selling Prints at local street fairs

Colin_D wrote:
Little Juice Coupe wrote:
Well, I for one wouldn't buy an inkjet print for anyone unless they
offered if it fades or shifts color I will replace it free for life
warranty. There is no way I would spend any amount of money to buy a
print no matter how nice or lovely the image is if it was done with an
inkjet. Either have them professional printed with something that is
more durable and appropriate or offer the warranty I mentioned.

ljc

There is no printing process more durable than an inkjet print on
archival paper, printed with pigmented inks on a good inkjet printer.

I think you are somewhat behind the times with your knowledge of print
life. FYI, chemical, or 'wet' prints on the world's best paper - Fuji
Crystal Archive - have a projected life of about 65 years in a protected
environment. On display, much shorter.

Inkjet prints with archival pigment inks from Epson, or the new pigment
inks from Canon, have a projected life of greater than 100 years
depending to some extent on the paper used.

And, up until recently, chemical prints were doing well if they lasted
20 years. I have on my wall a chemical 16 x 20 print of our extended
family, professionally produced on Kodak Lustre paper. After just on 20
years, it is reduced to little more than a pale cyan image, the yellow
and magenta dyes have long gone. That print was texturized with a
plastic coating which sealed the surface against contaminants and UV,
despite which it has faded beyond reasonable viewing. It's still on the
wall only because there's nothing to replace it.

Colin D.


"roadiebob" wrote in message
ps.com...
JC Dill wrote:
On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 22:01:05 -0500, Shawn Hirn
wrote:

A lot of this depends on where in the world you live. Start by
visiting
local street fares, flea markets, farmer's markets, etc. and talk
to the
photographers who are doing what you have in mind. Most will be
glad to
answer your questions and give you advise.
I have tried this in my area, and found that most do NOT want to
answer questions or give advice. It looks like the business is real
cut-throat and that no one wants to share any tips with what they view
as potential competition at the next event.

jc

--

"The nice thing about a mare is you get to ride a lot
of different horses without having to own that many."
~ Eileen Morgan of The Mare's Nest, PA

Thanks everyone for the advice. I live in southern California so there
are many
many events that we could do this at. One thought I had was to try to
map
out the coming event and go there ahead of time and do some local
shots. I
guess the logic of it may be easier to sell things that have meaning
to
the local audience. were heading up to Yosemite again this weekend
to beef up the collection. Also I will be working on a web site for
display. I will
post that link when it is ready.

thanks everyone. I very much apreciate all your input and also any more
that
anyone wants to add.





My repro facility uses Kodak Endura paper. See:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...14.28.24&lc=en

Chip Gallo

On 18 Dec 2006 09:27:25 -0800, "roadiebob" wrote:

I am thinking of selling some of my own photos at street fairs, and
farmers market


Been there, done that. It's a lot of work, and not
worth the bother.

Booths aren't free. Anywhere from $50 a day to
$250 or more for a weekend. Double or triple that
for the really "professional" events (outta my league.)

You need to buy a canopy, display shelving, containers
for everything, hand trucks to move it, etc. Enough
sh!t to fill the back of a Subaru Outback, to capacity.

I sold mostly matted 8x10s (in 11x14 mats) and 5x8"
prints in 8x10" mats. Some framed prints as well,
but not so many, because of course they're more
expensive, more fragile, and bulkier.

I did this for about four or five years. Strangely,
my best sales were in the first few years -- but
things went steadily downhill after 9/11.

It was eating up precious weekends... and
even in the best of them, I might come home
with $800 or so in sales. Subtract the booth
fees, driving expenses, meals, the hours to
load/unload/set up/dismantle, and the
cost of the prints themselves... and it just
wasn't worth the trouble.

Go to a few shows, talk to the folks in the
booths. They're usually happy to share what
they know. As a customer, you're no threat
to them. And most of the time they're bored
and just happy to chat. They won't reveal
any state secrets, but you'll get the general
idea of the thing.


rafe b
www.terrapinphoto.com