Protect Your Photos
One of the most common concerns we get from clients is how to protect printed photos they just purchased. This makes sense, they want to ensure their images are protected from anything. The answer to this problem may seem a little odd, but after you read this article, it should make sense of why we trust a USB Drive. The USB may be old, but it is one of the most reliable and portable storage devices to protect your clients photos.
History Lesson
The USB technology first came out in 1995 with version 1.0. The intent was to standardize a peripheral connection among computers and to allow fast “plug and play” access to other devices. This technology was promoted early by some big players such as Intel, Microsoft, and Phillips right out of the gate (USB Facts). The important part of this to remember that USB’s allow for fast plug and play access so they can be used on any computer.
What We Used
In the past we have used two primary formats to deliver our client images. The first was a Compact Disc (CD). We would print custom artwork for the CD top and thought we were the best photographers in the world. Over time, we soon discovered that our clients were a little “rough” with their CD’s and needed replacements. This was a headache because we would have to make another CD and ship it to them, which took a while. Good thing we dropped this format because CD’s are just about gone in today’s society. The next way was through an online gallery.
We used the online gallery for a long time and still do but not to deliver digital images. The online gallery is very efficient and is easy to set up. Clients just go into their gallery and download their images. Unfortunately, we did run into issues of the clients password being leaked and some “questionable” characters would get a hold of their images. Another issue, some of our VIP clients did not want an online gallery but still wanted the ability to share photos with close family members. What to do?
What is the Worst That Can Happen
In order to help our clients protect their photos, we had to shift our mindset. We have to think on the level of “what is the worst thing that can happen”? From here, we can start to see what are the biggest concerns from our clients.
Computer Breaks Down
Today computers usually last for 3-5 years (Quora). If a computer is fortunate enough to last beyond 5 years, they usually will have processing issues and or malfunctions along the way due to the rate computers are evolving with programs. This is a huge issue because if the client wants to print pictures but only saved them on their desktop, they can lose them at any moment. Think clients have backup storage devices? Think again… data loss is up 400% since 2012 (compudyne).
Online Galleries Don’t Last
We ran into this issue late last year. We had a client want a copy of her images because she couldn’t find them. We sent her a download link to her gallery, which was hosted by a company we do not use any more. She tried to download them but was unsuccessful. We had to contact the company and after 48 hrs of phone tag, finally was able to get the client her images. The company let us know that after a year we would have to request the images be unarchived one gallery at a time. This is CRAZY!!!
Photographers go out of Business
While we may think that photographers will last forever, they won’t. We get older or we move onto different career paths. Regardless, the client should not be affected by our changing lives. They have paid for the images and should be able to access them when they like to.
Moving into Their First House
Right after their honey moon, over half of our clients move into their first house together. While this may not sound like a big deal, it can create some issues especially when the client has images they printed damaged or destroyed. How will they print them? If they have easy access to their digitals, this will ensure any damaged photos can be recovered.
The Answer
Looking at all of these situations there was a lot to consider. We finally made a list requirements our clients wanted in their storage medium:
- Access to their images at any time,
- Own the format to control who gets the photos
- Don’t have to rely on a third party site to get the photos
- Medium that can take a little abuse
- Storage that is portable
- Storage that is simple to use
For us, after looking at all of these requirements and over 10 years of experience there was only one answer… the USB. This is the only storage device that answers all of these issue and gives the protection for printed photos. The best way to protect a clients printed work is the security that they can print them again no matter what happens.
Making it Your Own
One of the biggest issues we had with USB’s, in the beginning, was lack of branding options. But in today’s market there are so many options available that there are few excuses to why you can’t brand your USB’s. One of the companies that we use is USB Memory Direct. They allowed us to custom monogram our USB’s and sell them in a wide range of colors, storage, and styles.
Conclusion
In any situation a client wants to feel their investment is protected. If a client purchases prints, they want to ensure they can reproduce those prints if something catastrophic happens. I do not blame them. A USB gives them that security and ensures all of their printed images are saved and protected from any situation. Disclaimer: Sponsored post by USB Memory Direct
Do you use USB’s to deliver your digital images?
