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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
printroom.com problems?
Jeff Frings, Photographer
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Milwaukee | WI | USA | Posted: 10:23 AM on 11.16.03 |
| ->> Anyone have problems with printroom.com pro accounts? I was just going to sign up for the pro account, but I have some questions about the security of their site. Anyone have any experience with them or this potential problem? |
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Jon Ramirez, Photographer
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Red Bank | NJ | usa | Posted: 1:15 PM on 11.16.03 |
| ->> Jeff, I recently just signed up for the pro service so I couldn't give you any real feed back yet. I recently spoke to a fellow S>S> who does a lot of volume work and is having a little problem with turnaround and check reembursement on a timely basis. Although he has used them for a while and has had no other problems. I will give you some feedback as my adventure with them continue. |
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Mike McLaughlin, Photographer
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Neptune City | NJ | USA | Posted: 1:29 PM on 11.16.03 |
->> I've been using them since September and have had no real problems with them. Any minor glitches they take care of pretty quickly. There were a couple of turnaround issues, but they were cleared up and taken care of immediately. I've only gotten one check so far, so can't help you there.
As for the security, what's the question? |
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Jeff Frings, Photographer
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Milwaukee | WI | USA | Posted: 4:14 PM on 11.16.03 |
| ->> I can email you guys about my security concerns, but I don't want to do it on a public message board. I just thought if anyone had trouble/concerns I had with security, you might know what I was getting at. |
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Rick Rickman, Photographer
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Laguna Niguel | CA | USA | Posted: 4:55 PM on 11.16.03 |
->> Jeff:
I've been using printroom for almost a year now and the service and the site is terrific. The print quality has been great and if there is any problem those guys get it handled quickly and efficiently. I have had no security problems. We have a couple of ventures with them and it's really been a good partnership.
Rick |
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TD Paulius, Photographer
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Orland Park | IL | USA | Posted: 5:16 PM on 11.16.03 |
| ->> Jeff: Shutterly is also a similar online venture, and its manager of business operations, Lance Dildine, is an SS member. They provide password protected galleries and fast turnaround time. I have just started using them and they have been very accommodating and one of my friends who needs to sign up at SS, has been doing 2-3K a month in gross sales, mostly from parents. Lance been very helpful in giving me personal help, walking me through the initial setup. You may consider it as an alternative to p-room. |
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Jeff Frings, Photographer
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Milwaukee | WI | USA | Posted: 7:16 PM on 11.16.03 |
->> Thanks guys,
I have talked to printroom today, and they are going to get back to me about my concerns. I will let you know how it turns out, and depending on what they tell me, more details about my problems. |
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Jim Fridenmaker, Photographer
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Portsmouth | OH | USA | Posted: 7:30 PM on 11.16.03 |
->> Jeff,
I signed up with printroom this football season because I didn't have time to reinvent the wheel and make my own shopping cart system.
Shutterfly offered a lot more space; printroom won because of the "Proof" watermark they put over the images and you can't print out images or right click and save to computer.
And then, from the archives, I found that shutterfly was a member here and for a time was offering unlimited storage for a year for sportsshooter.com members. That _may_ have swayed my decision had I remembered that. However, I feel that image protection is _very_ important!
I've had no issues with them so far.
Jim |
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Mike McLaughlin, Photographer
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Neptune City | NJ | USA | Posted: 7:46 PM on 11.16.03 |
| ->> I forgot about the right click thing. I've had a few people tell me that they tried to download pictures but weren't able to. Hooray for that! |
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Jim Fridenmaker, Photographer
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Portsmouth | OH | USA | Posted: 7:49 PM on 11.16.03 |
->> Jeff,
A couple of points to bring up. One, the upload process takes more "babysitting" than I'd like. There is a dedicated program for uploading but it requires the newer operating systems that I don't have.
Also, I could send in a CD for uploading at no charge (for pro members), but my competitors have photos up the same evening, so I must do the same to compete. (Let alone shipping CD and unsure how long it would take staff before photos are online.)
Printroom does have a Yahoo group (email discussion list) that's fairly active.
While it's on my mind, thought I'd point it out.
Jim |
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Phil Wever, Photographer
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Aurora | IL | USA | Posted: 9:37 PM on 11.16.03 |
->> Jim brings up a very good point here regarding "speed". This is a competitive biz (selling photos on-line) just like any other biz. The speed at which you can upload your images and make them available does / can put you up over your competition.
PSM (pro studio manager) is the printroom upload program. We have used both the Mac version and the PC version. We are totally a Mac place, with the exception of one PC that takes care of the printroom stuff. So that tell's you how bad the Mac PSM version is... They assure me that in Dec. a better version is coming out. The PC version is pretty cool, and it allows you to upload thumbnails and then full size images of the ordered images. It also fixes errors it encounters during the upload process. Even when / if a better Mac version comes out - we will probably continue to manage our images with printroom via PC.
The on-line sales part takes a lot more babysitting then I'm comfortable with - but seems to be a necessary evil.
My ideal on-line print sales would be pretty much a turn key operation. Upload the pix and collect the checks. From what I've experienced, heard / read from other photographers no lab is out there that is that smooth.
That said we are all going to be involved with growning pains as this type of business service grows and we get use to them as they do us.
Phil |
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David Rabian, Photographer
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Wilmington | DE | USA | Posted: 9:49 PM on 11.16.03 |
->> I've been using Printroom or a year and they couldn't be an easier service to use. I simply upload through the gallery pages themselves. I believe they offer a program for doing the uploads, but I've never used it.
Printroom's customer service is EXCELLENT (and I'm a customer service nit picker). For the couple of very minor issues that popped up over the last year, they were very quick to respond to my inquiries and willing to do whatever it took to ensure my customers were taken care of and happy.
I don't think you can beat that.
And if Rick Rickman is using them, I think that's another feather in Printroom's cap. Rick is as successful as he is because he is very diligent about all aspects of his buusiness. I don't think he's going to take any unecessary chances on the quality of his prints, etc. |
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Joe Brown, Photographer
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Woburn | MA | USA | Posted: 9:58 PM on 11.16.03 |
->> "My ideal on-line print sales would be pretty much a turn key operation. Upload the pix and collect the checks. From what I've experienced, heard / read from other photographers no lab is out there that is that smooth."
If I can, I would like to comment on that statement made earlier in this thread...
I use Photo Reflect, and my setup is just about as smooth as that... I upload, I get an email telling me I have an order, I log into the PR computer, do a quick edit and send them on their way to the printer who prints, packages and ships to my customers.
I am very happy with the service. And we will soon have a nice feature - a second level of zoom for the customers to review the proofs.
Joe Brown |
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Mike Pittman, Photographer
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Raleigh | NC | USA | Posted: 4:46 PM on 11.17.03 |
->> I used PrintRoom.com for about a month and gave up on it. The PSM was too slow for me, and updating at a later time was awful. Sending in CDs posed the same problem. I was willing to work with these limitations in the beginning.
The only customer that ever ordered successfully from PrintRoom.com ordered about $15 worth of prints. After two weeks they called me to ask where their prints were. Turns out that after I sent my event CD in, the event I'd created to match them to (you upload thumbnails only at first), was deleted. So, the images were deleted, and the order no longer matched any gallery on my site.
In those short two weeks I lost the client, and who knows how much $$$$. I never got my signup fee back, and haven't been able to get any emails or phone calls returned since. Needless to say, I don't recommend them.
I've been working with http://www.ezpix.us/ for a few months now, and have had absolutely no problems whatsoever. Prints are made & shipped w/in 48 hours, and all the clients I've had order prints have been happy. For anyone looking for a really vanilla system with few bells & whistles that just kinda works, I'd look into that. It's not the prettiest nor the most neatest, but it fills my one requirement: it works. |
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Ed J. Szalajeski, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Yarmouth | ME | USA | Posted: 7:17 PM on 11.17.03 |
->> I had a few problems, but as pointed out they work with you to solve them.
My major problem occured when many orders happened and their servers went down, or were moved so they went away.
I had one order not get sent, and a few appear in queue but never get printed.
Calls to the Pro Support solved them
Their Quality is excellent, I use them for my own prints, and proofing.
Ed Szalajeski |
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Jeff Frings, Photographer
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Milwaukee | WI | USA | Posted: 7:26 PM on 11.17.03 |
->> Like I said guys It was a security problem, and I was not sure about talking about it on a public message board.
But I can say that I did call and get timely calls back from multiple folks at printroom.com. They say they agree with my concerns and are changing some of their security procedures as soon as today or the next few days.
Just so you know the security problems weren't regarding security of pics, but security of personal info.
The problem I have now is I have been talking to shutterfly and they have offered me 6 gigs of storage space and at printroom 6 gigs of space would cost me a fortune. So which should I go with?
Thanks for all the help folks
Jeff |
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Matt Brown, Photographer
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Fullerton | CA | USA | Posted: 8:39 PM on 11.17.03 |
->> Jeff:
I've been using printroom for two years and it has been a good move for me. The print quality has been great.
The checks have always been on time, 15th of the month. |
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Rich Samuels, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Las Vegas | NV | USA | Posted: 9:11 PM on 11.17.03 |
->> Jeff - Shutterfly just started watermarking images a couple weeks back. I signed up for an account with them a couple months ago but stopped using them after realizing some of my photos were being stolen right off the preview page (guess some folks out there still don't care about quality). I just returned to them this week. Only problem I still have with Shutterfly is there still is no online sales reporting. I talked with Lance about this about a month ago and he says this is an issue they will soon resolve. Watermarking was priority one. He seems very willing and supportive of solving our problems with their service as soon as possible, though.
Print quality is excellent at Shutterfly. I was using DotPhoto during my leave from SFly, and can't say the same about their quality of prints.
I wasn't aware that Lance was an SS member. Think he still has that unlimited upload space available for us??? That be nice... |
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Dave Amorde, Photographer
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Lake Forest | CA | USA | Posted: 12:44 AM on 11.18.03 |
| ->> I'm having a hard time keeping up with which services are offered by which companies. Does Shutterfly offer on-premise printing and custom pricing? I know ImageEvent offers on-premise printing, but not custom pricing. Is PrintRoom the only reasonable choice for both? |
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DJ Werner, Photographer
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Beaufort | NC | USA | Posted: 8:26 AM on 11.18.03 |
->> TD- what is the secret to 2 to 3,000 a month- ??
what kind of volume is being posted-
what sports?
and how quickly are they posted?
what state /city is this in?
maybe I need to rev it up a bit- I'm lucky if I get 25 to 100.00 a month
been using printroom- for a few months- no problems-
just wondering - if I am logged in and uploading- can cleints still order or are they locked out?
I have gotten a few emails that say- ask the photographer-
one lady said she could not access the site- for a few days-
but then again all her emails from me - bounced back- from her system....
thanks dj |
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Tom Aellis, Photographer
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Marlboro | NJ | USA | Posted: 8:49 AM on 11.18.03 |
->> I've just joined printroom.com PRO and I find the following:
1. Uploading from an OSx platform is rough. I have to select each file seperately (20 or so at a time) and then upload.
2. Upload does not work with Safari Browser.
3. As of today, still can access my gallery as if I as a customer. i.e., http://www.printroom.com/pro/ona
4. Can not yet find where to price my packages, however I could build them.
5. Service is not 24 Hour.
I'll work with it for a while, I'm sure it's just a few minor adjustments on their and/or my part.
Otherwise, it's just what I needed. |
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DJ Werner, Photographer
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Beaufort | NC | USA | Posted: 9:08 AM on 11.18.03 |
->> Tom, I tried your link-
I can't get in either- email them I don't think your account setup took-
which is also why you probably can't find the priceing- it comes up when you set up a new gallery-/ and or log in-
their is a " button" for packages...
also look for global defaults- which has to do with pricing
DJ |
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Phil Wever, Photographer
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Aurora | IL | USA | Posted: 10:35 AM on 11.18.03 |
->> DJ
Volume = dollars. Not really, we have had images posted up from similar competitions and had thousands of hits to the images, and low dollar sales. While on the other hand we have had a small number of images posted (similar event type) and gotten great sales.
I wish I knew - what the difference was..
Also to answer someones question about customers seeing the images as you upload them. We upload the images and then publish the gallery or group. Until they are published they can't be accessed. Before we were doing it this way - we were getting hits and orders before an event was 100% uploaded.
Again this seems to work better with the PC PSM. |
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Tom Braid, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Edmonton | AB | Canada | Posted: 10:48 AM on 11.18.03 |
->> Does Printroom service Canada?....... or which company is doing a good service for those North of the 49th in Canada???
Cross boarder mailing can be really slow. |
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DJ Werner, Photographer
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Beaufort | NC | USA | Posted: 8:21 AM on 11.19.03 |
->> their is a user group for printroom pro members-
email them for the link to sign up-
they discuss a lot of the uploading issuses on that forum-
what kind of volume are you guys posting?
I am very low volume and don't run into too many problems- but the computer does freeze up a bit-but I thought it was this old computer on dailup- I never had a problem- using a fast system and high speed --
new equipment planned for the first of the year-
anyone selling the other products offersed the mouse pads and such.... |
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Tom Aellis, Photographer
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Marlboro | NJ | USA | Posted: 5:14 PM on 11.19.03 |
->> Mine works now and their response was Great.
I'm a happy camper.
Thanks
Tom |
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Wayne McAtee, Photographer, Assistant
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Hesperia | CA | usa | Posted: 10:04 PM on 11.19.03 |
| ->> Jeff I am new to this digital stuff but I set up printroom pro act and like the system. I did a test print and sell all went well I even got paid to buy my own work. I hope the IRS lets me write off the prints. |
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Daniel Nakamura, Photographer
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Richmond | IN | USA | Posted: 11:58 PM on 11.19.03 |
->> I'm a big fan of Shutterfly. I signed on with them about 6 months ago. Like Rich mentioned earlier, Shutterfly did not offer any sort of watermark protection until very recently. That was frustrating but now that they have it, I am very comfortable recommending their Pro Gallery solution to any photographers who are looking at getting involved in selling their images basically through a turn-key service. It all works so smoothly. When looking at Printroom's service the biggest thing that turned me off was that they didn't seem to offer any efficient way to view all images enlarged in one gallery. If you as a potential customer wanted to view a larger version of the photo you simply had to click on each image individually. With Shutterfly, all you have to do is click on "View as a Slideshow" and quickly go through 50 or 100 enlarged photos. Shutterfly is still working on a sales reporting tool in addition to offering the ability to create packages at discounted prices. These are very important offerings that I hope to see available to pro gallery owners very soon.
Obviously there are now a number of top competitors who offer very similar services. The best advice I can give is to provide facts about my own experiences and to say that you should compare print quality, commissions, service/support, and other specific offerings and make a decision that fits your business the best.
If anyone has any further questions about my experiences with Shutterfly I'd be happy to share them. |
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David Gonzales, Photographer
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Stanford | CA | USA | Posted: 2:17 AM on 11.20.03 |
->> I will put in my two cents for printroom. Parents that buy my prints find the system easy to order, they repeatedly buy prints after each game (which tells me quality must be pretty good), Printroom offers a great reporting system which tells me who is buying, what they're buying, and how much they're buying, and they're constantly trying to improve the system through feedback from the photographers that use them.
Remember, just because a photographer says he'll shoot a game for me for free, doesn't mean that I'll be satisfied with his take. You get what you pay for. |
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Ingelbert Lievaart II, Photographer
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London | ON | Canada | Posted: 3:52 AM on 11.20.03 |
| ->> I'm wondering too! How about such a service in Canada? Labs around here are terribly expensive and don't offer commercial services as freely as conventional labs. I checked out Shutterfly and there is no lab I can find in Canada offering similar services. I know it will hurt my sales if there will be US shipping and US$$$$ involved. |
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