Ways Wireless Printing Can Improve Your Photography Business

If you think that printing is a thing of the past, think again. More and more photographers are adding printing to their service list. This is particularly popular with event and wedding photographers, but wireless printing is actually for everyone, as every photographer should print their work - or at least the work that’s worth printing. 

Prints Are a Marketing Tool You Should Use

If you think that printing is a thing of the past, think again. More and more photographers are adding printing to their service list. This is particularly popular with event and wedding photographers, but wireless printing is actually for everyone, as every photographer should print their work - or at least the work that’s worth printing. 

Printing at Large Events

Yet, I often see that a lot of event photographers use traditional wired printers. While that is fine for small operations, it does become complicated when you want to print on larger jobs. Traditional printing has limitations, such as the ability to connect several computers to print on-the-go. Some photographers even tether via a modem and upload everything they shoot to an editor right away. Of course, if you need to print, you can simply put the printer anywhere convenient and be free to process wherever you want. For that reason, many tend to switch to wireless printing, which is a lot more flexible and versatile.

Photobooths 

Events are also known for having fun, trendy photo booth setups. Setting up your photo booth with wireless printing capabilities can help streamline the experience—for both you and your guests. Through wireless printing, you can print an image from your phone, easily connect several printers with various paper sizes to the same photo booth, and downsize the footprint of your photo booth.

Wireless Printing in Studio Work

Having transitioned into fashion, I do a lot of studio work. This often means having several computers on set. For example, one computer for tethering, one for backups, and one for processing on-the-go. Naturally, if I want to print the proofs for one reason or another, I need to transfer the images to a computer that is already connected to a printer via wire. Having a wireless printer will enable me to print directly from any machine whenever is convenient. 

WCM2 Print: A Wireless Printing Module Designed for DNP Printers

What I like about the WCM2 Print is that it means fewer cables and more versatility. It creates its hotspot, which allows for wireless printing without the need for an internet connection. Should you, however, want to connect your DNP printer to a network, you can also do that because the module can connect to networks over Ethernet or Wi-Fi. This will allow you to quickly add wireless printing to your workflow without too much fuss. Moreover, being able to connect to networks means that you can upload images from social networks or the internet directly to the printer. This further increases the range of services you can offer. For example, you can set up a photo booth that will not only take and print photos but also be able to print images from phones.  

Customization

Clients that use DNP printers with a WCM2 Print module have a lot of options to create the perfect print. What I found very useful is the ability to create various print sizes quickly. The WCM2 Print module supports half-cut, square, and many other various sizes. I think the most popular one will by far be the photo-strip option. Having seen how photo booths are set up, I think that photo strips will be very appealing to clients. When I used photo booths on nights out, I was very glad when they had a photo strip.

One drawback that a lot of photo booths and other wireless printing solutions have is the ease of setup — it is very hard to get it right. WCM2 Print has a QR code that can be printed and hung around the venue so that participants can operate it easily.  

Controlling the Printers

On the admin side, the WCM portal has easy-to-navigate admin controls that let you select print sizes that are available to the clients, manage WCM print functions, and change other settings to customize the user experience. You will also have access to important statistics such as the number of printers connected, print media size loaded, and how many prints are remaining. Another feature is that you will be able to see which images were printed and which ones are in the queue. 

Another perk of WCM2 Print is that it allows you to connect multiple printers at the same time. This is especially helpful if you want to have several paper options set up for clients. Alternatively, you can have several printers spread around the venue, or perhaps even a few different photo booth sets. ­

Closing Thoughts

Overall, the WCM2 Print module is a great addition if you already are invested in the DNP ecosystem of products and want to expand your offerings. This will enable a lot of event photographers to offer memorable physical prints that are bound to lead to new bookings, and studio photographers will have more flexibility in proofing their work or seeing how a particular image looks in real life.