Century Color Labs

Fifteen of our Underclass photographers participated in our pilot program of hosting their underclass jobs online for reorders. The busiest part of the Underclass season is behind us, so we asked our participants to complete a brief survey of their experience. We received some great feedback indicating that overall the program was a success and participants are looking forward to next year. Additionally, several ideas were suggested for improvements to the program, which we are already working on.

It’s late January and we still receive online reorders every day for jobs that were posted prior to the holidays, which translates into bonus sales for the photographer in a traditionally slow season. Online hosting allows photographers to offer specialty products that are not part of their traditional packages. The younger the students the higher the interest in products such as key fobs, fun packs and notebooks. We’ve seen orders from numerous states including Florida and Tennessee, so the online ordering is working just as intended, allowing grandparents and extended family members to place their own orders.

If you would like to learn more about how you can participate in hosting your Underclass online, please contact customer service at 800-242-9501 ext. 2.

Sort of...

Century Color was closed between Christmas and New Year and we all appreciated the much-needed rest. Unfortunately, our Internet server decided it was time to retire (and didn’t even give us two weeks notice)!

As you may have noticed we have been experiencing some difficulty with our web page, ROES, DataMatch, and the ability to FTP images. While this is never an ideal situation, we are certainly relieved that the server spared us this inconvenience during the busy season. We are working diligently to fully restore everything and I am happy to report we are nearly there.

Despite the technological mishap we are looking forward to a new decade. We are working on many new products and online features to introduce in the coming year. We will continue to host workshops to introduce products and programs that will help you boost sales and improve workflow. While we will be reaching out to you in the coming months, please feel free to contact us if you would like to schedule a more immediate meeting.

Tip: January is a great time to sit down and develop a marketing plan, ThePressRoom at Century Color can help.

With less than a week till Christmas

Orders come in with a “rush”

And Century Color workers

Are ready for that push.

We’ll get you your orders

And do so with a smile

Because we know after Christmas

We won’t be back for a while.

Just like Santa’s elves

And eight flying reindeer

You won’t see us again

Until early next year.

Till the day before Christmas

We give all that we’re worth

So we’re gifted with a break

Until January fourth!

Century Color will be closed from noon on Dec.24^th until Monday January 4^th, 2010!

We wish you all a safe and happy holiday season and a very Happy New Year!

Century Color hours starting in January will be Monday - Thursday 8:30 a.m - 5:00 p.m.

Century Color will be closed on Fridays through March.

The turkey has been eaten and the bellies have all been stuffed; now it is on to December.  It seems that holiday card orders have been a little slow to arrive, but we have seen a dramatic increase this past week. If you are experiencing an initial decrease in holiday card orders we urge you to stay diligent with your marketing efforts, a late order is better than no order.

On that note, we are not imposing a holiday deadline for card orders. We have been able to maintain a timely turn around for card orders, so we do not anticipate a need to set a definitive deadline. Please use your best judgment when dealing with your own customers’ requests.

This year we introduced online posting of underclass jobs. Quite a few of our school photographers have signed up to be a part of this new venture and are starting to see the benefits already. The very first job that was posted received four online re-orders within the first week! We are sure the other participating photographers will see the same rewards as their school images are posted. 

We’ve also been receiving rave reviews about our ID cards this year. Earlier in the year we purchased two new ID card printers and the quality is fantastic. Photographers and schools have commented that the bar codes are easier to read and the image quality surpasses previous ID cards. 

ThePressRoom staff has noticed an increase in orders for marketing materials from photographers. We would like to applaud all of you who have taken the initiative to create new marketing campaigns and get the word out about your business. As we noted in our September Newsletter, “better marketing” is the number one need of photographers for increasing their revenue.

ThePressRoom at Century Color was designed with your marketing needs in mind.

And last, but not least, more rave reviews about our new design feature in ROES for ordering books, greeting cards and bookmarks. The new feature allows you to “flip” to the next page or side, making designing much easier. If you haven’t tried it, what are you waiting for?

Please keep the feedback coming! While we all appreciate recognition for a job well done, we also want your feedback if there are products or services you would like to see added or improved. Our goal is to help you meet the needs of your customers.