Walking through the front doors to PMA, your eyes and ears are immediately assaulted by the large, loud booths manned by companies such as Fuji, Kodak, HP and Samsung. Music blaring, models modeling and crowds, well, crowding.
While all those exhibits traditionally bring us fascinating technology every year, it's never bad to walk a bit deeper inside the side show, to the outer reaches, where the loud music from up front fades to a muted background level, the crowds thin out a bit and models disappear altogether.
What's often left is simply some wonderfully innovative products and services and the focus is squarely on profit potential for your business. We made the trek and were quite pleased with what we saw.
Doing Canvas Right
If you made your way straight back to the south end of the convention center your eyes undoubtedly caught the bright and bold canvas art hanging in the Your Photo On Canvas booth. Company president John Doe wanted to showcase “just how beautifully photos on canvas can be done.” Well, mission accomplished as their PMA booth displayed a wide range of images done in gallery wrap fashion, many of which resembled famous works of art.
The company describes itself as a producer of custom canvas prints using their innovative print-on-canvas processes, and they debuted their complete line of canvas print offerings and an aggressive retail partnership program designed to add profit for retailers. They added that their retail partnership program will be supported with in-store merchandising and quick online ordering processes for turnkey simplicity.
The company has developed state of the art technology and proprietary techniques in producing the final product. The YPOC team, as they explain, “is highly trained in the entire photo to canvas process” and every canvas picture is reviewed by highly skilled quality control experts and is hand-crafted. The end result is truly a stunning work of art produced, according to giclée standards. www.yourphotooncanvas.com
Picture Gift Bags – Why Not?
They are calling them “the ultimate gift accessory” and they may just be right. Horizon Worldwide Corporation launched a brand new gifting product line, Picture Gift Bags that feature customer photos printed directly onto the bag.
The Picture Gift Bags program features hundreds of templates with over 5,000 possible design combinations and an infinite number of possibilities when you create your own product from scratch. There is a design available for almost every occasion and theme including all major sports, weddings, anniversary, baby, birthday, congratulations, holiday, party themes, pets, create-your-own and many more. The bags are available in four convenient sizes consisting of small, medium, large and wine, which are sure to accommodate your gifting needs. “Picture Gift Bags is the ideal accessory to your next gift because Every Gift Needs a Bag,” the company explains.
Picture Gift Bags will be available through thousands of photo retailer Web sites. Customers can custom design their gift bags with prices that range from $6.49 for a small to $7.95 for a large plus shipping. www.horizonworldwide.com
Lensbaby Turn Six
If you happened to hear a chorus or two of “Happy Birthday,” you must have made it over to the Lensbaby booth. Lensbaby turned six on February 22 during PMA 2010, and in honor of the occasion, the company invited PMA attendees to come by their PMA booth to help them celebrate. Festivities included complimentary portrait photo sessions, cupcakes and the Lensbaby Turns 6 Birthday Giveaway extravaganza. It's always nice when someone throws a birthday party and you get the gifts.
The company also announced the addition of the new Fisheye Optic and Soft Focus Optic to the Lensbaby Optic Swap System. Each new optic is available for use with the Lensbaby Composer® and Muse®. In addition, the Soft Focus Optic is compatible with the Lensbaby Control Freak™. www.lensbaby.com
YesVideo
Over in the Tech Suites, YesVideo demo'd MemorySafe, a new service that provides YesVideo customers with a subscription-based archive service that enables consumers to view, share and preserve home movies and photos online. Among its features, MemorySafe has the unique capability to convert files to the medium du jour (think: Blu-ray), allowing memories to continually enter a new digital era. MemorySafe is currently available through retail partners Bartell Drugs, CVS/pharmacy and Walgreens, with the YesDVD service. www.yesvideo.com
Digital Photo Albums— A Moveable Feast
Digital frames are a great way to view images at home…but what if you want to show those photos to colleagues at work, at a friend's home, or view them in your backyard at the family's weekly BBQ? The solution is the digital photo album by TruView Digital, Inc. On the outside, the albums look like traditional leather albums complete with display window for a photo; but on the inside, there are “pages” of digital images to flip through. The custom-covered albums are available with single 7″ or 8″ dual LCD screens and feature a media organizer that holds all media formats. Its two-ring binder design also features 10 custom media pages that hold 32 memory cards, 4 CD/DVD disks, 16CF cards and 4 USB flash drives. The album can store more than 100,000 photos, is easy to use, and does not require a computer to load images. www.truviewdigital.com
Women are from Venus…
For women who want to look good no matter where they are—be it hiking, shopping or attending a gala event—jill-e designs has introduced a bevy of stylish backpacks and classy clutches to hold a variety of cameras, both big and small. Among the new designs are two female-friendly backpacks (sized to better suit a woman's dimensions) and three colorful clutches that will hold today's point-and-shoot cameras in a more fashionable manner, notes company partner, Jill Wight.
Wight presented a program for retailers titled: “Women are from Venus . . . So Why does Your Store Look like Mars?” during PMA. The program, she notes, is chock full of examples of how retailers can increase sales by making a few easy adjustments to better serve their female customers. For more information, e-mail info@jill-e.com.
Meteor DP20 4-in-1 Digital Photo Press
Don't you hate it when someone spills coffee all over the photo book you spent so much time and money creating? Thanks to the Meteor DP20, which prints, laminates, cuts and creases pages for books, this is no longer an issue. Though the unit is best suited for photo book production, it can also print calendars, scrapbooks, greeting cards and book covers, plus provide new business opportunities for retailers in the restaurant industry (menus, placemats, and place cards) and other venues that were once out of their domain.
The compact, four-color digital press uses a dry process and prints (in resolutions up to 1,800 dpi) and laminates in auto-duplex mode. The unit, which can output up to 10 books per hour (24 pages each, print to print), has other in-line finishing options, including horizontal and vertical cutting and creasing (for lay-flat books). The Meteor DP20 comes complete with templates, kiosk, software, crimper and stapler, works with any type of paper, and performs all functions in one pass. For more information, e-mail info@mgi-fr.com or visit www.mgi-fr.com.
Mini Cameras—for Spies, Moms and other Photo Enthusiasts
There are no small photos, only small cameras to capture big moments. Perhaps the tiniest of all is the Minox DCC5.1, a stylish little number that incorporates German engineering from the 1950s with today's digital technology, states the company. Though it has the look and feel of days gone by, this James Bond must-have boasts 5.1 megapixels; attachable viewfinder, Minoctar Lens; 2.0″ color display; rechargeable lithium-ionen battery; 128 MB internal memory and more. www.minox.com/usa
Printable Skins for Personal Electronic Devices
Design your own “skin” at home with iaPeel's Skin Maker, Windows-based software (Mac OS X version rolling out this month) and your photos. The designs can be printed using any inkjet printer set on its highest quality setting. The skins, which are made of a photo-gloss vinyl, are applied to personal electronic devices using easy-align tabs. Like a chameleon, users can easily change their skin whenever the mood strikes without fear of adhesive residue. Skins are available for all generations of the iPod, Nano, Classic iTouch, iPhone and laptops. Skins will be available for Blackberries, Droids and other phones in two to six months. www.iapeel.com
International Supplies Packs 'Em In
At the International Supplies booth, you had the opportunity to kill a few birds with one visit as the company does the distribution work for a number of imaging manufacturers. One of those is Liquid Image, makers of some nifty underwater and weatherproof cameras that are built right into masks and goggles. The demo at the booth afforded you the chance to experience the video capability of the units and try them on. www.liquidimageco.com
Digital 1 to 1 was yet another International Supplies tenant that produces short, concise educational videos on photography for retailers to introduce to their customers that are, “simply looking to become better photographers.” As they explain, “Digital 1 to 1 is about teaching everyone how to think and see the world through the medium of digital photography. To get them thinking like a professional photographer, even if it is not a life choice.” www.digital1to1.com
Wiebetech Storage Solution
The new RTX200-QR portable desktop storage enclosure was designed with photographers in mind and features preconfigured RAID 5 to ensure data integrity, high-speed quad interface (FireWire 400/800, USB 2.0 or eSATA); TrayFreeP2; drive bays for easy drive installation and removal; ultra-quiet fans; and a rugged handle for portability. The RTX200-QR suits photographers needing a back up and archiving solution to provide security of precious data.
The company recently launched a photo contest to attract commercial photographers with massive digital storage needs. Photo enthusiasts are encouraged to submit photos at www.wiebetech.com/photo_contest/index.php in the following categories: fashion, sports, weddings, travel and portraits. The grand prize winner will receive an RTX400-QR portable desktop storage and runners up will receive the new ToughTech Secure mini-Q pocket drive.
Just for Fun!
Who doesn't want a life-size photo cut-out of themselves (Standees available in seven sizes starting at $19.99)? Or, how about a mint tin or pot of lip gloss adorned with you and your fiancé's radiant faces (think wedding favors)? A key chain? Coasters? CD Case? Candy bars? Compact mirror? Well, ShinDigz has all these products and more available by the piece or in quantities (with wholesale prices). For more information and to view more product, visit www.stumpsparty.com and shindigz.com.
Quick Draw—Be the Fastest Photographer in Town
The Skytop Camera Holster is the perfect gift for the photographer that has everything. The leather holsters feature detachable lids, camera retention straps, lens cases, filter wallets, accessory pouches, 60″ four-way shoulder straps, and lens hood straps—plus, lots of deals and incentives for retailers.
Skytop Trading provides dealers with 50 percent gross margin, retail packaging, low inventory (two SKUs fit 80 percent of all DSLR cameras), and a nationwide magazine advertising program. And, Skytop Trading can drop-ship product direct to your customers. For more information, contact SkytopTrading at skytoptrading@aol.com; call 970-577-0892 or visit www.cameraholster.com.
