June is upon us; before long children will be out of school and we will be in the full swing of summer. The summer season is one that allows families to enjoy some time together during a much needed vacation, as well as a time to take things slower and revel in the downtime that these warm days offer us. Most often, summer projects are focused on those things that need to be addressed around the house; those household renovation projects that we can only put off during the crazier months with the start of the school in the fall and the holiday chaos that comes upon us starting in November. But one of the other projects that many people look to during the summer months is the organization of photo albums.

With the convenience of digital cameras (allowing us to take a multitude of pictures without having to worry about swapping out film) we now often have more pictures than ever. In some cases we house those pictures on our computers, but many of us still enjoy the physical photos that we get from the downloading and printing of pictures either in the home or through retail outlets.

But with so many pictures to print it is not always cost effective to print photography at home. Through photo sharing websites, however, users are able to upload their photograph straight from their digital camera and order photo prints online. Through such sites users can expect to receive high quality photo prints at low prices; photo prints that they can use to create beautiful photo albums.

But for those who would rather not take the time to organize photo albums on their own, they can call upon photo sharing sites to create photo albums and photo books online by uploading the photographs they wish to use.

Popularity: 8% [?]

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No one expects to have to deal with an illness or injury; but life delivers the unexpected many times and the best we can do is manage as best we can. Oftentimes, as people are recovering from sickness or injury, their worst enemy is time; Boredom is a powerful drain on the human spirit, and those who are relatively immobile and confined to their homes – or a hospital room – battle against it on a daily basis. Luckily, with the Internet at our disposal, we have additional options available for keeping busy. By being able to get online we instantly have the ability to communicate, shop, work, and entertain ourselves.

Those who find themselves with time on their hands and hours to fill may consider tackling some of those projects for which we have not previously had the time to complete. Creating photo albums used to be something for which we needed a good bit of time and the space on which to spread out photos that will be placed in physical albums.

Today, however, Internet users can create photo albums online through photo sharing sites where users can manage their photographs. Through photo sharing sites users can upload their photographs, organize them into photo albums that can be shared with family friends far and wide, and even create unique photo gifts.

Having this type of creative control allows those in recovery to keep their mind busy and embark upon a productive project that will ultimately bring many people – including themselves – joy.

Popularity: 8% [?]

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Sharing photographs has always been a part of our culture – the way that we invite family and friends into our lives; by sharing photographs we are sharing a piece of ourselves. Historically it was the family photo albums that held the physical evidence of a growing and changing family – put together by family members that had the time and patience to develop pictures and post them lovingly onto the pages. In order to share such albums, we would have typically had to invite people to look at the album when we were in their presence.

Today, however, photo sharing is tremendously different than ever before; propelled forward by the innovation of the Internet. Through comprehensive websites – growing in popularity everyday – photo sharing sites have allowed friends and family access to each other’s lives like never before. Photo sharing sites have a number of elements in common; those services that have ultimately brought photography into a new generation:

* The ability to upload pictures taken on a digital camera – or a physical photograph that has been scanned and saved; after which photos can be organized into online albums. Online photo albums allow users to share whatever photos they chose with whomever they choose to invite to the site. This eliminates the need to make traditional albums and allows users to share photography with people across the miles.

*The ability to make photo prints and photo books that are shipped right to the consumer’s door. Today, many reputable photo sharing sites are able to offer photo prints for as little as .05 cents a copy.

*The ability to make a variety of unique products using the photographs that have been uploaded such as photo gifts, photo calendars, and photo books.

Popularity: 13% [?]

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After the blog comment about “it being hard to find our contact information on our website,” I wanted to follow up with some more information about Photofun so potential new customers (Photofuners) could understand who we are; where we come from and what we do.

We launched www.photofun.com on Saturday March 15, 2008 and are getting a steady stream of visitors, many of whom have signed up (to become “Photofuners”), uploaded photos and have ordered one or more of our outstanding photo-products.

To give you some background about www.photofun.com:

Photofun is a Texas based corporation, with its U.S. headquarters in Dallas, TX.

Photofun started in Hengelo, a mid-size town in The Netherlands, in 2004 and has grown to become one of the leading photo-sharing services in Europe. Photofun does business in The Netherlands as Webprint C.V. (www.webprint.nl) and as Photofun, Inc., (www.photofun.com) in the USA. For ease I will call both companies Photofun when referring to our company.

Due to our success and the quality of our product we now have millions of customers all over Europe, with thousands of new customers signing up each week.

In November of 2007 the decision was made to enter the U.S. market and now here were are!

I joined Photofun in December to head up the U.S. venture. I have been in senior management leadership positions in the printing industry for over 20 years in the USA, and more recently (for the last five years) have been in the “on-demand and personal variable data digital printing sector.” My personal philosophy when it comes to business is to service the customer to the absolute maximum, to delight them with quality, service and price, and to be a market leader. I believe strongly that the company that I lead should be the leader in the marketplace in every element; creating excitement, and great products at competitive prices. I will do my utmost to create a unique company that will bring all of these elements to you.

For the last three months we have been working hard preparing for the launch of the U.S. website. Photofun is in full control of all production processes; everything we produce is manufactured entirely in-house. We own and write all of the programs that underpin the applications you will use on our site. In fact, at the very instant that you place an order, the product you have created (online), is transferred directly to a production printing device and printed automatically. The core of our business is built around our web-engine; it is due to this direct transfer of files that we are able to offer our ground- breaking low-prices and the reason that the quality of our product is so high.

All of your files are stored electronically on secure servers that are networked across the USA and Europe, using some of the most powerful and fast connectivity available today.

Photofun’s credo is “Quality & Innovation,” so we will constantly strive to bring new and high-quality innovative products and services to our site; we will continue to work hard to remain the technology leader in our field and to bring new products and services to our site for you to use so that you will always enjoy your experience when working with us!

Photofun’s corporate headquarters in the USA is located at: 7616 LBJ Freeway, Suite 540 Dallas, TX 75251.

Should you want to learn more about Photofun you can contact me. My email address is terry@photofun.com or my direct line is 214-473-5021.

I have personally made photo-products on our site (my wife and children love them) and as a fellow Photofuner I am blown away with their quality and value!

I look forward to working for you and sincerely hope that you enjoy your experience on our website… Please have Photofun!

Terry Rayner
President, Photofun, Inc.

One note: The engine for our website drives all of our applications and as we started in The Netherlands the base language used was Netherland’s (also known as Dutch) – we then used a conversion tool to convert the base language to American-English, British-English, French and German (to cover the languages of the countries our customers reside in); due to this, we are currently noticing a few minor language glitches. We are jumping on these glitches and are cleaning then up as we find them… if you see one please send me an email and I will credit your account with an additional 50 FREE 4” x 6” photos.

Popularity: 75% [?]

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As modern consumers we are challenged with walking the line between needs and wants on a daily basis – all with an eye towards our household’s bottom line. It is a difficult challenge to say the least; especially when you consider all of the conveniences afforded to us – some of which provide a much easier way to accomplish those tasks that once cost us so much time and money. But there is such a thing as false economy and those consumers who are attracted by the opportunity to save money by taking on a project themselves often find the reward to come up quite a bit short. The do-it-yourself movement – having put tools in the hands of home renovators, amateur mechanics, and part time interior designers – is one such example where, unless you know for sure that the savings will be worth it, it is very often best left to the professionals.

One industry that has offered consumers a world of time and money-saving options is that of photo printing. After all, there are few among us who do not own a digital camera; and the industry has taken note – offering consumers low prices on photo quality printers. But those who have taken the bait and bought the high-end printer understand better than anyone that their financial investment was far from over. In order to continue to produce high-quality photo prints and the myriad projects that the average consumer wishes to do with their photos, there requires a continued investment in photo quality paper and ink. The result? A staggering .30 to .50 average cost per print!

Such prices are even more out of line when you consider what the average amateur photographer does with their photo prints. Keeping in mind that photos taken are generally used for everything from holiday photo cards to photo albums, it is not difficult to see how the industry is making their money.

Super retailers, understanding this trend – and their customers’ need for fast, inexpensive photo prints – are offering what has been considered rock bottom prices on photo prints; many under .20 cents a print. And online retailers are keeping pace. Some of the most well-known online photo services currently offer their customers rates as low as .10 cents a print.

Photo Fun, however, offers customers the comprehensive, high quality services they have come to expect from online photo services at the lowest prices available - .5 cents a print.

Faced with the expensive materials, the time spent on creating photo prints that are of the quality consumers have come to expect, and the unpredictability of the equipment, consumers are largely abandoning their hopes of creating an efficient at-home photo lab. With photo giants such as Photo Fun offering high-quality, fast printing for everything from photo gifts to photo books – at industry low prices – consumers know they just have to logon to have everything they need shipped straight to their door – at the lowest prices available.

Popularity: 100% [?]

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