On 5 Jun 2004, at 09:37, Richard Lewisohn wrote:
Hi Bob
I believe that you operate at the top end of advertising/product photography for which there was always an element of bureau work and post-production. In the area of, say, photojournalism, clients often expected to scan a transparency to CMYK and print it.
Dear Richard
I used to but I am now involved in publishing my own books and postcards and shooting for stock. It is through my dealings with printers and repro bureaux that I know roughly how they charge for services.
When PS and Quark first came in the bureaux charged what they called "system" time. This was a drop to about 25% of what retouching on a Quantel Paintbox was costing. As mentioned this was �50 per hour in Cornwall in 1993.
What I think photographers need to do is learn what their clients are being charged for similar "system" time. This isn't as hard as it seems. Many magazines give credit to their repro house in the front of the magazine. All you have to do is phone them and ask their hourly rate for pre-press preparation.
Surprisingly rates for RGB to CMYK conversion and sizing are not very high. I pay �2 each in batches of 100 for slow service. Expect �4 each for 24 hour service on magazine size quantities. Add more for weekend working and overnight. Putting a lot of work to one bureau keeps the price down for small quantities too. I rarely pay a bureau extra for CD burning and I pay very modestly for ISDN delivery.
Very often the cost of setup and retouching is far higher. Simple retouching like taking out estate agent's boards, phone wires and litter costs up to �120 per hour. However often this is also the minimum for a 20 minute job. I asked a PS expert to merge two images together when my PS skills were less developed. At the same time he was doing similar work for a small circulation trade magazine at �100 per hour.
What I should mention is that some repro bureaux are now pitching for the RAW camera conversion work. They see a market where they can add value through their familiarity with the clients print requirements. Again charges are very modest at about �2 each.
Hope this helps
Bob Croxford
And if anyone can tell me (off-list if necesary) what they or printers charge per CMYK conversion, I'd be very interested to have that as ammunition on Monday morning.
Kind regards
Richard Lewisohn
http://www.lewisohn.co.uk
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