There are numerous reasons why consumers print—and don’t print—the images they take. Preserving memories, of course, notes Eric Kintz, VP of Marketing, Web Print Services & Software, HP, is the main reason. “The other is personal expression,” he says. “I think through new developments—combining digital technology and prints—consumers can really express themselves in new ways, via photo books, scrapbooking, etc.”
“When you look at the world of film photography,” adds Rowan Lawson, WorldWide Kiosk Director, Kodak, “it was all about being a record keeper and sharer and being better connected with family and friends. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the ability to share in more powerful ways. Instead of throwing a 4”x6” print in the mail to friends or sending an e-mail, (consumers) can make books and albums very quickly that have a much bigger impact.”
Dimitrios Delias, Director of Marketing Research, PMA, says, “When we ask consumers what they do with the prints they make, the top answer is they give them to a family member or friend. The second reason is to make an album they can enjoy themselves or share with someone else.” Consumers also print, notes Delias, to frame and/or store images. “About 1/3 of people that print from digital cameras do so to store/back up, etc. (Printing is) becoming a segmented market rather than a homogeneous market like it used to be.”
Who’s Printing, Who’s Not
According to recent data, about three photos of every ten taken make it to print. “It’s interesting because, in the old days of film, you shot a roll and got 24 prints,” explains Joellyn Gray, Marketing Director, Photo Imaging Group and Strategic Analysis, Fujifilm U.S.A., “and we as an industry did a good job of selling double prints (consumers received 48 prints, maybe ten of which they wanted). So today consumers take 48 pictures and print only 10 of them. We really shouldn’t be surprised by the numbers; instead, we have to find more ways for them to want and use prints.”
“About 25% of consumers print on some kind of regular schedule (according to data from InfoTrends). Seventeen percent print on a weekly basis and about 8% choose either a monthly or quarterly schedule,” states Gray, “About 23% printed when someone asked for a photo (gifts). And another 19% print after there’s been a big photo-taking occasion like a graduation or anniversary. Nine percent say they do it eventually, six percent when their memory card is full and 14% never print while 3% is classified as ‘other.’”
Turns out, consumers still prefer to print at retail as opposed to printing at home. Some reasons for this, notes Gray, is the quality of the image, the convenience of the price and convenience of going to retail. “That doesn’t mean only going to a kiosk or the counter,” adds Gray. “It also means ordering online and picking up at retail. Understanding (the consumer’s need for) convenience has really directed Fuji to help create multiple pathways for consumers. We not only have kiosks, but we also have wonderful online engines to send those images to retail.”
In addition, Fuji’s Get the Picture Mobile enables consumers to place an order from a handset. “We should be thinking more about (camera phones) because lots of people are taking pictures with them,” continues Gray. “There are three factors why we don’t see a lot of printing happening. One is that the camera phones themselves don’t have high resolution. But that’s changing,” states Gray. “In the next year and a half we’re going to see more people with high quality camera phones because the number of megapixels has increased. Another reason is, (carriers) haven’t found a way to monetize it yet, so it’s not important to them. But it will become important to consumers because they’re taking pictures they care about. Approximately 40% of consumers say they’ve taken a photo (with a camera phone) they’d like to print.” Gray believes there will be more pressure on carriers to both push and improve the product.
Creativity Sells
Motivating consumers to print may be as simple as reminding people to print, suggests Gray. “It’s not necessarily top of mind for them.” Plus, competition for products such as calendars and posters are coming from retailers such as Kinkos and Office Max, so retailers have to be savvy. “Put up a sample,” says Gray. “If people see that calendar, they’ll buy it. Twenty three percent of people print for gifts,” she reiterates, “and there are so many ways consumers can make unique gifts. According to Iconoculture, consumers have a desire to be more creative, and the new technology gives them that ability. When they actually take an image and modify it somehow—making it uniquely their own—they are more inclined to print it or put it on some kind of merchandise and share it. So there’s an opportunity for multiples in terms of sales.”
According to Patrick Chen, Product Manager, Epson, “There is a high demand for printing 12”x12” scrapbook pages or landscape panoramic photographs amongst scrapbookers, photography enthusiasts and advanced amateurs. Retailers may want to consider offering tips (i.e., digital scrapbooking classes) and a variety of media for scrapbook projects that can be created using templates/designs. Epson has even set up a Web site dubbed the CreativeZone (www.epsoncreativezone.com) that caters to this crowd. Retailers could also consider having a wide-format printer in stores to print posters or panoramic prints for customers.” “In addition,” adds Steve Semos, Product Manager, Epson, “by selling several desktop printers or all-in-ones, retailers can help consumers achieve the need for instant gratification and enable them to conveniently print digital photos from home.”
Although photo books, cards, and puzzles aren’t new to the industry, they’re still somewhat new to consumers, who may think they’re not skilled enough to create such items. “Many consumers still think creating books and other products will be difficult,” explains HP’s Kintz. “There’s a psychological barrier that it’s too complex.” HP is working with Meijer (a leading retailer in Michigan and neighboring states), which is using its products and solutions to help break down those barriers. “One of the programs we launched is a contest among store employees to create posters, calendars, etc., with promo posters in the store that say ‘Look what I did!’” The posters serve double duty—showcasing the product and telling consumers it’s easy to do.
“There’s a huge ‘wow’ effect when they see what they can do with the pictures. Time and time again,” says Kintz, “we see print usage exploding through new creative categories.” HP has also partnered with Disney to launch Hanna Montana and Gwen Stephanie “in concert” books that allow consumers to incorporate their pictures into the books. “It’s these creative aspects of digital that are just starting to merge,” says Kintz. “We’re literally at the beginning of that revolution as far as what can be done with print leveraging. The more we can show people what they can do, the more this industry will benefit.”
Fujifilm has also launched a few new products to help motivate consumers. One is www.yourstamps.com where consumers can either create their own postage stamps or buy licensed Charlie Brown Peanuts stamps, which match greeting card templates that Fuji has made available to retailers. “We are uniquely tied to retailers with this,” says Gray. “It’s set up so the sale takes place through the retailer who makes a margin on the sale.”
“At Kodak, we sweat the details,” states Lawson. The company provides a huge array of printing solutions ranging from the small entry-level GS kiosk to high-end solutions. What’s really important for retailers is they buy the right solutions for their needs. You can invest a lot of capital in this business and not have a lot of payback, so it’s really important you pay attention to the total cost of operations. That’s how we structure all our equipment—making sure the retailer understands that total cost of operations and what they get with our systems, which are all about ease-of-use and powerful solutions.”
Smarter, More Creative Industry
Though digital imaging has greatly changed the way consumers utilize photography, the industry is doing a good job of capitalizing on those changes. HP’s Kintz says, “People are printing more and will continue to print more, but the way they’ll go about printing is changing. It will still be 4”x6” prints to preserve memories; but there will be more leveraging digital imaging to create new products that allow them to express themselves and wow their friends and family. ‘Mom’ will play a major role in this,” he notes. “Digital started with ‘dad’ (cameras and gadgets), but the customer that’s really making prints relevant is ‘mom’ who’s preserving memories and creating products for herself. That’s where retailers play a key role, because they see ‘mom’ all the time.”
Bill Ferguson of Hokanson Camera definitely sees an increase in consumer printing. “(Digital imaging) has been a real boom for the camera stores—we’re printing more pictures than ever and camera sales have never been stronger for us,” states Ferguson. “Our print volume is higher than it was prior to digital. We’ve made the capital investments in equipment to do that. We have about four kiosks in the store and there’s almost always somebody using them. We’ve also put in Epson Wide Format printers and the new Xerox Phaser for calendars, books, etc.; and every single one of them has proven to be a good decision.
“It’s the same as it’s always been with cameras,” concludes Ferguson. “If you can’t sell some batteries and a bag you’re not going to make any money on it. But you’ve got to get them back in to print. So we’ve incorporated coupons and hooked up with LifePics, which I find to be a terrific organization for online ordering. Every morning I come in to 8-10 orders waiting to be printed. It’s a nice way to start the day.” yy
