Wemories, S.L., of Madrid, Spain, has launched a web-to-print photo service offering memorable deliverables printed on HP Indigo presses. Wemories first product is a distinctive branded box, secured with a ribbon, containing from 1 to 12 22 x 14.6cm (5.8 x 8.7in) prints on mattE finish fine art paper. On the reverse of each print, customers may add a short text describing the image or their feelings, and the date.
At present, the website is in Spanish and English and orders for all European regions are being fulfilled by Artes Gráficas Palermo. The company prints with a hexachrome process using standard CMYK plus special light cyan and light magenta inks. According to Wemories, the process gives an enhanced gamut over standard 4-colour printing and gives an added richness to photographs, not usually offered by online photo services.
Wemories is, however, more than just a premium photo service.
We want to create a brand around memories, explained Cesc Vilanova, who, with Fernando Rodrígies Martínez, founded Wemories. We realised that because of digital cameras, there is a huge number of photographs generated every day. In social networks there is a constant mix between pictures of lasting value and those of not very long-term relevance. So, we have built a special purpose private social network where users can upload their relevant pictures and content and then share them with their loved ones.
There is extremely tight quality control in all the production steps to ensure perfect quality in the Wemory Box, said Fernando Rodríguez. The production process is managed by highly skilled graphic arts operators and Wemory Boxes are a handcrafted in a semi industrial process. In our opinion, that is a clear differentiation with industrial photo printers that have fully automated systems.
At present, the Wemory Box is our single, launch, product, said Cesc Vilanova. Artes Gráficas Palermo is our sole fulfilment partner. We were aware of its reputation for quality and working with a print service provider who used HP Indigo presses was part of our strategy for ensuring optimal quality. Through our work so far, we have seen sales increase steadily in double-digit percentages. We anticipate that growth will continue as we expand into new products and regions.
Digital collaboration
Artes Gráficas Palermo works with all kinds of customers earning a well-known reputation for quality. Wemories is very aware of this reputation and the Artes Gráficas Palermo team was instantly taken with the idea of building a brand and a service around memories.
We became part of the Wemories project when they came to talk about the idea, said Miguel Angel Esteban, prepress and digital printing manager, Artes Gráficas Palermo. We found the idea beautiful and since the project matched our corporate culture, we wanted to help them make it happen. Its a unique project for us as we dont have customers that are Internet-based, but we are used to working in a variety of different ways, so this is just another new one.
Adding the social element
The other added-value aspect of Wemories is that it enables the storage and sharing of pictures online. This can be restricted to close family and friends or opened up for wider sharing. Pictures are organised in a diary, a time line so that events and pictures can be found in sequence, even after many years.
The Wemory Box is a time capsule, concluded Vilanova. The quality of the box and the pictures help to preserve the impact of the memories. And thats what we do – we deal with memories, not just pictures.
WEMORIES www.wemories.com
