Diversification into Photos on Canvas, Running Rampant

Well, a recession begins, a year of time passes, and diversification is in the air as prevalent as the oxygen we breathe. Within our industry, it means that giclee printing companies are executing upon new strategies that leverage from their fine art giclee printing equipment, technology, and expertise. It seems like every day we are hearing about another giclee printing services firm expanding (from a services standpoint) from giclee art reproduction into the photos on canvas market.

The photos on canvas market is primarily online driven. Professional canvas prints are made available to professional photographers to reproduce their own work and for the general consumer looking to put photos to canvas (such as an amateur family photo). This market is now seeing an influx of competition from the traditional fine art giclee reproduction crowd.

The bottom line is that the "kill or be killed" mentality is hot and heavy these days. Let's face it -most of these companies aren't entering into the canvas photo market in order to expand - they are entering so that their giclee printing business in general will survive the economic storm. Such an entry will come with significant risk. In order to compete, these giclee printing companies must invest in a new and complex ecommerce website with special capabilities (and its going to cost a lot to compete with those who have been offerring photos on canvas for years). But having a website doesnt get you anywhere if nobody knows about it. Therefore, the canvas photo business model will require a substantial investment in consistent, aggressive advertising in order to drive traffic to the website. The advertising will compete amongst many others and better be compelling if any canvas prints are going to move. Furthermore, the current recession means that the market is shrinking.

Many entrepreneurs in general fall into the trap of thinking that its going to be easy to switch from one business model to another and suddenly its all going to make sense. To summarize - it aint going to be easy.

What are the major advantages with solvent based printers in comparison to water based printers?

Speed and Efficiency: Solvent printers (such as the Roland XJ640, and the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000) are generally faster than water based (such as the Epson Stylus Pro 9880, Epson Stylus Pro 9800, Epson 7800, and Epson 4800) at producing giclee prints. Usually 25-50% more efficient. Solvent printing is geared more for production and is an industrial type machine. Commercial printer businesses predominately use solvent printing machines. These printers are designed to print wide rolls like 64" and above. They also have wider in diameter and higher in weight media capacity.
Cost of Ownership and Consumables: Solvent printing technology is designed every day, long-term high volume production runs. Their built to last, total workhorses! I know of companies that have the same machines in production for over 8 years and going. You will not have to upgrade or update your hardware every few years like most aqueous technology. Solvent inks cost 50-75% LESS than water based ink, this is a substantial savings considering it’s the most expensive consumable you purchase! Inkjet media like canvas and paper is one more cost savings component. This varies of course with the quality of the substrate, and if there’s an inkjet coating layer applied to the base. Solvent ink does not require an inkjet receptive coating, but it will indefinitely improve the output.
No Coating Saves Time and Money: there’s no top-coating (giclee varnish or giclee coating) necessary with so is the most important advantage solvent inks have over water based! You print onto canvas, you wrap your canvas prints, you ship the canvas prints. There’s no post treatment with top-coating canvas prints. What does this mean to you? You eliminate a huge step of production, perhaps the longest step if you include lamination dry time for every canvas print. And of course the waste incurred on canvas with coating rejects, or the trial and error with rolling and spraying liquid laminates. Your turnaround will be cut by 50% opposed to water based printing on canvas. Then there’s the actual cost of the coating chemistry itself, ranges from $30-$110 per container. Finally, the cost of labor(s) that are needed to apply the canvas varnish. This is a big expense that varies from shop to shop but without a doubt adds up over time.

The Year of Change: Aqueous to Solvent?

The day has come! The evolution of digital inkjet printing continues and has progressed with solvent in the art and photography market place. In the fine art market, the technological change from (aqueous) water to solvent based machines began at crawl speed around November 2008. Traditionally solvent ink-jet printers like Mimaki, HP, Seiko, Mutoh and Roland were adopted by sign shops to produce indoor-outdoor signage, banners, vehicle wraps and fleet graphics. Solvent technology gave businesses the needed durability for outdoor signage, added print speed and reduction in manufacturing costs. Now, virtually odorless solvent printers, such as the Roland XJ 570 and the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000 are being used to produce high-end canvas prints at a quality level never thought. Breathing Color has been diligently testing for the last 12 months various solvent printing equipment and media. We recognized that with the right machine, inkjet media and icc profiles solvent printers are ready to cross over into our home turf. We've prepared ourselves through ample R&D to lead our customers in the right direction. Happy to say that were on the forefront, with a line of inkjet canvas and fine art paper to compliment. Did you see the Roland XJ540 at our booth at the Imaging USA trade show last week? The printer was spitting out fine art photographic prints that were jaw-dropping observers. They were the best giclee prints in the building. Remember here, remember now, Giclee printing will never be the same.

Imaging USA & the Current Economic Environment

We just finished exhibiting at the Imaging USA Trade Show in Phoenix Arizona, its always interesting to feel the real pulse of the economy at these shows. The response to our new products, especially our newest fine art paper Optica One, was fantastic.

But there's no debate that the economy has taken a toll on business in general. Usual exhibitors that you would have found at the show in the past simply werent there at all. Attendance appeared to be down, and people were actively using the show to look for jobs. The companies who attended and exhibited clearly represented themselves as the strongest and healthiest companies out there. Photographers and other attendees who offer giclee printing or canvas prints appreciated our presence and we believe it makes a big difference. Anyone printing with the usual Epson Stylus Pro 9800, Epson Stylus Pro 7800, Epson Stylus Pro 4800, etc. or a Canon ipf9000, ipf9100, or an hp designjet z3100 certainly made out like bandits with us. Hec, discovering higher quality products at a better price is exactly what trade shows are for.

We officially launched our PureG products, the world's first line of certified archival solvent media. Printing on the 64" Roland XJ-540 solvent printer, our optical brightener free Urth™ solvent canvas prints were mind blowing. Customers couldnt believe they actually saw a solvent printer at a photography show (another innovative move in typical Breathing Color fashion ;) - but the quality we were able to demonstrate on the spot was awe inspiring.

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