Digital Imaging Service

The digital craze is on, and it’s not limited to musical instruments or compact disks. You can cash in on the trend by starting your own digital imaging service.


It can be either on-site at a retail shop or kiosk or completely Web-based by allowing customers to upload their favorite photos for you to place on T-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, and so on. You’ve probably seen such businesses in your local shopping mall or at a community ?ea market. The proprietor simply takes a video image of a person and places it onto a computer screen for printing on a color printer. The image is then transferred to a product and a personalized gift has been created. It’s that simple, and the service generally sells itself if positioned in a high-traveled area. You can buy a franchise or start from scratch if you are familiar enough with the equipment and can work with product vendors. Expect to market your service aggressively; you’ll need to talk to people and have excellent sales ability to make enough money to cover your expenses. Still it’s a fun method of gift-giving for many consumers.


You’ll need $20,000 to $40,000 for your equipment and space rental, slightly more if you buy a franchise. Your equipment will include a computer with color printer, video camera, and software that permits image transfer from video to computer screen to printer. Thermal transfer equipment will also be necessary to produce those personalized coffee mugs and T-shirts. On the plus side, you might see as much as $45,000 for little effort on your part.


Your business will ?uctuate according to season. Expect slow times in the fall and spring and a busy time each Christmas, complete with long hours and heavy volume.


Approx. cost of start-up:$20,000 to $40,000


Approx. potential earnings:$25,000 to $45,000


Typical fees: $15 to $45 per scanned-image product


Where to promote: Yellow Pages, mall kiosks and other high-volume locations, banner ads on print-related Web sites, your own Web site with online gallery of your work


Qualifications:Training in equipment


Things needed: Computer with scanner and video imaging capability


Required staff:No


Hidden costs: Insurance, equipment maintenance and upgrades