Business for the production of custom-made photo books. How to choose equipment for the production of photobooks Equipment for printing photobooks at home
Basically, the service for the design of photographs in the form of photobooks is offered by printing houses in large cities, and in most regions this type of product is poorly represented or not represented at all.
Photobook is a book edition with original design, hardcover, in which the pages are photographs.
examples
The process of making photo books consists of the following stages:
- Preparation of the layout of the book.
- Printing (photos, cover)
- Cutting and assembling the book.
Equipment for the production of photobooks can be automatic and manual, here is a list of the minimum required set of machines for manual production of books:
To purchase the above equipment, a budget of 120-150 thousand rubles is sufficient.
If the budget allows you to allocate a more significant amount of 350-400 thousand rubles for the purchase of equipment, then we recommend purchasing automatic equipment that allows you to perform all the necessary operations on one machine.
Alternatively, you can see the following models of machines for the production of photo albums and photo books:
The production of photo books is ideal as an additional activity for an existing photo studio, as an additional service offered to visitors, but it can also be used by a novice entrepreneur as a main activity. But in any case, the production of photo books is a promising business undertaking that has significant growth prospects and promises good profits.
Victor Stepanov, 2012-12-11
The production process, equipment and subtleties of creating photo books
What is a photobook?
Photobook Is an invention that appeared several years ago, but has already gained wide popularity. In fact, this is a kind of photo album, in which photographs, texts, comments to them are printed, and also special artistic and graphic elements are often inserted.
Difference from the album
Contrary to popular belief, photo books are different from photo albums. And the point here is not in appearance, but in the very technology of their manufacture. A photo album consists of photographs pasted onto the pages of an album, and in a photo book, photographs are assembled directly onto a page, thus creating a kind of digital layout.
Business in the production of photo books
Photobooks are becoming more and more popular, despite the complexity of production and the costly process of creating layouts. Equipment for the production of photo books, as you know, is also expensive. But even if we make the most conservative calculations, it becomes quite obvious that even such equipment will pay for itself in a couple of months of operation.
It makes no sense to save on staff. The creation of photo books and photo albums should be professionals with at least a technical background. Only specialists will be able to work with rather complex equipment. We can only help a little by briefly outlining the process of creating a typical photobook. The procedure for its creation is subdivided into several stages.
Stages of making a photobook
1) The first thing to prepare is the original - the layout. For this, printed digital photographs are taken from the client. Then the program is connected to create a blank mock-up.
2) The second stage of making a photobook is printing (or printing out already brought by the client) covers or spreads of the book. To do this, you need to discuss with the client the size of the future photobook in advance, since after printing the size can no longer be changed. All parameters are set on the equipment. Typically, photobook equipment works with the following general purpose photo papers - Glossy, Matte, and SuperGlossy. But due to its high cost and high quality, the latter is increasingly referred to as premium photo paper, so it is rarely used for single clients.
3) The third stage is the assembly of the spread (cover) of the photobook. For this, the equipment for the production of photobooks includes a cover-making machine, which will make this cover or spread. If you have purchased an expensive lid-making machine, then such units as corner cutters and special bending machines operating in automatic mode will be built into it.
4) The next stage in the production of a photobook is the compilation of indoor units. There is nothing complicated in this process - it's just gluing the cardboard and the cover (spreads) onto the layout. These will be the pages of the photobook.
5) And finally, the fifth and final stage of making a photobook is the final trimming and assembly. The most important thing in this step is a sharp cutter. If it is not sharpened well enough, then your work will be irretrievably ruined before delivery. The dimensions of the future book should already be known exactly at this stage - their further change will be impossible.
Guillotine cutters are rightfully considered one of the best cutters.
The fact is, roller or saber cutters, by virtue of their design, cut photographic paper at an angle or round, which cannot but affect the shape of the cut corners. And most often it affects in the most negative way. And the cutters of the guillotine type seem to fall on the material from above, which practically eliminates the possibility of error. The only strict requirement is the maximum sharpness of the cutter blade.
Other similar articles to Production process, equipment and subtleties of creating photobooks
We actively support new trends in the Ukrainian photo printing market. One of these areas is the production of photo books. This popular service for the production and storage of prints is becoming more and more in demand.
To meet the demand for such products, global manufacturers provide a wide variety of devices and devices that may be in demand depending on the needs of the local market.
This variety of equipment allows any photo businessperson to participate in the production process depending on the needs of a particular market.
As a rule, the production of photo books is based on the principle of performing specific work on separate devices. Most often these are the following operations:
Creasing, - folding the printed spread in accordance with the specified dimensions.
Block assembly - the formation of the internal block of the book with the placement of the necessary materials between the sheets.
Pressing - pressing the produced book block for high-quality gluing of pages.
Trimming - leveling and making the block of the given size using a powerful knife - a guillotine.
Cover production - production of the outer cover of the book, into which the previously made block is glued.
Hatching - making a special outer groove at the inner edge of the cover.
All these operations can also be performed using special high-performance machines. Any photo businessman can, with our help, select equipment for the production of photo books, depending on the needs and capabilities of a particular outlet.
Home / Catalog of Services and Goods / Materials for photobooks
PLASTIC AND CARDBOARD FOR PHOTO BOOKS AND ALBUMS
We offer high quality consumables for the production of photo books.
Each photobook is individual.
Beautiful photos in designer processing, decorated in various covers make it unique. One of the main criteria in the creation or production of photobooks are consumables, the correct choice of high-quality consumables and make the final result of the photobook beautiful and high quality.
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For the production of photo books and albums, we offer two types of consumables: double-sided self-adhesive sheets and double-sided thermal sheets.
As a base, we use high-quality pure-cellulose cardboard with a density of 250 g / m2 (thickness 0.3 mm) and plastics Rigid PVC sheets, PVC foam sheets, White PET rolls.
We offer more than 15 types of adhesive materials for photobooks and albums from 10 rubles per sheet 21 * 31cm.
See the price list:
The specifics of the production of photobooks in modern conditions requires the use of equipment adapted for assembling photographs printed both on traditional photographic paper with the possibility of one-sided printing of panoramic prints obtained at digital minilabs, and using prints with two-sided printing, printed on various models of photo printers and similar equipment using the so-called "dry" printing technology. In the first case, “Butterfly Binding” technology is used to assemble photobooks, in the second - “Perfect Binding”. For each technology, our catalog contains various types of equipment for the production of photobooks.
"Butterfly Binding"
Photolux company presents technology "Butterfly Binding" for the production of photobooks based on digital printers of the CONTACT PhotoBookPrinter2301 (2601) series, equipment for the production of photobooks BEIJING HENGYIN MACHINERY MANUACTURING CO., LTD and software for layout of photobooks Event Album Maker ™.
The photolaboratory of the Kontakt PhotoBookPrinter2301 series is created on the basis of the high-performance printer Kontakt 1217 N23, which allows you to print up to 1400 prints of 89 mm x 127 mm per hour with a resolution of 366 dpi, but is also equipped with the additional software Advanced Panorama Print, which allows you to print panoramic images up to 305 mm x 840 mm. This panoramic format allows you to make a one-piece spread for a photobook of 300 mm x 400 mm format. LbnSender ™ software allows you to correct images by color, density, contrast, crop images. In addition, the software additionally includes an automatic image correction function using the i2e software.
The Event Album Maker ™ software installed on PhotoBookPrinter2301 and created on the basis of the standard LbnSenderX minilab software is a universal photobook layout tool aimed primarily at professional photographers working in the wedding and studio photography market, making portfolios. Thanks to the program's intuitive tools, quick navigation between image files, direct ability to process images in Adobe Photoshop or any external photo editor, a set of additional ready-to-use templates, the photo book layout process does not take much time, effort and does not require additional qualifications.
Pages typeset using Event Album Maker ™ software and printed on PhotoBook Printer2301 are collected into a photobook.
The FL-18PBS universal station is a comprehensive solution for the production of photobooks and includes all the necessary equipment:
- Creasing machine
- Automatic gluing machine
- Size press
- Photo Album Table
- Drying press
The universal station is easy to operate and can be serviced by one operator, occupies a minimum area of 1.3 square meters, which is very important in the conditions of a real photographic store.
In addition, a range of additional equipment is available if required:
This technology for making a photobook includes the following stages:
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"Perfect Binding"
If for some reason panoramic printing is not available to you, the photobook can be assembled using the technology "Perfect Binding" using hot-melt glue technology for assembling book spines.
In this case, you will need a hot melt glue machine - manual hot melt glue machines S320 / a, S320D, S460 or an electric hot melt glue machine S460E.
In addition, equipment for lamination of photographic paper is available - liquid laminators LM520, LMU650, LMU470.
This technology for assembling a photobook includes the following stages:
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"System (equipment, consumables and software) for the production of ClixxPixx® photobooks from PROMAXX® Innovative PC Print Media GmbH, Germany"
Designed for photographers, photo studios and photo shops, the ClixxPixx® System offers photo business customers elegant looking photobooks assembled using a wide range of covers, including the elegant PRO2 series covers, made with various leathers, imitation leather or textured plastic covers. materials, as well as more democratic "hi-tech" covers of the DIGI4 series, made of various types of embossed plastic, including transparent and translucent versions.
All opaque covers can be equipped with a window through which the first page of the photobook is visible.
The undoubted advantages of the ClixxPixx® system include:
- Minimum investment. 
- Large assortment of possible photobook formats: 10 × 15 (4 × 6 ″), 13 × 18 (5 × 7 ″), 15 × 20 (6 × 8 ″), 15 × 23 (6 × 9 ″), 20 × 20 (8x8 "), 20x25 (8x10"), 20x30 (8x12 ") and 30x40 (12x16").
- Unique build system on chrome rings allows you to get a durable photobook with 180 degree page opening and the ability to add or change sheets.
- A wide range of covers made of plastic, cardboard coated with different materials and leather.
- The book can contain up to 16 double-sided pages in the case of using KODAK ROYAL photo papers, if printing is done on double-sided photo papers - the number of pages in the book can be increased to 29.
- Just two desk fixtures allow you to produce the entire range of photo books.
- Convenient program DesignSuite 5.0 for creating a photo book layout. The program is Russified, including the instruction manual. Allows you to achieve excellent results in the process of creating a layout of your own photobook with a small investment of labor and time.
- DesignSuite 5.0 contains over 200 ready-made templates developed by professional designers. The templates are visually balanced, which guarantees a "professional" look for your layout, even if you are not familiar with the basics of layout programs and the theory of composition.
Stages of making a photobook with ClixxPixx®
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Create a design |
Using DesignSuite, select a template, fill it in by simply dragging and dropping your images into the cells, zooming in and out as you like, and adding captions |  |
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The minilab is the only way to get great, long-lasting pages for your future book. Available anytime. Excellent traditional quality. DesignSuite converts the finished photobook into regular .jpg files, which you simply print as usual. |  |
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Joining pages |
There is a smart little tool for this - DoublePageMaker. It will connect 2 photos so that they look like one page with images on both sides. The cost of glue is minimal. |  |
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Perforation of pages |
Use the DrillPunch to make the required holes. Unlike conventional punchers, this device uses hollow punches like any other professional puncher. With its help, beautiful smooth holes come out, and you can punch the entire book block at once. |  |
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Final assembly |
You can insert 3 double pages at a time into the cover to create a finished photo book. Not counting the time it takes to print pages in your minilab, you will assemble a book of 32 20 × 30 pages in less than 10 minutes (Including the time for gluing and perforating the pages). |  |
A complex technological process, including the use of the most modern materials. A variety of equipment, its capabilities allow us to make a photobook using various technologies. The design of any photobook is the same regardless of the equipment used. A photobook consists of, on the pages of which photographs are placed, and a cover (cover). Already at the stage of obtaining an image, two fundamentally different printing technologies are distinguished - printing on and printing. Let's consider the operations included in a typical technological process of making a photobook.
Photo printing of spreads
Modern technologies make it possible to make an original photo album from real photographs printed in a chemical process and rolled onto a dense base. Adjacent photographic pages are printed as one sheet and are called a spread. In this case, a block of a photobook is a series of photographs pasted onto a base (plastic or cardboard), forming pages. The pages of a photobook, collected using this technology, have the ability to open 180 degrees, forming a flat surface. Now the brightest frames can be placed not only on separate pages, but also on the entire spread, using the entire area without restrictions. Versta spreads, it is necessary to take into account the technical requirements for files, presented by the manufacturer of photobooks. The geometric dimensions of the spread are calculated based on the dimensions of the photobook itself. For example: if you ordered the production of a 20x20 photobook, then the spread size should be 203x396mm. The final dimensions of the block after cutting are 3mm. on three sides will be 197x197mm. Additionally, the manufacturer indicates the characteristics of the printing device: color model of color reproduction, resolution (the number of dots - bitmap elements per unit area), bit depth of the color palette. For example: to print spreads on a standard digital lab, you must specify the following parameters. RGB, 300 dpi, 8 bit / channel.Reversal creasing
After printing, the spread of the future book is folded in half. However, the fold may be uneven or not neat enough. Moreover, the ink layer of the photo paper in the place of the fold can be damaged and the probability of cracking of the emulsion layer is high. To avoid this, creasing is used - the process of forcing a thin convex strip with a special tool - a cliché. If during the layout of the layout the center of the spread was determined correctly, then the big will coincide with it. Without breaking the sequence, the spreads are creased in the middle, bent at the place where the big is applied and folded, keeping the order of the spreads assembly.Block assembly
Further, the spreads, bent in half, are glued onto a dense base, the dimensions of which are slightly larger than a page (half of the spread). Depending on the base material and the glue used, three technologies are distinguished: "wet" (using liquid glue), "dry" (without liquid glue) and combined (both liquid and dry types of glue are used). The base material on which the spreads are glued is plastic or cardboard. With the "wet" technology, the formation of a book block is carried out by applying liquid glue on the surface of the spread and the base. The glue is applied using a special gluing machine. "Dry" technology involves the use of a base with a pre-applied glue. You just need to remove the protective layer and the base is ready for assembly (hence the name "self-adhesive"). The base material can be either cardboard or plastic. The assembly sequence is as follows: spread - base - spread - base .... etc. If endpapers are planned for a future book, the assembly begins and ends with endpapers. After installing the next turn or base, it is necessary to fix the block with special clamps. The base is glued with a slight indentation, which provides the ability to turn to unfold 180 degrees.Block crimp
After assembly, the block is placed under a press. With the "wet" technology, it is necessary to immediately squeeze out the remaining air between the spreads and the base of the pages. Further, the exposure of the block under pressure sometimes reaches 48 hours. This is necessary so that the cardboard, which has absorbed moisture from the applied glue, is completely dry without deformation and warping caused by the action internal stresses. To reduce the drying time, special presses built into the drying chambers are used. "Dry" technology does not require long-term holding of the block under pressure. In this case, the crimping time is significantly shorter. If hot melt glue is applied to the base, then the block is placed in a special heat press, where the sintering process takes place. The block is also cooled under pressure. It is worth noting that spreads printed on glossy paper are more likely to stick together. Books collected using different technologies have significant differences that are not obvious at first glance. The difference is in the materials themselves from which the block is assembled. Cardboard is a hygroscopic material that absorbs water vapor (moisture) from the air. If a book assembled on cardboard is wetted or placed in a room with high humidity, then the book block will deform (bend). Under normal conditions, the likelihood of such bending is quite low. Plastic - man-made material is not hygroscopic. This raises another problem. A photograph glued to plastic is a hygroscopic material and continues to absorb and release moisture. The following situation arises: if the humidity is low, then the photo is reduced in size, if it is high, it increases. Therefore, spreads with a photo pasted on one side will curl. After several cycles of reduction-enlargement in size, the photograph peels off the plastic. It is also worth noting that books collected on plastic are heavier than books on cardboard. The assembled blocks are glued with gauze at the folds of the spreads (spine), with access to the spine margins of the endpapers, to increase the strength of the book when opening. The fabric material, as it were, tightens the block, eliminating the appearance of gaps between the spreads, and prevents the book from falling apart.Cropping a block
To align the pages, the block is cropped on three sides. The bleed allowance is approximately 3-5mm. To decorate the trim, a colored base is sprayed or glued to the ends of the pages. The trimming is performed on a special machine designed for polishing and foiling the ends of book blocks. The decoration of the block is completed by gluing the captum, which gives the book a finished look.Cover (cover) production
To understand the technology, you need to define the terms. Cover - a flexible paper covering, solid or composite, in one way or another (paper clips, hot melt glue) is attached to the spine of the block. The hard cover is the outer shell of the block. Being integral or composite, it is connected to the book block using endpapers or extreme spreads. The spine of the block does not stick to the cover. For the production of the simplest photo books, a so-called soft photo cover is used. This is a common photograph, which is laminated or varnished to make it more secure. In this case, the block trimming process occurs after the block is inserted into the photo cover.Photo cover lamination
Cold and hot lamination is used. For cold lamination, self-adhesive films are used, on which the adhesive layer is protected by a release liner. For hot lamination, films are used, on one side of which a layer of polymer glue is applied. Passing through the heated rollers of the laminator (about 100 degrees), the film acquires adhesive properties. Speaking of the "cons", note that when the film is applied by hot lamination, the dark pigment in the photograph "boils" (bubbles appear). This disadvantage manifests itself in photographs printed on an inkjet printer that uses water-soluble dyes. The "minus" of cold lamination is the high cost of the film.Photo cover varnishing
The process is devoid of the disadvantages inherent in both types of lamination. Coating with varnish does an excellent job of protective functions and increases the contrast of the image by about 10%.Binding cover production
For the manufacture of the lid, you can use more reliable materials made on the basis of fabric and artificial leather. The lid is assembled on a special covermaker. The device allows you to accurately position the cardboard sides and back (spine) relative to the cover material of the binding cover, automates the process of trimming corners and bending the flaps. The "face" of the cover can be decorated with a photo by cutting it out under it. The cover material is tucked inside the clearing and a laminated photograph is inserted. If equipment such as a calender is available, then it will not be superfluous to pass a lid through it for the final overlaying of the covering material. The original design of the cover spine will make the book more presentable. Additional use of several materials in the construction of the lid, embossing, installation of decorative corners provide unlimited possibilities for personalization. For the cover material, a photographic image is used.Installing the unit in the cover
This operation completes the assembly process of the photobook. The endpapers are sequentially glued to the sides of the cover. During installation, you must carefully monitor the accuracy, otherwise all the work done will be in vain. To improve opening and impart structural strength, the book is shaded.Hatching (edging) of the rib
This method of finishing consists in applying indented ribs with blunt heated knives - deepened lines on the front side of the cover along the spine margin. The block is pressed under pressure, which ensures high-quality fixation of the decorative relief. The operation is carried out on special line equipment.Package
An important detail in the production of photo books. After the book is finished, you need to pack the book. If we neglect this rule, then after transportation from the workshop to the customer, due to the hygroscopic properties of the materials discussed above, the book may be subject to deformation.Photobook production is a relatively new phenomenon in the photography business. But this type of earnings is gradually strengthening its position in the photo services market. The gigabytes of digital photos stored on the hard drives of home computers are being replaced by original and compact photo books that are able to preserve the emotions received from the brightest moments of life.
The production of custom designed hardcover photo books is profitable for its owners as the fashion for this product grows.
This type of earnings is especially relevant for those who are engaged in photography. The production of photo books is included in the package of services of any self-respecting photographer and is a separate item of his income. If the creation of a unique photo album in a book version is not the main, but an additional source of finance, then you do not need to buy special equipment for the production of photo books.
It will be enough to create layouts of future books in available graphic editors and choose suitable printing houses or advertising agencies for printing. This way you can save the time and money needed to make a photobook without losing the quality of your work.
Layout of a standard photobook does not take much time for a professional. There is a demand for goods all year round, although there is also a seasonality in this business. Most often, newlyweds order a photo book. Weddings peak in late spring, summer and early fall.
Although there are many other reasons for ordering such an unusual photo report:
- matinees in schools and kindergartens;
- anniversaries of relatives;
- round dates and other family celebrations;
- popular holidays, for example, New Year, March 8, February 23;
- birth, discharge, christening of a child, as well as children's thematic photography;
- beautiful design of portfolios, catalogs of services and goods.
A professional photographer does not need additional advertising. The production of photo books can bring him a good income at minimal cost.
How to start making a photo book?
The growing demand for photo books makes it possible to single out their production as a separate lucrative niche in the photo services market. To organize such a business, you need to clearly understand all the stages of creating a photo album, as well as know what equipment for the production of photo books will be needed to develop the business.
The technology for making a photobook includes 3 stages:
- Layout creation.
- Cover and page design and printing.
- Assembling the book using a special technique.
What equipment to choose for making a photo book?
To print a photo book, you need to purchase a quality color photo printer. You need to combine the pages and the cover into one whole using special machines. Equipment for the production of photo books can be manual or automatic.
Manual machines are cheaper and will cost about 100-150 thousand rubles. The downside is that almost every action to create a photobook in this case is performed on a separate technical means. There are 6 of them:
- cover machine;
- a special table for assembling books;
- creasing machine;
- device for cutting rounded corners;
- a machine for cutting off pages along the edge;
- a machine that fits the corners on the cover.
Automatic equipment is more expensive. Its price is about 350-400 thousand rubles, but the advantages in the speed of work are obvious. One machine performs all the functions required for the production of a photobook. The technique can pay off in 1 working season if you correctly build an advertising strategy.
Advertising and business promotion
When creating a small production of photo books, it is necessary to find out for whom such services will be of interest in a particular region. In large cities, the competition among manufacturers of these products is high. This niche is not yet occupied in medium-sized and small-sized settlements. You can offer the production of photobooks to individuals, individual photographers and photo studios, holiday agencies, child care centers, modeling agencies, restaurants and travel companies.
You can tell about your activities using the website, communities on social networks, messages on thematic forums, printed materials: flyers, business cards, leaflets. Advertising costs should be justified in the short term, especially if the activity starts on New Year's Eve or on the eve of the wedding season. A photo book is beautifully designed emotions and pleasant impressions about various happy events in life, which everyone wants to keep for as long as possible, so there will always be a demand for such products.
: housewives, as well as young mothers. The very first masterpiece can be created for yourself, because after the birth of a child, a huge number of photographs appear in the house. In addition, a lot of different events take place in life - weddings, birthdays, holidays at sea or in the forest, so materials for the first photo books can be found in every home.
After you do the first work for yourself, certain knowledge and skills, as well as valuable experience, will appear. Thanks to this, making a photo book will become not only your hobby, but also a source of additional income. To print books, you need a quality printer and good paper. The binding can be ordered at a printing house or made by hand using the technique of scrapbooking or decoupage.
It is not advisable to buy expensive equipment for single orders. They can be printed at an advertising agency or printing house. To choose a good publisher, you need to compare the quality and prices of different companies. This will help you choose the best option.
Cost of work
The cost of a photobook depends on the number of pages. The price of one page is 100 rubles, respectively, an album of 10 pages will cost 1000 rubles. Add another 400 rubles for the binding, and you get 1400 rubles. You will spend only 350 rubles to make such a photo book. You can get 1000 rubles of net profit from one product.Cover printing, text design and photo processing are additional services for which a separate price list should be drawn up.
Making a photo book to order as a business is a fairly profitable business that does not require large capital investments.
A variety of cover textures, design options and formats allows you to meet the requirements of any, even the most demanding client. It all depends on the financial capabilities of the customer.
Who orders photobooks?
Such a business will bring good income in metropolitan areas. In provincial cities, this business can be done by independent artists, for whom making a photobook with their own hands is an additional source of income.
Some aspiring entrepreneurs doubt that this is a promising business line, since modern people store photographs mainly in digital form. But the paper version is more reliable, since the computer or other device can fail and you will lose your memories. In addition, it is very pleasant to pick up an originally designed photo book and show it to the guests. Therefore, the production of photo albums is in great demand among those who take care of their dear photographs.
The production of photobooks is also often interested in:
- Models, designers and other professionals who want to make a portfolio of their work;
- Parents who wrote a fairy tale or poetry for their baby. Such books have recently become in great demand;
- Travel agencies order photo books describing historical or cultural sites.
The directions can be very different. You shouldn't wait for competitors to appear in this area. Hurry up to be the first to offer your services, and your photobook business will surely become successful.
How to start a business?
A photobook manufacturer who has all the necessary equipment can enter into a cooperation agreement with various design studios that are ready to take orders. They can be located in different cities, and the completed orders can be sent by mail.
Design studio employees can:
- Take orders;
- Promote services in your city;
- Develop the design of photo books and coordinate it with the client;
- Take photographs.
You can start the production of photo books from scratch without having any start-up capital on hand. Two people are enough for work - a designer and a sales representative. At first, the design of pages can be done according to templates. You need to make some samples that you will show to clients. The most important thing is to organize as many points as possible to receive orders. For example, in China, orders for photo books are taken in any supermarket.
Advertising
Despite the fact that photo books are aesthetically valuable and convenient items that can be ordered at a low price, many consumers are not even aware of their existence. Therefore, if you decide to make custom-made photo books, the business plan should include advertising costs as well.
You can offer your services:
- Photo studios;
- Private photographers;
- Schools and kindergartens;
Direct buyers are usually found on regional Internet forums, as well as through advertisements in newspapers. You can distribute flyers or business cards in shopping malls, children's stores, or holiday parks. There are many options for how to make money making custom photo books. The most important thing is not to be satisfied with what has already been achieved, and to look for new clients.
An excellent means of advertising and an additional sales tool will be your own website on the Internet. Here you can post examples of work, prices, design options and customer reviews. The more templates you can offer, the more customers there will be.
In summer, the production of wedding photo books is in great demand, and before the New Year you can make money on children's photo albums.
Manufacturing technology
To make a good photo book, you need to carefully study all the stages of this process:
- Develop a layout for a future book with photographs;
- Print the cover and all the necessary pictures;
- Crop and reassemble the photobook.
Equipment
First of all, decide what equipment for the production of photobooks you will use - manual or automatic?Related Videos Related Videos
Equipment for manual production:
- Cover assembly machine;
- Book assembly table;
- Bending machine - creasing;
- Corner rounder.
This technique will have to spend 120-150 thousand rubles.
If you have a decent start-up capital on hand, you can purchase an automatic photobook machine that can perform all the necessary operations. It costs up to 300 thousand rubles.
To test this idea for a business, you don't have to buy photobook equipment right away. Take photos and collect them into a book using special programs on your computer. You can print them in any printing house. If things go well, you can start expanding production.
Benefits of a business idea
The absence of large investments, a high mark-up on products, as well as the relevance and great demand for the idea, allow you to return the initial capital in one season.
You can make photo books in your free time to earn additional income. This service is often offered to visitors in photo shops. Many aspiring entrepreneurs choose this type of activity to start their own business. In any case, the production of photobooks is a rather promising direction. It promises good profit, and also allows you to constantly grow and develop.
Photobooks are products that will take a long time to run out of popularity. They are in high demand. Souvenir products, namely, photobooks can be attributed to this type, meaning colorful publications that contain many photographs. Taking into account the wishes of customers, as well as using special equipment for the production of photo books, specialists carry out the layout and editing of each page.
Distinctive feature
It should be understood that these books differ from simple photo albums by the very technology of production. Pictures in such publications are not pasted on the page. First, layouts are created - and each of them is individual. However, it should be noted that the equipment for the production of photo books and photo albums is exactly the same.
What should be purchased without fail?
So, what equipment will you need to use in order to set up the production of photobooks? The main machines should be listed. First of all, you need to buy a scoring machine. This device helps to carry out such a procedure as punching a sheet for subsequent folding of products characterized by different densities.
In this situation, both plain paper and double-sided self-adhesive cardboard for the production of photobooks are meant. The functions of different models may include operations such as line punching. This procedure should be understood as the creation of a special tear line.
Wet assembly technology
In the process of manufacturing products, you will need to collect pages on a pre-prepared basis. The choice of equipment for this procedure is necessary depending on what kind of glue and material will be used. In order to establish a "wet" assembly, in which a liquid adhesive solution is used, a special gluing machine should be purchased. With it, an adhesive layer will be applied to the base.
What other assembly technologies are available?
"Dry" production technology means the use of the base on which the adhesive layer has already been applied. The combined method can also be used. The most optimal equipment for the production of photo books in such a situation is glue machines.
With their help, you can apply a uniform layer of adhesive solution of a certain thickness. Some models can work with hot melt glue. They are equipped for this with a special heating element. There is also a forced ventilation system in such devices.
Using the press in the production of souvenir products
In order to crimp a block, you should use a photobook production equipment such as a crimp press. He is the best option. If the basis is "liquid" technology, the product must be under pressure for two days.
Only in this case can we talk about complete drying of the base. With the "dry" technology, a long-term stay of the product under the press may not be required. However, in such a situation, you will have to buy such equipment for the production of photobooks as a heat press. It is used to collect pages under pressure.
The swaging press is capable of being mechanical, electrical, electromechanical or vacuum. A device of this type not only provides pressure on the product, but also does it evenly. The main characteristic is the maximum height of the crimp block.
What is the best cutter to use?
In order to trim the block created earlier, you need to use a guillotine cutter. It allows you to make pages smoother and more beautiful. Why exactly the guillotine type? Because using a different kind of cutter can ruin layouts. The guillotine equipment falls from above, the quality of its work is higher. But this cutter needs to be sharpened thoroughly from time to time.
Outer shell manufacturing process
Do not forget about making the binding. It should be understood as the rigid outer shell that contains all the pages. It is necessary to thoroughly approach the purchase of raw materials. Consumables for the production of photo books in this situation should be of high quality. Usually either fabric or imitation leather is used. To get ideally high-quality products, you need to make the binding yourself, and not buy a ready-made version of it.
In order to make the outer shell, you should use the automatic cover making machines for the production of photo books. With the help of them, you can simplify the procedure for making a binding. These machines can handle a wide variety of materials. In this case, the output will be a ready-made layout of a given size. When choosing equipment, you must be guided by the size of the cover. However, you should not forget about such additional parameters as power and trimming method.
Minimum processing lines
Recently, more and more universal installations such as photo stations have been used. In the case of their use, it is possible to combine at once several technological devices necessary for performing different tasks into one group. Among the main advantages of the equipment are compactness and cost-effectiveness. However, there are also disadvantages. The equipment has lower operating parameters compared to the above devices.
Conclusion
In this review, the main devices were listed, which you will need to purchase if you want to establish your own production of this type of souvenir products. In addition, do not forget about the continuous improvement of your own enterprise. Only in such a situation can we talk about a consistently high income.
