Online photo service
Online photo service (also known by numerous other names, such as online photo service , online photo laboratory , etc.) is a service offering that prints digital image data on photo paper or other media. The operator is either a service company or a photo laboratory . The term online refers to the possibility of transmitting the digital data online.
With digital photography , it is no longer necessary to transport a film to the laboratory for developing and exposing the prints.
Even with analog photography, there is often no direct exposure of the photo paper with the help of a negative in the large laboratories for the mass market. Instead, the negative or slide is digitized with the help of a scanner and output on a digital imager .
The image files are sent to the provider either
- by upload to a server of the provider (e.g. via ftp ), this is carried out with some providers using software from the provider
- by mail
- by post, especially with very large amounts of data by data carrier (CD / DVD, USB stick, memory card, hard drive)
In Germany there are around 200 online photo service providers on the Internet. Most online photo service providers offer photo prints as well as a variety of other products that the customer can design themselves online. These include, for example, photo calendars, posters , mugs, photo books , puzzles or T-shirts. However, many large photo laboratories operate several websites in parallel either themselves or through subcontractors. This procedure was already common in the days of analog photography, when a laboratory often served several discounters, specialist shops and professional photographers.
This is intended
- to address all target groups, e.g. B. Price-conscious customers and professional customers such as portrait and professional photographers, addressing young people and professionals through a different design of the website
- make it more difficult for the customer to compare offers (offers sometimes differ significantly in price, although they are produced on the same paper on the same systems)
function
Access is via the provider's website. It is often necessary to download and install photo ordering software. The usual information for other online shops must also be provided for the order ; payment is also made in the same way.
With the order software, the customer can put together his order and make the usual choices for analog development, such as format and paper surface. Many applications also offer additional functions such as optimization of the resolution, preview and editing functions.
The order is then transmitted to the image service's server via the Internet. Since image data can also be very large, it is only worth ordering larger formats and images via upload if you have a DSL Internet connection. A digital photo can easily be several megabytes in size if large formats are required and the slow upload speeds of ADSL are overwhelming for larger quantities . In this case, vending machines in electronics stores, photo stores, etc. Ä. In which the data is uploaded directly from the data carrier via a connection from the provider.
The photo laboratory now exposes the files on photo paper and sends them to the customer by post.