Hello everyone,
I am new to NPN and this discussion might be of interest to members who are wondering about the new AR and View on Wall technologies appearing in fine art print labs (WhitWall’s RoomView, BayPhoto, creativehub) or bespoke solutions like ArtPlacer.
I have been using the PhotoDeck platform (https://www.numinoos.com), which is similar to SmugMug, as a photo website to showcase and sell my images (personal downloads and Rights-managed licenses) since 2018.
Now, I would like to offer fine art prints (wall art) to my clients through automated print fulfilment with an external print lab that provides a View on Wall solution. PhotoDeck offers print fulfilment with WHCC and OneVisionImaging (UK) but it is too restrictive, i.e., the range of print products is limited and there is no wall or room preview when ordering wall art through their integrated print labs.
The PhotoDeck platform does not seem interested in integrating drop shipping or ship on demand solutions. My customers are very demanding and most are now expecting a wall preview feature similar to that offered by WhiteWall, Artplacer or artstorefronts.
So far, the best solution I’ve found that does not break the bank is ‘creativehub’ (https://app.creativehub.io) from ThePrintSpace fine art printing lab in the UK (https://www.theprintspace.co.uk). They have View in Wall when ordering prints (unframed or framed) and the print quality is really good, from my testing (with a selection of fine art papers at a fair price). Plus, the shipping rates are reasonable.
They recommend to use Shopify for best integration. I could use Shopify with a basic theme for Portfolio display and benefit from the automated print fulfilment of the creativehub with View on Wall.
I am aware that WideRange Galleries is far superior in terms of SEO and support and, according to Jack Brauer, View on Wall will be made available by the end of this year through the ArtPlacer widgets. WideRange Galleries does not intend yet to introduce automated print fulfilment since most subscribers do their own print fulfilment through various fine art labs of their choice.
The other option (I am waiting for an email from SmugMug support) is SmugMug integrated with ArtPlacer. ArtPlacer integrates via HTML code or Javascript on SmugMug and Pixpa but the question remains:
“Is ArtPlacer’s View on Wall still active when ordering prints to any their integrated print vendors (BayPhoto, Loxley, WHCC) for automated print fulfilment?
So far, the best solution seems to be Shopify + creativehub.
I would welcome any other suggestions.
Philippe