articles/Review/3xm-01-page1
Published 01/02/2017
As photographers we’re all looking for something a little different that helps us stand out from the crowd and up our game – and especially so as a new year gets underway.
This applies not only to how our images are presented, but also how well they sell to clients. Based in Dublin, Ireland, Photovalue is currently pushing its ‘Digital & Print’ combo category of products that fall under its 3XM brand. The ethos here is that even photographers who are normally ‘digital only’ can still offer a luxury-feel presentation product.
v“Combining printed images in mounts along with a USB is a category of product that is really taking off. Photographers are having a lot of success with it,” confirms 3XM’s Marketing Manager, Jenny Johnston.
Offering something of a bespoke solution – in that you can tailor your choice of package very much to suit your own needs and those of your clients – there are a number of Digital & Print combination collections to choose from, which all sit at different price points. As the concept suggests, hard copy prints are supplied alongside digital files - all beautifully presented in combination.
“Our most popular and incidentally most expensive is our Premium Colours collection,” Jenny reveals, adding that a 14x11-inch sample box can be had for £82 delivered (thereafter it’s £164). Alternatively, there is the Signature collection that starts from £50 and allows photographers to grow their offerings upwards, dependent on the quantity of images they want in a box – and size of the images they want.
You can ‘build’ your product on the 3XM website (see URL at the end of this feature) through use of its ‘TED’ (Totally Endless Design) software – which purports to offer upwards of 60,000 potential different combinations.
The Premium Colours option turns on its head the preconception that a digital-only wedding shoot need not necessarily be the cheap and cheerful option. In fact the company has witnessed the opposite of that, with some photographers doing really well out of it. No wonder it is encouraging social photographers to offer prints too, because in its experience the company is finding that’s what most people want.
Pitched as ‘the ultimate folio box for your reveal wall’ the Premium Colours 14x11 box comes with 20 acid-free bevel-cut mats/mounts, designed so that prints can simply be slipped inside, with no glue or tape required. Photographers can choose from three formats to hold 10x7, 10x8 or 12x8 prints. A USB device sits within the lid. Branding personal to the photographer, along with a luxury gift bag, are also included in the price.
A second Digital & Print combination product worth checking out is its Mount Box USB option, which we talked about at the start of 2016. As it sounds this again features prints and a USB device of digital files within the same tangible box. A year on, Jenny suggests there are a lot more choices within this category than there were 12 months ago. Again, it’s all about giving photographers and their clients increased choice and an opportunity to boost their bottom line in the process.
XPLORE your options, expand your business
Talking of potential increased revenue, another aspect of the business that 3XM is developing further in 2017 is its ‘XPLORE’ platform - intended as a central hub for photographers, where they can get advice, education and training. This also takes the form of live events around the country – the thinking being that if photographers do well, then the rest of the industry also does well.
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