Coffee Table Books for Professional

[Winsonapm]

Dear Professionals,

I'm doing a research to evaluate the viabilities of producing High Quality Coffee Table Books in Singapore. The printing company had invested in 2 HP Indigo Digital Press (in excess on S$1M) Duplex on Glossy Art Paper, can print just one book but need economic of scale to bind. Will produce standard hard case, hard cover, sleeve jacket and slip case. Can also customized at a higher cost. Only accept print ready files.
1) Is there a need?
2) Price point, what’s a good deal?
3) Quantity required? One or few.

Will extend to general consumer at a later date.

Interested professional only, email: winsonapm@yahoo.com

 

[igpenguin]

I have been ordering coffee table books from overseas. If I can make my own books in Singapore I'd definitely be interested. It's quite common overseas, think there's a market potential here too.

 

[Winsonapm]

The urge of sharing this email response from “Potential Needs” with all of you
Thanks for the detailed feedback.

I liked your analogy: "Drinking coffee changed with the arrival of Starbucks!"
We shall "empower every photographers to publish your own coffee table books."


1) Is there a need?
Tough question... no previous local stats to follow!

I think it's sort of chicken and egg. Drinking coffee changed with the arrival of Starbucks!

You may have seen the forum posts. People are asking about a coffee table book sample that's made in Thailand. They are asking, can I do the same thing in Singapore? When they see a ready sample, their imagination is stirred.

If there's no perceivable market, can we create one? Make it a culture and the thing to do?

2) Price point, what's a good deal?
I think a good deal is if the book can replace or add on to my current offerings and maintain or better my sales and profit margin. All the better if I can do the book with less amount of work than before.

A forummer said she spends $80 doing a 4R coffeetable book.

For a 8R book, printing 8R + lamination at $5/pc will already add up to $150 for 30pcs, and we haven't included the boutique album, which is around $30 and up wholesale, $50 and up retail. Total say $180.

The same book is sold at $1000 for the first book and $600 for a replica by one of the more popular photog in the forum.

A high-end photographer is spending $1000 to create just a few new wedding portfolio books.

The low-end wedding coffee table books are sold for around $200-$300 by photogs.

3) Quantity required? One or few.
Most photogs will probably be selling just one book to their couple. Maybe sell a 2nd book to parents, or for photogs' own portfolio. I maybe off-tangent here. Who knows maybe there's a high-end pro who can sell his couple 10 or 20 books? (his average client sales expenditure is $6K, and his album product start at $1500).

Good attempt!
Just do it. I'm interested

Cheers,
“Potential Needs”[/SIZE]

 

[igpenguin]

Winson approached me to collaborate in making the service available for local photogs. I'd like to share a prototype book done with well, pics I have taken lah.

Sorry no fancy montage or layouts here - I just prefer to put one image per page in my own layouts

In a gist, all you have to do is to create the book layout in Photoshop (or InDesign or Freehand), pass us the files, and we do the printing and binding to create your coffeetable photo book.

We hope to soft-launch the service pretty soon. Please feel free to get in touch with us with any questions about the service.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[shinken]

Winson approached me to collaborate in making the service available for local photogs. I'd like to share a prototype book done with well, pics I have taken lah.

Sorry no fancy montage or layouts here - I just prefer to put one image per page in my own layouts

In a gist, all you have to do is to create the book layout in Photoshop (or InDesign or Freehand), pass us the files, and we do the printing and binding to create your coffeetable photo book.

We hope to soft-launch the service pretty soon. Please feel free to get in touch with us with any questions about the service.

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, I'm keen. Any ballpark prices? This could be revolutionary if u guys do a good job. It's long overdue with own photogs getting their hands dirty to produce coffeetable albums.

 

[perspectives-act]

How about those nicely done up album by wedding studio? Where did they get it done from and wat's the price like?

 

[igpenguin]

Hi Shinken,

The prototype I have with me now is a 12 x 8 landscape book. We expect to offer it at $89 with a hard cover + 40 pages (double-sided printing) + binding.

There will be other sizes as well; currently we are working out the prices and format.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[igpenguin]

How about those nicely done up album by wedding studio? Where did they get it done from and wat's the price like?

To be honest I'm not familiar with those albums! I believe quite a number of them are done overseas eg Malaysia to save costs. Apparently some gets sent to Taiwan as well. Winson tells me some gets done in China, which I suppose is very much possible. The main landers are quite big into bridal studio photography themselves going by what I see in Chinese photography magazines.

 

[knoxknocks]

Hi Shinken,

The prototype I have with me now is a 12 x 8 landscape book. We expect to offer it at $89 with a hard cover + 40 pages (double-sided printing) + binding.

There will be other sizes as well; currently we are working out the prices and format.

Thanks,
Mike

wow good price! :thumbsup:

 

[jsbn]

Wow... That's pretty reasonable I thought.

Would be most interested once I have compiled enough photos and ploughed through some ideas for a coffeetable book of my Japan trips.

 

[harrynkl]

reasonable price, can consider :think:

 

[NMSS_2]

what about colour profile for the prints? sRGB?

 

[behyx]

Mike's idea could strike a new revolution in wedding coffee table book, if his marketing and business direction steer in the right direction ;p

Everybody benefits from it

 

[psychomatic]

Hey, that's a great idea which i have thought of before. The only difference is that i thought of it for Consumers. Take Pixart for example, it's the cheapest 1 i found cos it's located in malaysia, which means lower shipping costs. It's much cheaper than from those European countries. There is a need for this service, and i believe it wud be profitable. However, it is relatively new in Singapore, so it may be risky. Besides, Singapore's population v small. If you're thinking of making for wedding events only, then it would be too small a scope?

 

[igpenguin]

what about colour profile for the prints? sRGB?

You should be able to send your layout in either AdobeRGB or sRGB, we are working the details out. The whole layout should be consistently in a single mode, ie don't mix the modes in different pages.

 

[igpenguin]

Mike's idea could strike a new revolution in wedding coffee table book, if his marketing and business direction steer in the right direction ;p

Everybody benefits from it

Hi Behyx,

Thanks for your vote of confidence Actually Winson took a while to woo me to partner with him, I was just happy doing photography and writing all the while. I guess his enthusiasm got to me

 

[igpenguin]

Hey, that's a great idea which i have thought of before. The only difference is that i thought of it for Consumers. Take Pixart for example, it's the cheapest 1 i found cos it's located in malaysia, which means lower shipping costs. It's much cheaper than from those European countries. There is a need for this service, and i believe it wud be profitable. However, it is relatively new in Singapore, so it may be risky. Besides, Singapore's population v small. If you're thinking of making for wedding events only, then it would be too small a scope?

Hi psychomatic,

Winson is still looking for people who are interested to collaborate in the consumer market, do drop him or myself a note. I'm certain the market in Singapore is no less sophisticated than in Malaysia, Europe, or the States, where the services have been available since a couple of years back.

For the book format I think it's not merely weddings that are suited, pressed books have existed for at least a few hundred years since Gutenberg, longer if you start counting from the Chinese invention of the printing press.

 

[jsbn]

If its reasonably priced, it will definitely have a market!

Can u imagine how many photographers out there are dying to have a coffeetable book of their own showcasing their own styles, specialities and photos?

Of cos, there's money to be earned as well where doing the wedding business is concerned. But do take into consideration private printers who'd like to do just 1 or 2 books instead of a couple of hundred.

The possibilities are limitless.

 

[jsbn]

You should be able to send your layout in either AdobeRGB or sRGB, we are working the details out. The whole layout should be consistently in a single mode, ie don't mix the modes in different pages.

Time to get my hands dirty and start working around a theme.

 

[eclectyx]

The prototype I have with me now is a 12 x 8 landscape book. We expect to offer it at $89 with a hard cover + 40 pages (double-sided printing) + binding.

Is this for a single copy? Or batch print of how many copies? At this price point, non-pros like myself would definitely be interested too. I mean, whoa!! :thumbsup:

The days of labs printing 4R, 5R are numbered. That's the sort of thing you'd do at home on your selphys and photomates. Labs would be the place to go for these kinds of books and other products. We've all done our little travel albums in the stick-on pages... Dying to be able to do them digitally now. Remember when "desktop publishing" was new and revolutionary? Now, it's so ubiquitous, it isn't even a term anymore. You just layout and print stuff, duh!

Is there a market for this? Heck, yeah! :lovegrin: