Big News from the Small House…

I traded in a futon for a printer and I’m reprinting my book!

Grinnell prints ready for sale
Matted prints of Grinnell College ready for sale, as well as a couple ready to be mounted in the catch basket, Durham, N.C.

Of Prints and Re-prints:

I’ve hinted for a couple weeks that big changes are happening at our little house in Durham, North Carolina.  For the past two weeks I’ve been furiously printing some of my best photographs of Grinnell College in anticipation of commencement and my five-year reunion.  I’ve gone through a box of Ilford Gold Fibre Silk as well as my ever-reliable roll of Epson Luster.  So lately I’ve been dusting off my skills at cutting down matte and foam board to matte 24 8×10″ prints, 12 11×14″ prints, as well as some 12×18″ and panoramic photographs.  And before sending it all out, I’m trying to give them all SKU codes as I learn Quickbooks Pro‘s inventory system on-the-fly for my new business.  Gotta keep it legit for the IRS…it is that time of year after all!

What’s that about a new business?  Well, it’s not completely off the ground yet, but I’m becoming a limited liability company in the state of North Carolina.  I’ve been a sole proprietor since 2006 and while it has been fun, it was time for a change.  When it takes effect, this Web site will go through a few changes, and a new domain name will become the primary, although I have no intention to give up david-kennedy.com.

A Portrait of Grinnell Dust Jacket
The dust jacket for the reprint of A Portrait of Grinnell

Furthermore, I contacted Regent Published Services, Ltd., the company that printed A Portrait of Grinnell: The Architecture and Landscape of Grinnell College in 2006, to get a quote for printing 2,000 copies.  The book has been out of print since 2008, but will be back on the shelves by the end of May 2011.  I’m frustrated because I’ll miss commencement by only two weeks, but the book will be stocked in time for reunion.  I’ll have information for those interested in pre-ordering soon.

A futon became a printer
A futon became a printer: back when my office was Elizabeth’s guest bedroom, this futon made a little more sense. It’s for sale if anyone in the Triangle is in the market!

I’ve ramped up production of prints because I finally have a photo printer at my home office.  Choosing a printer was a key business decision: while making prints is something I enjoy and am quite skilled at, I know many talented photographers who find the art of printing to be more than vexing.  Making prints for other photographers will be part of my business model, so I needed something fairly large.  Unfortunately, this meant that the futon in my office (that was a good “guest bed”) simply had to go!

In my custom print store I plan to offer a variety of gloss and matte papers that most online printers simply don’t carry, like Gold Fibre Silk and Entrada Rag.  I don’t intend to be the next Mpix–I won’t make prints on the side of coffee mugs or canvas wraps.  Nor will I even attempt to compete with FedEx Office and make signage or banners.  Instead, I’ll cater to serious photographers who would like to have direct contact with the person making the prints either for their clients or their personal portfolios. And as of March 17, 2011, when I looked out the front door to see FedEx Freight show up in our narrow street, I’ll be able to make those prints on rolls of paper up to 44 inches wide using a Hewlett-Packard Designjet Z3200 Photo printer!

Photos after the jump! Continue reading “Big News from the Small House…”