Thursday, February 11, 2010

Calypso Recommends West Coast Imaging

From Joe Levine of Calypso Imaging:

Dear Friends,

After careful thought and consideration, we want to recommend to you West Coast Imaging for any and all of your digital imaging projects. WCI has long been a competitor of ours, and has earned our respect and admiration for the quality of their work and the integrity of their business practices. Rich Seiling, the owner of WCI (with wife Susan), is a fine photographer and an incredibly informed digital imaging expert. Rich and I have spoken at length about the nature of our respective clients, and find ourselves on the same page in terms of providing service and quality. I have visited WCI in Oakhurst California on a number of occasions and know first hand of the high standards that they adhere to.

WCI provides most of the same services that Calypso has provided to you. Take a look at their web sitehttp://www.westcoastimaging.com/ to get an idea of their technical proficiency and dedication to photographic image making. I strongly suggest that you have us transfer to WCI the files that you currently have archived with Calypso which will assist in a smooth transition and provide the least interruption of services to you. (We, of course, will only do this with your written permission, so send us an e-mail and tell us to do so!).

I think you will find Rich and his staff most approachable and eager to partner with you in your imaging projects. WCI is located near Yosemite, in a spectacularly beautiful part of California, and I am sure they would make you feel welcome if you were to give them a little notice of your arrival.

Best regards,

Joe Levine

Calypso Imaging

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Monday, February 08, 2010

Calypso Sheet Alternative

With the closing of our competitor Calypso, many customers are contacting us about alternatives to the 50x50 sheet package that Calypso offered.


With their deal, you could build a 50x50 inch sheet of prints (max size 10x15 per print) and you got the whole sheet for $115. For 8x10s, that worked out to $3.83 each, and for 10x15s it was $7.66 each. Of course you had to add your labor to trim the prints from their rough cuts.


That was a really attractive deal, but we’ve got an even better deal for you. Our sister company, Aspen Creek Photo offers 8x10s for $1.99 each (almost half off the Calypso sheet price) and 10x15s for $6.79 (a savings of 87¢)


But that’s not all! With Aspen Creek Photo, there is no need to build sheets. Order as many or as few prints as you need. They come fully trimmed so they save you labor, and we offer 14 different sizes from 3.5x5 to 11x14 for small prints.


All you have to do is go to aspencreekphoto.com and use the easy ROES ordering software to place your order. Most orders ship in 48 hours or less.


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Monday, February 01, 2010

Looking for a new lab?

A long-time presence in the photographic printing industry, Calypso Imaging, announced they are closing their doors this month. We wish Joe and Barbara Levine and all of their staff much love as they move onto a new chapter.

If you're a photographer in need of a new printing studio for this reason (or any other reason), check out our blog post "A Quick Start Guide to Switching to West Coast Imaging." We welcome the chance to serve you!

A Quick Start Guide to Switching to West Coast Imaging

New to West Coast Imaging? Welcome aboard! Whether you need excellent scans, beautiful prints, or a bit of both...we welcome the chance to serve you. Give our staff a call at 800-799-4576 to discuss your needs...or simply place an order! You can also use our live chat support, drop us an email, send us a message on Twitter, or say hello on Facebook. In the meantime, here's some information to help you get started.

What papers does West Coast Imaging print on?
We offer Fuji Crystal Archive Matte, Gloss, Pearl and SuperGloss (FujiFlex) all printed on our Chromira printer. We also offer a wide array of inkjet papers including Luster Photo (Epson Premium Luster), Silver Rag and canvas papers.

Will my prints look the same?
There's no easy answer to this question, unfortunately (and labs that tell you, "It'll print perfectly!" may not have the quality standards you're seeking). Since we have no way of knowing what your previous lab was doing color management-wise, we can't say for certain that our color managed workflow will create the same results. The good news is that we meticulously maintain our equipment and have custom ICC profiles for all of our paper/printer combinations, which ensures an accurate translation of your file on print every time. Our advice? Start with some proofs, and if things don't match up, give us a call and we'll be happy to help you troubleshoot.

How does your pricing compare?
We know that price matters, and always do our best to remain competitive within the fine-art photographic printing industry. We've also structured our products to allow you to order what you need, when you need it so you don't have to spend more than necessary. But we're more than just prices--we're a full-service lab geared toward giving you the best in photographic printing so your ventures can be a success. If you have more specific pricing needs, give us a call at 800-799-4576 and we'll see what we can do for you!

What do I need to order?
We've designed our products to cover the gamut of needs so you can buy what you need, when you need it--no more, no less.

Prints
If you've already done your own imaging work (or you have adjusted files from your old studio) and your file is ready to print, we have two options for you: The Print Lab or Print Lab Express. With both services, we print your files as-is without making any aesthetic changes. NOTE: we recommend that you send your files in their original working space--whatever that may be. Your old lab may have asked you to convert to a printing printing profile, but we do that as part of the printing process at the studio.

The Print Lab allows you to print your image in whatever size you wish, and offers a wide variety of paper options.

Print Lab Express has fewer paper choices and you'll need to size your files to our specs...but the turnaround is blazing fast and the prices are as low as they come.

If you have film, scans or digital files and need our printmakers to make aesthetic changes to your images before they're printed, our Custom Exhibition Print service is for you!

Imaging Work/Corrections to Your Files
Need to send digital submissions to a magazine? Making a book and need to get the best out of your images? Our Custom File service is perfect for those situations. There's no need to buy a print when all you need is to have our printmakers work their magic and bring your images to life. Send us your raw, unadjusted file or have us scan your film and we'll send you back a layered Photoshop file that reflects the superb printmaking techniques our printmakers have applied. If you need your files targeted for a specific output, like a CMYK press, we can do that, too. Just let us know your needs and we'll get you a quote.

Scans
Just need to archive some film? We've got you covered. Our famous Tango Drum scans are the perfect start to any print and gather enough information to make a "digital archive." If you have a library of film to scan, check out our stock and photo collection scans.

How do I send my files?
Use our free Online Accounts to send us files for the Print Lab, Print Lab Express, Custom Exhibition Prints or Custom Files.

How do I order?
Ordering is easy! Upload your files, then click here to find all of our online and PDF order forms.

We're here to help you! Please contact us, and let us know what you need.