Here's the deal: I reevaluate business at the end of every year to see where I'm wasting time & money. For me, a BIG waste is in self-fullfilling orders. I don't have a studio & I service a 60 mile radius from my home, which means I do a lot of mailing. Packing orders & getting to the post office/UPS store is very time consuming and draining. Sometimes, I find that I unexpectedly didn't get enough postage included to cover the actual expense. Then there's the "human error" factor: me screwing up an order when I send it in to the lab & leaving out one little 5x7 or something. UGH! And packaging, while fun, is a pain in the butt to shop for & store.

SO, I want a turnkey order fullfillment. I'd really like to stay with my lab (ProDPI) & they do have arrangements with digiproofs, but I'm still waiting to get word on how they package orders. While I love executive drop shipping, I'm not sure it's within my budget to use for every order (it adds up really quickly).

I'm also researching Miller's web hosting plans, but their gallery seems a bit confusing.

Any recommendations? I've browsed zenfolio, collages (a bit high for what I need) digiprints, imagequix, exposure manager...but I'd like to hear more on the galleries and the prints from these companies from someone who's "been there, done that."

If you want turnkey & don't like the high end prices of collages, pictage is probably too pricey for you as well, right?

I'd check out eventpix since they have partnerships with lots of labs, like collages. I don't know what their fees are, though.

To be honest, all the negativity on Pictage has scared me away rather than the price alone. I'm still researching Collages a bit more--it's just that I would rather keep monthly expenses in the $50 range if possible.

Thanks for the info, Carey! I'll look at eventpix--forgot about them.

I had previously used ZenFolio, and was disappointed, at the time, with the fact that I couldn't set my own prices to order from their labs. Since they've changed that, I will probably look into it again because I was pleased with the overall ease of use and that sort of thing.


....Looking at it again, I'm a bit disappointed that it's geared toward pros but still only offers two options for labs. Boo. It's not really that great if you want to use another lab. I can't tell if you can hide the lab choice from customers either (I wouldn't want them to know, straight up, which lab was being ordered from)....

I'm currently going through a trial run with one of my favorite customers with Zenfolio, and the whole thing has left us both a bit disappointed. I love the way Zenfolio looks, and I thought that navigation and ordering was fairly straightforward. I also thought that the fact that the full sized files are backed up on their servers was great. We can always use an extra back up. :-) However my customer was frustrated that she had to register to be able to store a "collection" in order to select out her favorite poses. She also had trouble understanding that I had two different choices for ordering (I had the one for gift-type items, and Mpix for the prints).

I was also a bit disappointed in the limitations selecting the items I could choose from Mpix. I know there are more things you can get, but perhaps they were just too difficult to make available through the Zenfolio cart. I know I can add custom items, but that wasn't something I was ready to do for a trial run. She hasn't finished her order yet, so I don't know how the final cart and checkout worked out for her. I did also have my own family play around with it, and they pretty much said it tended to take a lot of work to figure it all out. I guess I need to remember that my customers are busy moms who don't have the time to sit down and read through help files and FAQs to make something work.

In comparison, I've also used ImageQuix. I haven't used the order fulfillment there, so I can't comment on how that works. But for proofing, it was great. This same customer had no troubles using the interface. She likes being able to preview favorites side by side. I like the ability for a customer to preview in Black and White or Sepia tones. (Although, if they want that, I prefer to use my own conversions.) It is also very easy for them to email their favorites to you.The pricing on Zenfolio had me hesitant... It's $100 for the year (although I only paid $80 when they first introduced it), and then they also take 12% off of your profit (or is it the total? I'm not sure) for fulfilling the orders. That includes payment processing. To receive your payment, they will mail a check to you minus $3 for the check processing.

Imagequix (at least the proofing) is based on the number of images you upload. You buy the credits ahead of time (the more you buy, the less they are) and then when you upload the photos you activate the account with the credits. I do believe with the order fullfillment there is a charge for the payment processing. I'm not sure on the details, but I think it's something like 12% of the total for processing plus 3% for the credit card. They will mail a check every two weeks (as long as your balance is above a certain amount) with no processing fee. (Again, double check me. I'm not 100% sure.)

So... overall, I'm disappointed with Zenfolio. I've paid my year, so may just use it as a very nice (expensive) gallery site, maybe also host personal family photos, as well as fine art type photos for sale. Wait and see if they get some of the bugs worked out of it and any other improvements they make over the next year. ImageQuix wasn't exactly what I needed, but I never did use their print fulfillment option, so perhaps I need to try that out. I know they can use WHCC, so that's a good thing. I hope these rambles help a bit. Keep us updated on what you find out. :-0

Whoops... forgot to mention... It's not possible to "hide" that your labs for Zenfolio is EZ-Prints and/or Mpix. Neither of which are truely "Pro" labs. I'm not fond of someone being able to look up my pricing, but honestly... do we have a single customer that doesn't know that the prints are marked up really well? Not when Walmart sells an 8x10 for $2.47. (Which is actually MORE than Mpix. LOL )

I'm using zenfolio. So far every bride posted there has loved it. THey get a custom coupon code to order the pix included in their package.

The ONLY complaint that I have so far is that they do show the lab name and logo on the customer side, so the customer sees that they're ordering from Mpix but I've come to the conclusion that those who want to find out cost, will.

I'm also a subscriber to the belief that you aren't paying for the 4x6 sheet of paper but what in printed on the paper....

Good feedback so far. Thanks!

My biggest problem with zenfolio is that I don't like MPIX. I just don't. And I have no idea about the other lab, but what you have mentioned about not being able to keep the lab from the client would bother me, also.

Nicole--thanks also for the info on ImageQuix.

I'm still looking....anybody else have info?

Have you looked at DigiLabs?

http://www.digilabs.biz/index.shtml

:: PRODPI has an online hosting partnership with Digiproofs PRODPI handles only printing and fulfilling, Digiproofs handles all website and ordering issues. This partnership allows for an easy, affordable method of online proofing and order fulfillment. NEW with Executive Drop Shipping coming soon!

:: A $100.00 Setup fee goes to Digiproofs in whole. Every following year this $100.00 is charged automatically, however it is used as a credit toward event fees

:: Event Information
Pricing based on number of images uploaded per event
36 $4.00
150 $10.00
600 $18.00
1000 $24.00
2000 $36.00

:: Event is hosted for 90 days and can be extended in your “Studio Office”

:: When an order is placed, customer, photographer, and PRODPI received an email.

:: We process and ship the order within 2 days for most products

:: Digiproofs retains 10% of retail sales to cover Credit Card Processing, image transfer, email processing.

:: Photographer can set prices and should keep the 10% charges in mind.

:: Digiproofs sends PRODPI a check and we then apply a lab credit or send a check monthly to the photographer.

*You can view a demo gallery here:
http://www.digiproofs.com/ecom/event_view....amp;x=0&y=0

**You can sign up for digiproofs here**
http://www.digiproofs.com/dpi/pro_login.html

megan... the other zen option is ez prints and I think they have a horrible reputation.

That's kinda what I thought. Thanks!

Jessica,
Agreed about the wholesale cost thing...everyone measures their print costs to Wal-Mart and the like, but you're right...you're selling the image, not the ink and paper.

Curious still about how Zenfolio is working for you. Do you let them fulfill all of your print orders completely? Are you set up to review orders before letting them print? Still trying to get a sense of the zen way. Seems like a simple system for avoiding the self-fulfilling work.

Appreciate any insights...

Thx,
Keith

I like the look of Zenfolio for the most part... I'm looking for a better option than pictage, I've started other threads about it, but haven't been able to decide yet.

I am mainly relying on my proofing company for the online galleries... I do not rely on print sales for much income, so paying $100 per year plus 12% commission on actual sales sounds pretty good to me. One of the main things I"m looking for is to not have to lift a finger when someone does place an order.

I like Mpix, but I wish that wasn't visible to the customer.

Zenfolio update: 5/8/08

Summary:
-Premium users get to remove the lab name from the ordering process/cart
-Dropping EZ Prints as an option
-To offer more from MPIX's complete line of products
-And more...

MPIX, the online division of Millers...

Press release:
Over the past year, Zenfolio fulfilled tens of thousands of print orders with great success. We have gained a lot of experience working with our partner labs, and learned a lot along the way. We are very excited to share with you the news about upcoming changes and additions to the products we offer.

We are expanding our relationship with the Mpix Lab by adding more products and services, and we are discontinuing products from the EZ Prints Lab.

Partnering with Mpix, a division of Miller’s Professional Imaging, has been a real win for our users as it is one of the best labs in the country. And it is about to get even better as we are working on adding a full range of their products including canvas gallery wraps, greeting cards, standouts, memory mates, puzzles, statuettes, and other products from their extensive and growing list.

In addition, Zenfolio Premium users will soon be able to customize Mpix prints with text printed on the reverse side, also known as backprinting.

Even more exciting is that Premium users will be able to remove the Mpix brand name from the Cart, and have non-branded packaging ready for delivery to their clients. This will surely make for an even more professional presentation upon delivery.

We are very proud of the relationship we were able to forge with Mpix, and we continue to be impressed with the quality of products, services, and precision of operations the Mpix lab delivers. Extending the integration between Zenfolio and Mpix will give you, our user, access to more products, services, and expertise gained from over 70 years in the photofinishing business.

On the other hand, after the recent EZ Prints’ switch from Fuji to Kodak paper, it has become redundant to offer products from the two labs given their broad overlap in products and competing pricing. With that in mind, we have decided to send all Zenfolio print fulfillment to Mpix and discontinue the EZ Prints products.

Effective May 16th, 2008, we will no longer be offering EZ Prints products. Orders placed through EZ Prints prior to and on May 16th will not be affected.

The EZ Prints products will be removed from the site after May 16th.

Questions & Answers

What does this mean for me?
· If you allow visitors to order your photos — make sure the Mpix Lab is enabled in the Print Ordering section of the Toolbox.
· If your Price Lists include products from EZ Prints — you can remove them and add corresponding products from Mpix instead. Make sure to do this before May 16th.

What happens if I do nothing?
The EZ Prints products will be removed automatically after May 16th.

What happens to the EZ Prints products that Mpix does not offer?
With the latest addition of 19-cent value prints from Mpix, and the new specialty products from IYP Photo Products <http://www.zenfolio.com/zf/pnpIYP.aspx> , there is a corresponding item available for almost every product we offered from the EZ Prints Lab.

Mpix does not ship internationally, what if I am outside of North America?
We are committed to finding a good fulfillment partner located in Europe to provide a cost effective solution for our growing base of European users. We are actively searching for the right partner, and we will be working on integrating with such a lab to provide better pricing and delivery times.

More Questions?
Our Support folks would be happy to answer any questions you might have about this transition. Please use the Contact Us <http://www.zenfolio.com/zf/contact.aspx> form or e-mail support@zenfolio.com.

Best Regards,
Zenfolio Product Team

Thanks for the update Keith! I am really pleased they're allowing the option to take off the mpix branding.

No problem...besides that, the other thing that caught my eye was the "non-branded packaging" comment. Looks like they'll drop ship anonymously now.

"Even more exciting is that Premium users will be able to remove the Mpix brand name from the Cart, and have non-branded packaging ready for delivery to their clients. This will surely make for an even more professional presentation upon delivery."

I've used MPix as a stand-alone before I ever found WHCC; now I tend to split my orders between the two. But I've only had great results from MPix, and any orders that have had an issue were corrected fast and without issue.

Using them in conjunction with an online ordering system will be a first for me though.