An overview - our 3 basic workflow concepts:
- Print-Ready
- Display Only
- Self-fulfillment
Before you dive into getting started, we suggest you become familiar with the basics of each workflow option and give some advance thought as to which one is best for you. (Keeping in mind, that because of the flexibility of our interface, you can have hybrid combinations of all 3 within your gallery structure - even within the same gallery for the same photos!)
1. Print Ready:
This is what most photographers are familiar with. With Print-ready, you upload a digital image file, ready-to-go. A customer purchases a print, and that same file is used to make the print.
Other than storage and bandwidth issues, there are 2 other major challenges with print-ready files:
- The file has to be ready-to-go upon being ordered. All color-corrections and other image modifications need to have been done. When you shoot large amounts of photos, this means a lot of time spent prepping and uploading each image - whether it sells or not! And...
- Cropping also becomes an issue. With other gallery services, the image would be cropped online by the customer or left to the lab to be cropped, and in either case, the photographer loses control of the final image.
At Shutterbug Storefront, we do not offer online cropping by the customer, and we normally do not recommend you leave the cropping to the lab.
Additionally, we only recommend that you offer "Print-ready" status for pre-determined, set crop ratios. For example: if you only upload a standard image file of an aspect ratio 1.5 - as most DSLRs do - you might consider then offering only 4x6, 8x12, 12x18, 16x24, etc. if you only upload a print-ready files. That way they match that identical crop/aspect ratio and cropping does not become an issue. However, limiting your offerings in such a manner can be somewhat limiting.
2. Display Only:
"Display Only" workflow is the optimal workflow for photographers who want to minimize their time spent on managing their gallery, while still maintaining control of their final images.
Display only means you upload 1 image file for each image offered. That file is resized to show a thumbnail and photo-sized displays in the gallery. The final, full-resolution (optimized) file for printing is NOT stored for printing.
Upon receiving an order, the photographer receives a notification email, indicating which images have been ordered. The photographer then does a final image correction and a final crop, based on the print size ordered. A link in the notification email directs you to an upload page with complete instructions.
The advantages of "Display Only" are:
- You don't have do a final prep to every file prior to uploading. You only spend time "tweaking" those images that actually get ordered.
- You maintain complete control over the cropping.
- Speed. You don't initially have to upload full-res. files to be displayed at the time your gallery is being displayed. Your files upload in 1/5th to 1/10th the time of full sized files.
- Control. You have a chance to review every order for possible problems prior to going to the printer.
3. Self-fulfillment:
Shutterbug Storefront offers a photographer the option of displaying their images, using the convenience of Shutterbug Storefront's order-processing, yet fulfilling the product orders from their own resources.
The photographer can choose to offer other image products that our own Pro-lab does not offer. Additionally, these products can also be listed along with regular print products offered through our pro lab. (In other words, it is not "all or nothing!") The photographer receives notice of an order, then simply fulfills that order on their own.
