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Art and Restoration
Q. Can you restore an old or damaged photograph?
A. Restoration is available at several levels. The base level would be A La Cart services ordered one by one. Complete restoration can be ordered and is usually charged at an hourly rate. If detail is missing from the original, the artist will use their best judgment to fill in the area.
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Shipping
Q. Can you ship to my client?
A. Yes. It does however give your customer access to who we are and potentially have access to our prices.
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Mounting
Q. What is the difference in your mounting materials?
A. Mount board is the least expensive material. It is highly susceptible to humidity and because it is basically a fine card board will not last like other mediums. Masonite is tempered hardboard that is resistant to humidity and buckling. This is the perfect selection for framing for home use. Gatorfoam is light weight and has a foam core. It’s great for trade shows but can damage easily. Canvas Mounting is the top of the line mounting for portraits. The resin coating on the back of the print is peeled off and then after applying an adhesive, the print is heat pressed into true canvas material. Irregular patterns can appear due to the canvas texture. We no longer offer Economy Canvas (stretcher).
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Printing
Q. Do I have to have my prints printed digitally?
A. Yes. Usually the greatest concern a customer has is the archival quality of a digital print. Our digital printing is achieved with light emitting lasers onto Kodak Professional Endura Paper. This is the same paper that was used in our optical printing and processed with the same RA-4 chemistry. Only the fine art printing on watercolor paper is done through an inkjet process.
Q.What is the largest print that you can produce?
A. The largest standard print size is a 30x40. Depending on the format, we have the capability to print 30 x 50+. Ask for special pricing for larger than 30x40.
Q. Do I have to card my negatives for reorders?
A. If reordering from images that were scanned and you are using a crop different from the full crop you must card the negative so we can use it as a guide. If full frame is requested simply indicate horizontal or vertical on the glassine. When using an online service, cropping is done through the specific program.
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Schedule
Q. How does your service schedule work?
A. An order arriving at the lab by 10 a.m. will be logged in for that day. After 10 a.m. the order will be logged in for the following day. There is a time stamp at the front counter where the orders are stamped when they arrive at the lab. In the catalog the days associated with the service follows the product. If the product says 2 working days, an order will receive 2 full days in house and should be ready for pick up the 3rd morning. Our working days are Monday through Friday not counting weekends, holidays and days closed due to inclement weather. Holiday closings are posted in the News and Info section of our website as the holiday draws near.
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Scanning
Q. Can you scan slides?
A. Yes. We can scan slides as high or low resolution images. All products and costs are the same as for film.
Q. How long do you keep scans? A. If a customer request high resolution scans, they will receive a CD of those images and we will keep them in our system for 60 days. If a digital contact sheet is ordered, a low resolution CD is returned with the contacts and again we will keep the images for 60 days. If an online service is ordered, we keep high resolution images in our system for 1 year.
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Photos for a Lifetime
Q: What materials do I need to set up the site?
A: Creating your site is easy – If you are already a customer, then we should have all of your current information on file; such as your address, phone number, email, etc… This information will be used when setting up the template site. After we set up the site for you, then we like to set up a time for you to come to the lab and spend about 45 minutes to an hour with us to show you how it all works. There are no set up fees and no charge for the training.
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Q: What if I already have my own website?
A: Many of our Photos For A Lifetime customers already have there own website. All you will need to do is create a link to your “Events” page, providing your customers with easy access to their photos from your existing web site.
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Q: How much does it cost?
A: There are no initial setup fees, and your site can be ready for use within about a day. If you are having us scan your film, it will cost 55 cents per image for the scans. This will make the images available on-line and cover the hosting cost for the first 30 days. If we are uploading your digital camera files, then the cost is 15 cents per image for the first 30 days. Each additional 30 days that the images are left on the server will cost 2 cents per image (film or digital camera files). There is also a $10 fee for any month that you have uploaded less than 500 images (in addition to any other charges).
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Q: How many images can I put in an event?
A: You can put as many images as you like in an event. Of course, at some point an event becomes so large that it would be cumbersome for your customer to page through all of the images. As a good rule of thumb, you should limit your events to 1000 images. In your larger events, you should categorize images as a way to help your customer quickly find what they are looking for.
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Q: Is the Photos For A Lifetime e-commerce system safe?
A: Yes. The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Thwate Server software enables us to provide the highest industry standard of 128-bit-encryption. It is among the best and strongest of the software available today for secure online commerce transactions. It encrypts all of your customer’s personal information, including credit card number, name, and address, so that it can not be read.
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Q: Can you print the images from the website?
A: The published photograph is approximately 26K in size and specifically designed to maximize viewing quality while protecting you against unauthorized copying. Right-click ability has been removed, and all preview photos online can be protected using a digital watermark, thus further protecting your copyrighted photos from unauthorized use.
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Q: Are Credit Card orders processed through the website, or am I responsible for this?
A: You are going to be responsible for collecting all monies owed to you. If you accept credit cards and someone fills in that information, then you are going to need to process that payment through your existing credit card account. If you do not have the ability to process credit cards, and only give your customers the option for cash or check, then you would wait for that payment before fulfilling the order.
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Q: Will H.S. Photo ship directly to my customer?
A: Yes. It does however give your customer access to who we are and potentially have access to our prices.
When placing your order with the lab you will need to make note of this on the order form. If you are placing the order through
HSPro Digital, KPSL, or FTP then you would indicate this within your additional instructions.
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Q: Can I change the look of my web page?
A: Yes. You will have complete control over the color, layout, images, and text that appears on your site. This is all handled through the online manager.
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Q: Can I have different prices for different events?
A: Yes. Each event can automatically default with your preferred pricing, but each event can have its own sizes and products. You can also have several default pricing schedules saved.
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