For high-volume photography businesses, reducing production costs is only a win when quality is maintained at the level customers expect.
That was the challenge facing Iron City Studios, a vertically integrated photography studio in Birmingham, Alabama. The studio photographs close to 100,000 portraits each year, with printing, finishing, packaging, and shipping all handled in-house.
As production volume increased, Iron City’s inkjet workflow became increasingly expensive. Premium luster paper delivered the professional finish customers expected, but unit costs were as high as $2 per print.
The team needed a more profitable production method without changing the look, feel, or quality of the finished photograph.
That is where Skandacor helped.
Moving from Inkjet to a More Profitable Workflow
Iron City Studios made the decision to transition from inkjet to press printing, reducing the cost of production.
However, press printing introduced a new challenge. The studio needed to recreate the premium luster texture its customers expected.
The team evaluated many post-press finishing options, including UV coating. However, UV coating would have introduced chemicals, daily cleaning, additional operator training, curing time, and more complicated maintenance.
Instead, Iron City tested the LAMpro Cheetah Photo.
The embossed photo lamination produced the consistent pebble texture, sheen, and tactile finish the studio was looking for. It allowed press-printed output to recreate the look and feel of traditional luster photography without the high cost of inkjet media.
Reducing Unit Costs from $2 to $0.11
By combining press printing with the Cheetah Photo finishing process, Iron City Studios reduced its production cost from nearly $2 per unit to approximately $0.11 per unit.
At Iron City’s production volume, this difference significantly improved margins.
More importantly, the studio achieved those savings without compromising the quality of the product delivered to customers.
The finished photographs maintained the professional appearance, thickness, texture, and consistency customers expected. According to Iron City, most customers did not notice that the production process had changed.
That was the goal.
The studio was able to reduce costs behind the scenes while maintaining a premium customer experience.
More Finishing Capabilities In-House
The value of the Cheetah Photo goes beyond photo lamination.
By changing films and finishing rolls, the team can use the same equipment to create photo textures, soft-touch finishes, sleeking, foiling, embossing, and other premium effects.
This flexibility has allowed the studio to produce more products internally, including graduation announcements, cards, and premium printed pieces that previously required outsourcing.
Bringing these applications in-house supports faster turnaround times, better quality control, and lower production costs. It also makes it easier for Iron City to introduce and promote higher-value products.
A Cleaner, Simpler Production Process
The Cheetah Photo was also easy for the Iron City production team to integrate.
Unlike UV coating, the system requires almost no cleanup, has minimal preparation time, and does not require operators to wait for coatings to cure or cool. Operators can prepare the machine, run production, and move quickly to the next application.
With minimal setup and almost no cleanup, the Cheetah Photo supports the fast-paced production environment required by a high-volume photography business.
Iron City Studios’ experience shows what is possible when the right finishing technology is paired with a high-volume production strategy: lower costs, consistent quality, greater control, and new opportunities.
Watch the full Iron City Studios case study or explore more print-finishing applications on the Skandacor YouTube channel.
Ready to Reduce Production Costs?
Interested in learning how the LAMpro Cheetah can fit into your production workflow?