05 November 2009
Christmas presents with a personal touch
Should a Christmas present be practical, useful or personal? The search for the perfect gift idea continues.
Berlin, London, Cambridge. 6 Nov. 2009. Finding the right Christmas present for your friends and family is a challenge you have to face every year. When a few basic rules are observed, finding original and affordable presents can become quite easy. Last minute purchases should be avoided, it only causes stress at the wrong time of the year.
Photo crystal
Photo games at Christmas
Berlin, London, Cambridge. 6 Nov. 2009. Finding the right Christmas present for your friends and family is a challenge you have to face every year. When a few basic rules are observed, finding original and affordable presents can become quite easy. Last minute purchases should be avoided, it only causes stress at the wrong time of the year.Christmas, celebrating reunions
Searching for and buying Christmas presents can be completely relaxed when done from home on the Internet. Questions like: "What would she like or what would be useful to him?" or "Does it have to be that expensive?" have become redundant in our affluent society, where people have already bought the things they want and what they have not bought yet they don't really want. For this Christmas here a list of individual gift ideas to preserve personal memories and to celebrate families and friendship. These are largely photo gifts, personalised with own images.
Greeting cards don't have to come a of the shelf
Greeting cards with their own interesting or funny pictures are much more personal. Photo services like FotoInsight print photo greeting cards usually in sets of ten as picture postcards or folding greeting cards (with image and text on-print on all four pages) with their envelopes . Hint: The cheapest photo greeting cards are on photographic paper, where the front can be edited in full colour, costing only £3.99 including 10 envelopes.
Calendars with own photographs
There can hardly be a better Christmas present than a photo calendar, let it be a wall calendar, a desk planner, a table picture calendar or kitchen calendar, it needs a new one every year. The FotoInsight Designer software provides many calendar templates for photo calendars in different sizes. Similar to the photo book layouts, a virtually unlimited number of pictures can be applied and layered. A birthday calendar can include passport size pictures on birthdays in the calendars.
Those who want to print calendars on a printer at home (that will still be possible on the last day), will do well with the photo calendar software from greenstreet, the voucher TEST0825 gives a 48% discount (£12.99 at http://greenstreet-online.com/offers/iitm-calendar/index.htm). Photobook calendars from Printing-1 are the alternative to wall calendars. They can be up to 250 pages thick with much space for pictures and notes.
Family stories in pictures
With pictures from a family or holiday there will be a story to tell. The ideal medium to preserve these memories is a photo book, printed with personal photographs. The holiday season is the time to share these memories with the whole family. Another photobook service, Printing-1 launches a new photo book style just in time for the season. In this new glossy photo book each page is sealed with a glossy, environmentally friendly vanish. With the glossy finish the photo book should be protected from all the finger prints friends and family will leave on the pictures as the photo book is passed around.
Home decoration
Some pictures need space; they will look great as a poster or as a laminated and framed deco block. Laminating posters instead of putting them under a glass frame avoids light reflections, but still protects the colour prints from humidity and UV-light so that several generations should be able to enjoy the poster prints. FotoInsight's Designer software includes a Collage Poster and Collage Canvas feature, to create a print composed of up to 98 images.
Own photographs printed onto canvas, mounted on a wooden frame
A fine present for those with space on their walls is a photo canvas print, Especially photographs which were post edited with artistic effects that look great as an art print. 'Think Big!' photo canvas prints are available in online photo shops in a range of different formats and sizes from 20 x 30 cm to 120 x 120 cm. FotoInsight offers photo canvas prints with the option of a floating Havana frame. With this frame the fold over the edge of the wood frame is visible and the 3D effect of a mounted canvas preserved.
Photo crystalA photo heart glass block with a laser engraved photograph and other photo crystal gift ideas can be found in Fotoinsight's Crystal section. Prices range from £9.99 / €12.99 for a crystal key ring (with LED light) to £19.99 / €29.99 for a laser engraved crystal photo (the engraving process is apparently military technology).
Photo on a coffee mug
Always popular, simple and economical is a photo mug. As a German beer mug with a a photograph or a panorama print on a coffee mug (with coloured inner side), it only needs one digital image to make a practical present personal.
Cuddly moose with photo
When giving a soft toy with your own photograph, at Christmas it has to be a "photo moose" (with a red cap).
Photo games at ChristmasThe picture pairs game Remembory is ideal for families, as it suits children from the age of 4 years young and unites families. 25 of your own photos (family, holidays, et al) suffice for an individual gift (£12.99 / €13.99 +p&p), which families can play over the holidays. Photo puzzles too are popular during long winter nights.
Christmas 2009 - personal values for post consumerism
What could be more personal than a photo gift? What preserves memories in vivid colours? In the digital age the photo gift printing industry seems in tune with modern consumer values.
International IT Marketing Limited issued this press release for Printing-1.co.uk, greenstreet online Limited and FotoInsight Ltd.
About greenstreet online limited
"greenstreet online limited" are a leading developer & software publisher focusing on the sales of innovative products developed both in-house and by outside parties worldwide. Winner of major industry awards and accolades for innovation & value, greenstreet creates innovative, feature packed products at affordable prices - for Home Entertainment, SME Business & Office Markets and a well-established test department ensures that only the very best games and utility software gets the greenstreet stamp of approval.
Contact: Jeffrey S. Fenton, PhD, MSc
Email jfenton (at) greenstreet-online.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)1480 468587
Email jfenton (at) greenstreet-online.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)1480 468587
About Printing-1.co.uk
Printing-1 started in October 2006 as a British-German joint-venture. The Internet-Service is specialising in high quality, modern photo print products like photo books and photo canvas. The service is fully compatible with Windows and Mac PCs.
Contact: pr (at) printing-1.com
Tel. +44 20 7617 7469
Tel. +44 20 7617 7469
About FotoInsight
FotoInsight Ltd was founded in Cambridge in 2003 and runs an easy to use digital photo processing service for Windows, Mac OS and Linux users, offering an extensive array of award-winning photographic print and photo gifts as well as the photo books, photo poster and photos on canvas printing. Prints ordered through FotoInsight are developed at five state of the art photo labs in three countries.The online photo service has grown year on year faster than the photo processing industry and has expanded its services in five European languages in 32 countries.
Contact: Klaas Brumann
Email pr (at) fotoinsight.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)8700 114911
Email pr (at) fotoinsight.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)8700 114911
Agency contact:
International IT Marketing Ltd.
Catalina Martínez
Head of International Communication
London, UK
Email: pr (at) iitm.info
Tel.: 020 76177469
International IT Marketing Ltd.
Catalina Martínez
Head of International Communication
London, UK
Email: pr (at) iitm.info
Tel.: 020 76177469
Labels: book, calendar, canvas, Christmas, frame, game, gifts, greeting cards, personal, photo, photo mugs, photobooks, picture pairs, printed
21 January 2009
Personalisation: the trend on Valentine’s Day in 2009
Valentine symbols have changed since courtly love flourished in the High Middle Ages. By the late nineteenth century Valentine cards were popular. Today it is difficult to escape Valentine's kitsch. Remembering the tradition of expressing love through love notes FotoInsight puts the personal note back into Valentine.
Cambridge, 21 Jan 2009. -- FotoInsight, a leading independent digital photo service, is expanding its range of Valentine's photo gifts. “Love is a special feeling and it must be expressed in an extraordinary way, Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion. Valentine's Day gifts are important to make your day memorable” states Catalina Martinez, Head of Communication at FotoInsight Ltd.
When searching for Valentine’s Day gift ideas for a girlfriend, boyfriend, wife or husband the personal touch is desired and candy and flowers can’t provide it. Online digital photo services like FotoInsight can help transforming an individual photograph into a Valentine present that will be cherished and remembered for years to come.
• Snow dome with red hearts – a photograph is inserted in the centre.
• Love Crystallised: FotoInsight adds to its selection of photo gifts designed to display and preserve cherished photographs. Valentine’s Day photo gift ideas include crystal heart with a 3D laser engraved photograph, picture frames, crystal key rings, pen holder glass block with a laser engraved photograph. Special about the crystal key ring is an LED light to illuminate the engraved image.
• Where Cupid’s arrow strikes there is a story to be told with a photo album or a printed hardcover Photo Book, now with passpartout layout options. With a variety of creative themes and page layouts, these one-of-a-kind photo gifts will help to remember a romantic get-away or the everyday moments shared. Photo Books in a full colour and fully editable cover start from £14.99 for 26 pages in colour (plus p&p). For Photo Books see www.photo-book-printing.co.uk/
• The picture of a loved one in large format? Laminated and framed posters or photo canvas prints mounted onto a wooden frame look impressive and are ready to hang on the wall. Deco block posters and photo canvases are available in different sizes from 20 x 30 cm (about A4 at £24.99 +p&p) and larger: www.photo-canvas-printing.co.uk/
• Showing love 365 days this year. Daily reminders of love are easy with a photo calendar featuring own digital pictures. FotoInsight photographic calendars can start any month of the year. A hanging wall calendar offers room to jot down romantic dinner dates; photo calendars are easy to make and start from £7.79. For information on photographic calendars http://fotoinsight.co.uk/calendar/
• Cups full of cheers: The FotoInsight Designer software provides templates (for example in heart shape) to print photos onto mugs.
Convenience and flexibility
FotoInsight offers an independent online photo service, fully flexible to be used with images from any digital camera or mobile phone and using a Windows PC, MacOS or Linux. According to FotoInsight’s management the online service offers superior quality at lower costs when compared to inkjet printing. From Cambridge, Mr Brumann comments: “Photographic memories must never fade. Our technology is smarter, providing long lasting photographic gifts in superior quality.”
Publishing permission granted; 534 words. Copy or link appreciated.
Labels: calendar, canvas prints, crystal, engraved, photo gifts, photo heart, photobook, poster, presents, printing., Valentine's day
16 July 2007
New photo calendar software combines creative freedom and professional print
A new free software tool combines flexible layout design and professional printing processes
A new, free software application makes it surprisingly easy to design photo calendars with own digital photographs benefiting from professional printing and binding processes. Currently there are “Calendar Maker” software applications for photo enthusiasts and consumers, which provide for little money relatively great freedom in the photo calendar design, but lack professional print and binding. On the other end of the spectrum available are photo processing labs which offer professional photo calendar printing, but usually limit the creative freedom to one image per page in a fixed position. According to the vendor, the new “FotoInsight Designer” software combines the advantages of both: Creative freedom in the photo calendar design and professionally printed output.
The new version of the photo service utility “FotoInsight Pro” is a Windows software suite, containing apart from a range of tools and applications one to create photo calendars from own digital images. As already known from the software for "cewe photobooks" at FotoInsight, the new photo calendar design tool allows complete freedom in positioning the photographs, which can also be layered on top of each other; text can be added or layered in colour or transparent using any TrueType font. This significantly broadens the scope for creativity when designing calendars from own photographs and there is now virtually no limit on the number of images per page.
"Quality is our priority. All materials we use are subject to extensive testing and are guaranteed by their manufacturers to last 100 years. This guarantee extends to photo printing on real photographic paper as well as to the photo book and photographic calendar products", emphasises Dr. Rolf Hollander, CEO of CeWe Color, FotoInsight's production partner and Europe's largest photo finisher.
FotoInsight photo calendars can start any months of the year, resolving the issue about personal presents at birthdays or wedding anniversaries. The new FotoInsight large wall planner (A3 Annual Calendar with own pictures) costs £4.99; 13 page spiral bound calendars start from £9.99 (inc. VAT, plus p&p £2.99/order for delivery in the UK, Ireland and 30 other European countries), the FotoInsight calendar range includes calendars up to A3 size.
With the digital revolution photo labs are increasingly becoming personalised gifts services. The new FotoInsight Pro order software reflects this trend, integrating digital photo management and editing with optimised, safe ordering for photo prints, poster, gift ideas, photo canvas, calendar and printed photo album design in one free of charge software suite.
The data volume for online orders of high resolution photo poster, photographic calendars or large photo books growths faster than the band width of internet connections. Using order software that can communicate with the server at the other end helps to overcome little gaps in the online transmission when uploading large numbers of images. FotoInsight’s Managing Director Klaas Brumann explains the reason for the software development: “The FotoInsight Pro software client helps making the ordering process safer, easier and faster. That is why we provide this valuable, creative software tool as a free download at: http://fotoinsight.co.uk/designer-software.html “
Contact information
FotoInsight Ltd.
9 Moore Close, Cambridge, CB4 1ZP, UK
Skype fotoinside
Tel. +44 8700 114911
Email pr (at) fotoinsight.co.uk
Labels: books, calendar, CEWE, gift ideas, personalised gifts, photo calendars, photobooks, printing
25 July 2006
Digital Camera Images: How large can you go?
Digital Cameras Images can now be Really Big
The advances in the resolution of digital images allow most digital camera pics to be printed as super sized posters. With the majority of inkjet printers limited to A4, online digital photo labs cater for large format prints and photographic merchandise.
Cambridge, UK. 25 July 2006. – The price of ink for home printers may be the one price besides that of petrol that frequently infuriates consumers. It doesn't take long for the cost of ink-cartridge replacements to exceed the price of the printer. A large format, hi-resolution photographic print can drain entire refills, if the printer is capable to handle larger formats at all. Freeing digital camera users from the limits of their inkjet printer is a niche professional online labs like FotoInsight are catering for.
Exposure to light, heat, ozone and air pollution causes the ink used in home printers to fade. Recent research carried out by ‘Wilhelm Imaging Research’ found that “refilled cartridges often produce photos that begin to noticeably degrade in a number of months.” Using real photographic paper on large format lab equipment, firms like FotoInsight produce results, which tend to look 'richer', and are more durable with regard to handling by sweaty fingers, humid environments, and fading in daylight.
Unlike prints which produce a perceived colour through different coloured dots from a limited number of basic colours, lab processed images produce the exact colour for every pixel. According to FotoInsight, a 1 MB jpeg is sufficient for hi-res results in size 30”x20” (50x75 cm). FotoInsight Ltd Managing Director Klaas Brumann comments: “Digital camera users underestimate the technical possibilities we provide to produce large images on long lasting photographic paper to be displayed on walls, at exhibitions or simply to give to customers, friends or family as a great present.” FotoInsight’s mission is to prevent photographic memories from fading. Large format prints, like FotoInsight posters help to preserve memories in crisp colours shining off the wall.”
Apart from family pictures and holiday landscapes, online poster print services enable business users to produce mini print runs for advertisements, charts or logos for conferences, exhibitions or offices. This latest addition to FotoInsight’s photo print service is delivered in the UK and 20 European countries within one week of ordering online. Getting large format prints from digital camera photos is as easy as ordering any other photo print online. Once the user has arrived at FotoInsight’s website and has clicked on the poster, calendars, mugs and gifts icon, a window appears displaying a range of photographic merchandise options. When visiting the Poster category the system checks the browser for interactive plug-ins and then displays the familiar file tree with text and illustrations explaining the upload. The user selects pictures through drag & drop directly from the computer. The cost of large format prints starts at 99p for a picture in A4 format (plus p&p). A super sized 30”x20” (50x75 cm) costs £9.99 (plus p&p). All photo orders include the option to use online storage for photo sharing in FotoInsight’s online photo album facility one month free.
Any event in life that has a memory attached and photos to share is an excellent starting point for a decorative poster. A durable large format print makes the special view from holidays, a family photo or the memories of childhood unforgettable. FotoInsight Ltd. Managing Director Klaas Brumann comments: “FotoInsight’s posters are set to free digital camera users from the limits of their home printer.”
Convenience and flexibility
FotoInsight offers a PC and Mac compatible independent online photo service, fully flexible to be used with images from any digital camera. According to FotoInsight’s management the online service offers superior quality at lower costs when compared to inkjet printing. FotoInsight offers an extensive array of award-winning photo printing and photo gift ideas for the consumer, business, photography, and graphic arts markets. From Cambridge, Mr Brumann comments: “Photographic memories must never fade. Our technology is smarter, providing long lasting photos in superior quality.”
Contact information
FotoInsight
Cambridge, CB4 1ZP, UK
Skype fotoinside
Tel. +44 8700 114911
Labels: calendar, digital images, gift ideas, gifts, lab, mugs, photo, poster, printer, printing, prints, service
24 November 2005
The Photo Processing Industry is Changing Rapidly
With traditional film down a further 20% this year and photo processing from digital files up 80% the main season shift from the end of the summer holidays to the Christmas gift shopping season.
Agfa, Fuji and Kodak have become household names providing branded products to billions of consumers throughout the past century, but photo processing from conventional film rolls is down about 20% this year. The photo processing industry employs tens of thousand of people in the USA, Japan and Europe and blue chips like Kodak have been rapidly disinvesting from their central labs into other fields like medical imaging, shedding thousands of jobs in their photo labs. In Europe, some of the larger central photo processing companies keep their revenues stable in two ways: Catering for digital photography through POS and online channels, which is up by about 80% over last year (digital accounts for over 20% of all photo development) and with new products like photo calendar printing , photobooks (a new printed photo album), photo mugs, shirts, and other photo gift ideas. Demand for calendars from digital photos was up 1300% in Q4 2005 over the previous year.
The trend towards photo gifts increases the shift in seasonality for the industry. The main season for photo processing used to be the end of the summer school holidays, when people wanted to finally reveal what was on their film roll. With digital photography people have already seen the images several times before processing them and can wait to pick the ones to print, placing their orders between September and December together with a photo book for their partner and a photo calendar or other photo gift for granny. Unlike off the shelf gifts, individual gifts from own photos can only be processed on demand. Photo labs are increasingly seeing the need to install capacity largely underused for nine month of the year and to work 24/7 on the labour intensive photo gifts during the run up to Christmas. With European labour laws making this costly and difficult Europe’s largest independent central lab has put its eyes on Ukrainian. The next stage of the shift in photo printing might see personalized gifts from digital photos being produced in countries with low labour costs and the flexibility to employ a temporary work force during the Christmas season. Goods would need to be shipped back rapidly to where the first world digital consumer demands them.
But it could also happen that people start making more of the photo gifts at home again. For this gift shopping season 1-More is releasing a new version of its popular PhotoCalendar software for PC. Such applications make it easy to create complete, personalized, high quality photo calendar using the summer holiday pics and takes only minutes. Interested users might want to create an art calendar edited with their own digital pictures. PhotoCalendar can also be used to design and print anything from a single page to a thirteen months calendar. There is no better, individual and creative gift for beloved ones.
Many easy-to-use features make the photo calendar output original pieces of art. Applications like 1-More PhotoCalendar help the creative process with many pre-made layouts and the option to add clipart in frames. The registered version allows selecting different typefaces and colors for all parts of the calendar. The order of the objects can be freely defined and image titles and descriptions added. New in this latest release are special filters for professional effects.
1-More PhotoCalendar software can scale calendars to the format supported by the printer, lowering the hurdles to home printing.
Calendars edited in 1-More PhotoCalendar can start on any date of the year, making it a great tool to create gift calendars all year round. The very romantic let the calendar start or end on a special day of the month (this may extend the calendar to thirteen pages; e.g. from Sept. 20th, 2006 to Sept. 19th, 2007), making it the utmost personal present.
The great think about processing or printing photos is that all those digital treasures languishing on hard drives could finally see the light of day with the easy to use PhotoCalendar software. Getting nicely laid out, perfectly printed photo calendars to decorate a wall or desk is easy and set to become the latest must-have application for the creative computer user. Once the user has downloaded the PhotoCalendar applet from the 1-more.com website and installed it, the software guides the user through the calendar creation process. Digital images on a hard drive, CD, or camera are easily accessed. The layout, photo editing and framing tools are self explanatory with clearly laid out icons. A limited version of the application described can be downloaded and used free of charge, the full application for use with own photos costs only $19.- as a download from http://www.1-more-photocalendar.com, where the full version can be unlocked immediately to ensure that gift calendars can be edited and printed in time. Managing Director Michael Bartos and ads: “1-more.com specializes in easy to use creative photographic software. The new release of PhotoCalendar is set to resolve many people’s headaches over presents for friends and family.”
The judgment is open whether central photo labs can compete against domestic craft when it comes to getting personal presents ready for the season. For certain, today’s consumer has more choice than ever.
Press Contact:
International IT Marketing Limited;
Email: cm (at) IITM.info
Tel. +44 8700 114911
Tel. +1 202-470-3242
International IT Marketing Limited;
Email: cm (at) IITM.info
Tel. +44 8700 114911
Tel. +1 202-470-3242
Labels: calendar, calendars, design, Photo calendar, PhotoCalendar, print, printing
