Sinfonia Photo, formerly KG Digital, is the marketing company for Kanematsu and Shinko—two of the oldest, most respected names in professional photo printing in Japan. Shinko changed its name to KG in 2011, but Kanematsu, though well known among resellers, was not as familiar to many end users.
According to Andrew Peterson, senior manager of Sales & Marketing for Sinfonia, the goal of the rebranding strategy is to create a stronger, more unified brand definition in the market.
“In other words,” says Peterson, “Kanematsu partnered with Shinko and the company rebranded itself to become Sinfonia Photo. As a result, KG Digital is a master distributor for Sinfonia, and we now go by the name of Sinfonia Photo.com. We pride ourselves as being backed by the strength and stability of Kanematsu Corporation of Japan. The 120-year-old company has a network of companies in more than 50 cities, with worldwide sales in excess of $12 billion. Indeed, Kanematsu USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Kanematsu Corp., was founded in 1910, predating most American corporations in the broad imaging field.
“What makes Sinfonia special is simple and straightforward,” continues Peterson. “The compact printers we offer deliver great output for end users ranging from stores, restaurants, clubs, entertainment centers, event photographers and DJs. They’re ultrareliable with no issues. They’re extremely well made and durable, and they offer impressive printing speeds. In short, they provide an ideal overall experience and profit potential for end users serving the ‘instant gratification’ market where prints of family, friends and personal experiences are essentially an emotional sale.
“All our printers are dye-sub units,” notes Peterson, “and our most popular is the Sinfonia CS2. It’s a compact, 6-inch photo printer that turns out 4×6- to 6×8-inch prints. Aside from its portable size and high quality, its notable success is due to its adoption by photo ID systems, kiosks and photo booths. It also delivers two 2×6-inch photo strips with three to four images per strip, which people at events really like. Events photographers like its high capacity and speed. It turns out 300 4×6 prints per roll of ribbon/paper, and it’s moderately priced, selling in the $600–$700 range. As for the time factor, it produces prints in less than 10 seconds each, which is great for, say, an amusement park that can present a photo to parents by the time their kids get off the roller coaster.
“Our next most popular unit is the Sinfonia CE1 8-inch printer that makes dye-sub prints up to 8×10 and 8×12 inches,” observes Peterson. “A paper-and-ribbon roll for this unit can turn out 120 8x10s or 100 8x12s [there are separate kits for each].
“However, we’ve found the market for the CS2 is expanding at a faster rate than that of the CE1. Why? Because there are simply more printout opportunities in photo booths, passport printing and theme park events, and these favor smaller print sizes. The CS2 has a price advantage, too. It’s been upgraded to print the popular 5×7-inch size as well as 6x8s, and it’s faster and more compact.
“Our outlook for 2016 is very positive,” concludes Peterson. “Business is expanding and there are new printing applications coming down the line all the time, as more people become their own photographers and want to increase their printing profit margins. This increased competition among end users will put more of these products in people’s hands. Our desktop solutions provide a professional output that matches photo studios and other locations, and they’re meant to last. We’re determined to get that message out even more effectively going forward.” sinfoniaphoto.com
