Excitement is in store for 2009

I am amazed at how much the photofinishing industry has changed over the last five years. Yes, I know digital imaging has been going on longer than that, but that’s when we at JMC finally took the plunge. And now, thanks to our new marketing director, Angela, we have a blog. Go figure. We never thought this would be a way we could communicate with our current customers and potential new ones. If Mom and Dad (Jim and Mary Charback, thus the JMC in JMC) could see us now, they would be in awe of the changes in total imaging and what the future has in store. It’s both exciting and scary.

So now we will be starting a new year with scads of ideas and possibilities for our customers, trying to help you create and preserve legacies with your pictures. I heard it said recently that pictures are not just for photos anymore. How true! Photo Books, collages, pillows, jigsaw puzzles, blankets, purses, mouse pads, mugs, and the list just keeps growing each year with ways to show off the images you have created. But let’s not forget the tried and true photo in a frame or album, or restoring and preserving those family images of yore. The old can become new again, opening up new possibilities of uses. There is a way for everyone to display their favorite photos, and we are here to help.

Cathy, Meghan, Angela and I look forward to this adventure and invite you to come along with us. Our first event of the year on February 6th and 7th will be “Searchin’ for Smooches” for Valentine’s Day. A wonderful opportunity to find that perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your loved one, whether they be a sweetheart, mom, dad, children, best friend or anyone special in your life. We will have great prices on reprints, collages, photo books and mini portrait sessions. Check back to the “Check it Out” section of our website in the coming weeks, or better yet, click here to join our mailing list & receive news and special deals!

The Photo Counselors at JMC wish you a wonderful New Year and look forward to helping you create a legacy with pictures.

Ann

Jump Drive and Away!

The thought occurred to me as I prepared to make my photo calendars in the Photo Cafe that I would have to figure out how to get my photos there. Almost all of our photos are electronic anymore, so I contemplated my options. Then I remembered the little jump drive I found in the laundry. Thank goodness I checked the pockets before those jeans went into the washer! The little gadget belongs to my oldest daughter, and she uses it with ease to transfer school work from home to college and back again. I simply plugged the thing into the front of my computer, dragged my photos to it as if I was putting them into any other folder, and away I went.


I want to buy my own jump drive, so did a bit of research and here's what I found, in case you'd like to get one too. They cost anywhere from a couple dollars to a couple hundred dollars. They are about the size of your thumb, and are sometimes even called thumb drives. Some call them flash drives or USB drives. I found them ranging in storage space from 1GB to 16GB, but reasonably priced (around $30.00) at even the higher number. Check out Amazon for a great variety and you, too, will "Jump Drive and Away."

Calendars for one. Calendars for all!

Every year, I am challenged by the holiday season. It's hectic, and it's expensive. Yet it's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. Having four kids, I put on a happy face every year and try to make the season as magical for them as I can. A fairly new tradition of my extended family is to draw names, rather than to buy gifts for everyone. This has reduced quite a bit of stress for me. However, since I have six in my family, I'm still on the hook for finding six gifts for people who really already have everything they want and need. This year, two of the names on my list happen to be Grandma & Grandpa. Also this year, I started working with this really cool photo shop here in B/N. The calendars at JMC are going to be the hit of our gift opening ceremony (there's always an unofficial competition to be the one who gave the most clever gift). Grandma's and Grandpa's love nothing more than grandkids. With a few pics and a little time in the Photo Cafe, I'll be well on my way this year to finishing my shopping and winning that competition on Christmas. Now, what to get those four kids? I know! Calendars for their lockers...see you in the Photo Cafe!

Have a seat on the virtual couch!

We're the type of counselors who can help you with your problems. Your photo problems, that is. If you've never heard of photo counselors before, that's because we are a rare breed. Sure, you will find lots of companies willing to print your photos, but you won't find many that are actually concerned with helping you preserving your memories, like JMC does. Just last week, I helped a family develop a memory book for their grandma & grandpa's 50 anniversary. Before that, it was a baby's baptism and a wedding abroad. Being a part of these most special events in people's lives is perhaps the best part of what I do. In fact, I'm so excited about it, I'm going to start documenting it here in this blog, all with the intent of giving you photo ideas from restoring old ones to storing new ones, and everything in between. Check back often, and I promise you'll be entertained with clever prose and tips on everything related to photos. Have a seat on the couch, as they say, and enjoy!