Use Sublimation to Create High-Value Photo Gifts

More than just cheap trinkets or wallet-sized pictures, photo gifts can be the ultimate personalization product and are a low-cost way to generate high margins. January 21, 2011
By Jimmy Lamb, Contributing Writer

Each of these sports-themed products started with a basic image supplied by the customer and was then personalized to create a very marketable photo gift.

As a business owner in the decorated apparel industry, you always are looking for new income opportunities, right? (Raise your hand if you don’t care about new revenue streams.) Most likely, you have limited yourself to apparel because you’re most comfortable with it. Obviously, there are many available apparel decoration technologies, but most of them carry a pretty hefty price tag — which may make you a bit uncomfortable at first glance.

Return on investment (ROI) is an important aspect of any purchase, and it — not just the price tag — should be the defining factor in a good business decision. The reality is that if you spent $100,000 upfront, but could generate $1,000,000 in profit over the next 12 months, you probably would jump at the chance.

Any new service, technology or equipment will have some kind of ROI and you don’t have to spend an obscene amount of money to get a decent return. The reality is there are many new, low-cost digital processes in regard to startup and operation, yet they only return a decent markup. But markup shouldn’t be your only consideration; you also must think about new products and new markets which, in turn, yield an expanded customer base and increased profits — which are things we all need.

Sublimation is a great example of a technology that has an enhanced ROI because not only is it a low-cost process, but it also opens doors to a wider spectrum of profitable products, like photo gifts.

This may sound pretty far removed from your core business, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing; diversification can go a long way in a challenging economy. Let’s start by defining what photo gifts really are.

Turn Pictures Into Profits
For one, we’re not talking about producing 2" x 3" wallet-sized photos of the family. Photo gifts involve taking elements of the decorated apparel industry and combining them with elements of the photo and imaging industry to create products that capture special memories and freeze them in time. A typical photo gift job is centered on a picture that has been enhanced with text and graphics, then is digitally printed using sublimation onto a unique substrate to create a high-value product.

Sublimation is a very effective method for creating photo gifts, as the process enables reproduction of stunning photographic images in amazing detail and resolution. Professional photographers have embraced the process for years because of these characteristics.

Traditionally, our industry has used sublimation for promotional products, such as mouse pads, clipboards, signage, awards, plaques and more, leaving photo gifts to the photography industry. But now that everyone seems to have a camera handy, the concept of turning pictures into profits using standard industry decoration processes has a lot of merit to it. You don’t have to take the picture, just process it for your customers in as many different forms as possible.

Photo gifts come in all shapes, sizes, formats and concepts, which means lots of opportunities. With the cost of substrates, production and equipment being so low, you have plenty of room for the really important stuff: markup.

A startup sublimation operation consists of a supported desktop printer, inks, transfer paper and a heat press. If you don’t need a heat press, then you’re looking at a price range of $500-$1,000 to get started. If you need a heat press, buy a good one and expect to fork over another $500-$1,500, depending on size. Even then, you’re still only looking at about $2,500 on the top end to get started.

Production costs are very reasonable as well. For example, an 8" x 10" T-shirt design can be printed in less than 30 seconds for a cost of $0.73 per print, including ink and paper costs. (Editor’s Note: Data is based on a specific image printed on a Ricoh GXe3300 printer using Sawgrass SubliJet-R inks.) Cost will vary by image size, printer model, printer settings and ink delivery systems, but overall, sublimation is a very low-cost decoration method.

If you’re not familiar with the sublimation process, it’s really simple. Create an image using standard graphics software like CorelDraw or Adobe Photoshop, then print it on transfer paper using a printer that is capable of processing sublimation inks. Place that transfer paper over the item to be decorated and, using a heat press, apply pressure for about a minute at a temperature of 400°F. The combination of time, pressure and temperature will cause the sublimation inks on the transfer paper to turn into a gas, which will then permeate any polymer fibers they encounter. The result is a permanent image that won’t scratch, peel or crack. On performance apparel, sublimated images will not fade when washed.

Even though sublimation only works on polymer fibers, that’s not a limiting factor. There are many products — from flip-flops, photo panels and ceramic tiles to aluminum water bottles and metal license plates — that have polymer coatings that have been applied specifically for the purpose of sublimation. This means there are many market opportunities for sublimated products, especially photo gifts.

Markets, Products & Costs
To get a better idea of markets, products and costs for photo gifts, let’s take a look at a few examples of the neat stuff you can produce, starting with license plates.

While they may not initially sound exciting, license plates can be personalized. A metal license plate that is sublimation-ready costs about $3.40 at wholesale, and the media costs to sublimate it will be an average of $0.50, which yields a total product cost of $3.90. (True costs are more complex, but this works for the example.) How much can you sell it for? $15? $25? Remember, in many cases this is a personalized product being sold to a consumer at retail prices, so don’t get stuck with concepts like 100% markup. Instead, focus on the perceived value.

Another unique product is the photo birth certificate. With this product, you create a graphical template that has editable areas for adding details about a newborn and combine it with a picture to create the final image, which is sublimated onto a hardboard photo panel. An 8" x 10" photo panel with easel back starts around $5.25 at wholesale. Because of the larger print area, the ink and media cost will probably be in the $0.75 range, so you will end up with about $6.00 in production costs. Think about the perceived value of this special, commemorative photo gift. It’s not just a gift anymore, it’s a memory worth cherishing for many years to come. That translates into profit for you.

There are many opportunities for photo gifting besides the consumer. For example, think about action sports and fundraisers. Athletic booster clubs and community sports leagues always are looking for ways to generate revenue, and photo gifts featuring athletes in action might be the ticket. The key is making an exciting, high-end product that parents can’t resist. Work with a booster club to create an interesting graphical template, then have parents supply a picture that gets “inserted” into the graphic to complete the product.

Need more ideas? The list is long when it comes to sublimation-ready products that make ideal photo gifts. Ideal items include mantle clocks, wall switch covers, mugs, serving trays, jewelry boxes, napkin rings, puzzles, picture frames, door plates, door knob hangers, placemats, holiday ornaments, magnets, coasters, pet tags, jewelry, cutting boards, beer steins, key hanger boards, message boards and more.

Photo gifts aren’t limited to hard substrates, as apparel is another huge opportunity. People love to make statements with their clothing — especially T-shirts and sweats — and what better way to make a statement than with a photo shirt? Because sublimation only works with polyester fibers, it limits the clothing style to polyester performance apparel — but that’s no problem since it’s one of the hottest trends in the apparel marketplace. Not only can you get top-notch resolution, detail and clarity with sublimation, but it also is a process that dyes the fibers rather than coating them on top, which means you can’t feel it on the surface of the garment. It also means that it will never crack, peel or fade when laundered.

In its simplest form, a photo on a shirt looks pretty boring, but people consistently pay more money for these items. However, if you take it to another level and do a bit of editing — like removing backgrounds and clutter, and spice it up with extra graphics and text — you can end up with great-looking, apparel-based photo gifts.

A good target for your efforts are clubs and organizations, whose members have a need to make a personal statement. Check out these examples:

• Car Clubs — Car buffs want images of their cars and will pay handsomely for it.

• Hunt Clubs — Hunters are proud of their successes and like to show off the big ones.

• Fishing Clubs — Fisherman like to display their catches and their boats.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as there is an organization for just about every hobby and interest. What’s more, they don’t limit themselves to apparel, so if you can sell a shirt, you can probably sell other things.

Another great money-making opportunity with photo shirts is pets. A recent survey suggested that consumers spend more disposable income on pets than anything else, other than eating out. For the pet lover, it’s all about Fido or Sassy, which means photo products are key.

Although it may be outside of your normal routine, you will find photo gifts can be a nice complement to what you are already producing. Even more importantly, the cost of sublimating photo gifts is so low that the ROI becomes very appealing. You don’t have to spend a lot to make a lot; you just need to find creative ways to generate high margins with low costs — and photo-gifting is the perfect way to accomplish that goal.

Award-wining author and international speaker Jimmy Lamb has more than 20 years of apparel decoration business expertise. He currently is the manager of communication for Sawgrass Technologies, Charleston. S.C. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Jimmy at jlamb@sawgrassink.com.



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