Primary Foto Source

30th Anniversary

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:05:59 GMT

Primary Colour Lab Limited History

Primary Colour Lab was incorporated May 1,1978, as a partnership. The business was located at 22 S. Cumberland St( upstairs).

Equipment to outfit the lab consisted of a film processor and a photographic paper printer, and a paper processor and print cutter. The lab was automated, but labour intensive. The thought, with the two new entrepreneurs was, now that we have the equipment, people would flock to our doors. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Finances were very tight, as they established themselves in the community, so John Nistico went to work at another job to supplement the income of the both owners. The partners took turns working outside the business. After 2 years the partnership ended, leaving John Nistico as the sole owner.

The business moved to the ground location at 22 S. Cumberland. This proved to be a great decision as business continually grew after that, due to higher exposure at street level. A photo studio was added to the new location. John was busy trying to grow the photographic studio by attending conventions, entering competitions, and reading all he could on photography and the business of photography. He was never seen without a camera around his neck.

Primary was the first lab to offer 4 x 6 sized prints in Thunder Bay when 3.5x 5 was the standard at the time, They offered slide processing, black and white processing and enlargements up to 16 x 20 all produced on-site. Dry mounting and spray coating prints were also offered as on-site services. This shortened turnaround times for professional photographers and businesses alike. Up to this time all those services were sent out of town.

John’s wife Donna-Rae took care of the photofinishing lab. She was the lab manager, printer and quality control technician. Donna-Rae strengthened the business significantly as she had a great deal of experience previously working for other local photo labs. Her colour sense, speed and efficiency maximized the profitability of the company.

Primary grew an extensive dealer network in Thunder Bay and out of town, reaching places such as Nipigon, Red Rock, Marathon, Manitouwadge and Terrace Bay. Orders from those places were bused into the lab. The network in town consisted of drug stores and corner stores. In the busy times the store employed a driver for several hours every day to pickup and deliver work.

John and Donna-Rae had two daughters Janine and Corin. With both John and Donna-Rae being heavily involved in the business, it was a struggle at times to balance both business and family life. Strong family support from both of their parents helped them through. ”Our children spent a lot of hours at Primary Colour Lab, not because they wanted to be to be there. They helped to clean the shop and became the ever-popular subjects for their dad in the studio,” says Donna-Rae.

John was actively involved in the BIA Downtown Heart of the Harbour, and was chairman for two three year term. John also was a member of the Thunder Bay Parking Authority for many years.

John enjoys teaching photography and formed a group from one of his classes called The Circles of Confusion. This club lasted for 15 years and ended when digital photography started to dominate the industry.

In the mid 90’s technology was starting to change with the first digital cameras coming out. This was the start of the digital revolution. The Digital camera quality was not great for making prints and most people thought it was a passing fad. The only thing digital cameras were good for in the 90’s was for the internet. The internet kept the technology alive, and improving.

The first digital single lens reflex camera was introduced at 6 mega pixels. This was the exact quality of a 35 mm piece of film. The industry then changed dramatically and fast!

In 2003, Primary made the move to 701 Memorial Ave. Along with this move they introduced digital technology. The move represented the change in the industry and solidified the companies’ strength in the community. The more central location and ease of parking helped bring in new clients and the first year was a record sales year for the store. Film was still the dominant method of capturing images, so film sales and processing made up a large part of their sales.

Several years prior to these changes, Primary Colour Lab Limited joined a large buying group called Fotosource Canada. They now operate as Primary foto source. The buying group allows them to compete on price with the chains and box stores.

In 2003 digital cameras outsold film cameras in North America. The effect this had on Primary was dramatic and painful. For eight months, the consumer was gathering digital images without processing them into prints. Clients weren’t buying film, or photo albums. The digital camera allowed them to enjoy the captured image immediately after taking it. There was no urgent need for photographs. Those who wanted prints of their images were confused as to how to go about it. The industry was not ready for the change.

The key to Primarys’ success was to keep up with the rapidly changing digital technology, along with communicating to and educating their customers on the many changes. They offered classes on how to use your digital camera and taught the students how to print their images. These classes continue to evolve and as the demand for education changes with their clients, Primary changes their classes. They offer camera classes for every make of camera that they sell and they offer free digital kiosk classes for those that are afraid of the technology but are eager to learn.

Today you can come into their store and see a modern camera store, photo lab and photographic studio that are on the leading edge of photographic technology. Many of the services they offer are of the traditional nature, but they offer many things that people don’t expect from a photography store. Here are some examples:

Art cards, hardcover photo books, folded greeting cards, colour photo copies, calendars, enlargements up to 44 inches wide by 100 feet, collages, digital frames, photographic classes, diva parties for children, canvas prints, fine art paper prints, expert restoration and retouching, slide shows on DVD, copy work, transfer of slides to DVD, Banners and point of sale signs, dry mounting and laminating.

A full digital professional photographic studio with two full time photographers is onsite in the back of the store.

We have had many employees over the years. Several professional photographers still working in our community started their career with Primary. Those that have stayed with us have adapted to the change in photography. Our employees have become more than just staff members to us… they have become valued resources in creative thinking.

Primary Foto Source is hosting a number of customer appreciation days in the month of May as well as a three day anniversary sale to commemorate the event. Visit them on-line at www.primary.fotosource.com.

Education is the Key to Understanding New Technology

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 05:27:46 GMT

For several years we have been holding classes at Primary foto source, to teach clients that have purchased their camera from us, how to get the most out of the camera.

I have observed that most purchasers of a new digital camera are replacing a film camera and believe that the cameras are much the same. In reality they are, as the digital camera will do the same things as a film camera. But there is so much more that they can do that the purchaser should really be aware of.

We try to keep the things we teach to our clients relevant to their needs and not just a jumble of technical specifications of the camera. We try to translate the technical into real life scenarios, which in turn helps the client learn through practical application.

We have the participants of our classes fill out a survey at the end of the class to evaluate our teaching, the entertainment value and ways we could improve. The vast majority of the surveys compliment us on how they enjoyed the class, how much they learned about their camera and how glad they took the course.

Suggestions on improvements would be to add new courses on Long term digital storage, How to manipulate images with image editing programs and basic computer use with images in mind. We are responding to these requests.

One of the most rewarding classes we have held is the composition class. In this class the participants are asked to bring in several images they are please with and several that they like but don't have the impact they had hoped for. These images are analysed and critiqued and when the rules of composition are applied.....the epiphanies begin. The best statement after the class from a participant " I will never look through my camera lens the same way again!"

Quite a statement!

until the next time

John

Simple things regarding digital cameras

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:07:56 GMT

I had the pleasure of holding a seminar for a group of women that do scrapbooking. I wanted to teach them how to copy old photographs to be able to share them in their scrap books without using the original photograph.

In my mind it was a simple lesson and I was afraid that it would be over too soon.

Once I started the lesson however, I realized how much I take for granted about digital camera use.

I wanted to teach them how to use their self timer to make sure the camera was steady on their tripod when the exposure was taking place. There were twenty plus participants and almost the same amount of different digital cameras creating chaos everytime I introduced something new. I walked around to each one to show them where their self timer was. The same for the white balance.

The whole exercise was challenging for me, but the gratification was at the end; many of the women said that they learned more about their digital cameras in that hour than they ever knew. many of them asked if I held classes and of course I told them I did.

One simple thing that was the biggest WOW was when I had them all searching through their menus on the camera for the self timer and I asked how many people knew how to get out of the menu function and get back into the picture taking mode? Some actually turn their camera off and on again!

When I told them they just have to touch the shutter release to get out of the menu and back into the picture taking mode...there was a hugh OMG!

Stump the Wizards

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:37:44 GMT

At Primary Foto Source, we consider ourselves experts in the field of photography. We invite you to try and stump the experts. If you have a question on equipment, photofinishing, digital photography, studio portraits, wedding photography, etc., post your question and we will consult the experts and get an answer. Stump us and receive a free 8x10.