Bob Critser, owner of Digital Sports Photography in the small town of Herkimer, N.Y., is a self-described “technology freak” who recently acquired the latest photo printing technology to help boost and streamline his sports photography print sales.
He’s also particular about color consistency and image fidelity. And, he doesn’t have time to fix inconsistent output or finicky printers. That’s why the acquisition of an Epson SureLab D3000 Single Roll Printer from LexJet, coupled with KODAK PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Paper, Lustre DL / 255g has been such a boon to his business.
“I’m taking sports photos with a $16,000 camera, and it’s killer stuff. I create templates with color borders for the schools, Little League, Pop Warner, and other team photos, and when I print them out with the SureLab and the Kodak paper every one of them is the same color blue or burgundy. I can’t deal with inconsistent color and get an orange that prints a burnt orange, for instance,” says Critser. “When I got sample prints from a company with the SureLab, the color was dead-on, whether it was a bright green border or a photo with a blue screen background. As soon as I saw the sample prints I knew I needed the printer.”
Moreover, Critser says the printer is super-fast, allowing him to deliver a variety of print sizes quickly to his clientele.
“I set up the prints in Lightroom and use it to send out all the team photos to the printer, with only five minutes for the 8x10s and maybe five to seven minutes to do the smaller prints,” he says. “And with the Kodak paper we use with the printer it’s nice because you can touch it. We bag the prints, but even when you handle the prints you don’t leave marks.”
Besides the durable, high-quality imaging surface the Kodak paper provides, Critser says the Kodak mark on the paper gives his clients confidence in the print. It’s subtle and subconscious, but the brand carries weight.
“Everyone knows Kodak. For me, to have that on the back of a print makes a big difference. People like the quality, bottom line,” says Critser.
