“The 4×6 is not completely dead,” says Brian Segnit, Manager, Digital Photo and Book Printing Marketing of the Worldwide Graphic Communications Industry, Xerox Corporation. “It’s still a pretty viable opportunity. The problem with being in the 4×6 business is the price and volume are coming down, which means revenue and profits are coming down. So really, who wants to get into that business? What you want to do,” states Segnit, “is add (products/services) that will bring some excitement, revenue and profit to your business. We’re calling it the genre of photo publishing/photo specialty, and it includes cards, books, and calendars. The book existed even before Gutenberg invented the press,” continues Segnit, “and it enabled people to tell their stories.” Unfortunately, he notes, in the last several hundred years or so, if you wanted to be published, you needed a literary agent and a publisher, not to mention a great piece of work. But thanks to today’s technology, the average Joe and Jane can tell their own stories using personal images and text.”
Xerox is placing a big stack of chips on the photo book and photo publishing markets taking off in the near future. “Retailers can create/sell books not only to consumers but for business-to-business use and other niche publishing opportunities. Books can be created as artist portfolios, a builder’s record of homes he’s built, and/or the local Little League’s winning season.”
Segnit added that it’s also important to note that few consumers will make just one book. “That’s really the secret. They’re like Lay’s potato chips—you can’t make just one. (Consumers) will make a book of the family vacation, family reunion, etc., and everyone in the family will want one. The book is here to stay.”
Thanks to digital imaging (and consumers taking more pictures), lots of good images exist, and that’s why, Segnit believes, the photo book and photo card are going to do well. “I have some customers that produce 80 to 100,000 photo cards for the holiday season on their small Xerox devices.” They’re printing personal cards for consumers to send to friends and family, and also cards to promote their businesses. Everybody who comes in a retail location is a consumer but also a business person. Hence, the opportunity for photo publishing goes well beyond the average consumer. “And,” says Segnit, “it will happen wherever it’s convenient. If you’re a retailer, that’s good news. Since only 3-4 percent of consumers have actually made a book, there’s plenty of opportunity for growth.”
For continued success in today’s photo industry, retailers need the right technology, advises Segnit. “You want something with a fast track feature on it where people can quickly and easily create a product. But also, you’ll have people that will want to do more than that, so you’ll need a system that’s robust enough so you can edit, tweak and create unique pieces.”
Segnit sees this category actually, “bringing back the art and craft of photography to retailers—and the masses—simply by changing the paper cassette and the substrate.” With a photo book, he adds, the consumer can choose different papers (linen, pearl, translucent) and different sizes. “That’s exciting to consumers. Next, you have to think about how you finish your product—different book sizes, unique bindings/cases, dust jackets, etc.” Finally, says Segnit, you have to think about how to grow your business.
As for jumping into this business, Segnit claims it’s best to, “Go deep and narrow and create a unique focus, like art books or an infinity site where people in Harley Davidson clubs around the country come to you because you have special templates, or a Harley leather book jacket, etc. Specialize in certain genres; that’s the way to go.
“Instead of this (the decline of the 4×6) being bad news in a bad time for people in the traditional photo industry this is a really exciting time. It’s for those people who have the ingenuity to think about how they’re going to get the pictures, print the pictures, and finish the pictures. But more importantly, how they’re going to grow their business.”
