensberry etc.

I've recently taken DVDs out of my main package, I really don't like making them so now I charge $500. For that, i'll do it. Just. You should be careful of using copyrighted music, unless you have a license you could get done for it.

Oh i've used Albums Australia as well. I used to have several different options of albums and books to choose from but the enthusiasm just wasn't there so i took them out.

That's odd, I find people really like my albums, and like the slide shows but not as much as albums. My favourite sample album's 18x12" covered in red leather, it's pretty cool!

mmishkin, I looked everywhere for a professional way to present my photos. I thought I'd never find a wholesaler! I bought a case of 8x10 boxes and a case of 16x20. Then, I ordered a case of black tissue paper and a roll of gold stretch string to give it a little "touch of class". Links here....

Boxes
Tissue paper
Gold stretch string

These materials cost me about $130, but it's enough to last me through about $4000 worth of sales. Not a bad investment.

tim wrote in post #8580076
You should try using real albums instead of books, they're MUCH more impressive. Albums Australia, Jorgenson (sen?), Queensberry etc.

I've recently taken DVDs out of my main package, I really don't like making them so now I charge $500. For that, i'll do it. Just. You should be careful of using copyrighted music, unless you have a license you could get done for it.

Tim, I checked out the references you mentioned and they indeed look extremely nice. Do you have an idea of the price range? I mean, is it in the 200-300$ range?

Any European equivalent?

WHCC Premium packaging for me. It's $7ish for each orders on prints up to 8x10 (maybe a little bigger).

All the photos are sorted and put into plastic sleeves, packed in a chocolate colored box with tissue paper a ribbon around it. All I do is take it out of the shipping box, check the order, and deliver it.

I use Mpix for my prints and they offer "boutique packaging" for a fairly modest cost. Come the day I do this full time, I may design my own labeled packaging, but this is fine for now.

I use mpix too. It works fine for now.

Krapo wrote in post #9759245
Tim, I checked out the references you mentioned and they indeed look extremely nice. Do you have an idea of the price range? I mean, is it in the 200-300$ range?

Any European equivalent?

I'm sorry but I don't post cost price information to public forums. But I will say that you won't get anything for $300.

tim wrote in post #9762194
I'm sorry but I don't post cost price information to public forums. But I will say that you won't get anything for $300.

I very well understand that you prefer to keep your cost base private.

But if those companies charge much more than $300 (USD, I meant), I assume that the final product must be charged at least $1K to the couples (adding up the photographer's work and margin).

While I agree the result is superb, I tend to understand PMCphotography's comment above about the fact that it was rarely selected.
Some high-end customers can definitely afford it, but it's probably not the majority.