flexible future
Niche markets offer growth for photo labs, and Dunns Imaging has concentrated
on bringing the schools photograhy process up to date with on-line ordering.
Richard Kilpatrick visited them to learn about Flex Schools.
W
ith a century of trading gether. It really is very well thought
and expansion behind out and flexible, with different
them, West Midlands products being offered to the client.
lab Dunns Imaging All of this is controlled by the
have the customer base and expe- photographer with prices as ne-
rience to survive most economic gotiated with Dunns. The backend
situations. A visit to look at their system is as easy to use as the
latest announced service, Flex front end, and offers additional
Schools, showed that innovation product types, the formats and
and control of the workflow are
still at the heart of the business
and should allow expansion (that
began with as one of the first
Kodak account holders) to continue
for a long time yet.
For the last couple of years
Dunns have considered their
options with regards to online
services carefully, learning from the
systems offered by other labs and
taking a careful approach involving
their existing customers, studying
what would provide the greatest
benefits to them and the market-
place as a whole. By not rushing
into the arena the core team
behind Flex have developed some-
thing in house which leverages
existing technologies to provide a
service that is probably unique in
the current market.
Online print ordering is not a
new product or service – in fact,
it’s become almost expected that ordering options to be customised,
any major lab is going to offer and pricing to be set. Impres-
it. With their existing system sively, the photographer’s costs and
becoming harder to maintain with profits are displayed in a clear and
multiple support requirements from simple system. It is arguably easier
different firms, the team at Dunns than selling on eBay or similar
embarked on an ambitious project The Flex Schools system, set up by the photographer (above) choosing sites, since as the photographer
to implement on-line ordering and products and prices, gives the parent a Buy Now system (top and above right) you do not need to handle any of
printing in a truly bespoke fashion. which previews their own photo in the form of each product. It will even the distribution or production –
Starting with their schools client create a simulated ceramic mug view. The parent order pages have controlled simply offer your client the image
base, what they have developed – access and the entire system can be embedded in your own website. (in the case of the schools system,
at least for now a unique service via personal ID codes, which are
– is far more significant than an adding an online presence and a direction that also benefits the distributed with the proofs) and
initial glance would demonstrate. ordering system for the photogra- photographer. The sensitive nature they can order whatever they want
Most systems have focused pher’s clients as well, whilst main- of combining schools photography easily and quickly.
on providing a means for the taining the accounts, payments and and “the internet” has lead to an Dunns have also elected to offer
photographer to print from their logistics without the photographer obfuscated reference system that website integration with the pack-
computer. Some companies have having to so much as touch a also unloads a lot of the work from age. For low setup costs you can
treated this as a way to sell their print. Naturally the schools market the photographer and requires have a basic website and domain
products, but ultimately it’s still is the ideal testing ground for this, implied parental approval before name which the Flex frontend
an online ordering system that and the new workflow benefits the image is visible online – even will be customised to match. If
provides a greater benefit to everyone, from the team at Dunns, then, it’s only visible to the parent, you have an existing presence
the operator than it does to the to the working photographer. not to a wider audience. that will be matched as closely as
photographer. Flex redresses the Societal and legal constraints The system is sophisticated possible. The costs are a fraction
balance somewhat by providing have shaped how the online system enough that parent’s orders can of the amounts you’d expect to
rapid access for the photographer works, with 21st century paranoia be grouped together so siblings in pay for managed hosting and the
purchasing Dunns’ products, and really steering the development in different schools can be grouped to- data integrity – all handled on
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