Foto Periquín chooses SureLab SL-D3000

Ease of use, low energy consumption, top-quality copies and high productivity: Foto Periquín has experienced a multitude of benefits since installing the Epson SureLab SL-D3000 dry lab.

Foto Periquín has two outlets in Arucas . For Pedro Sosa, Owner and life-long photographer, the key to running a photography business is minimising waiting times and maximising customer service. The changes that have occurred in the photographic sector, thanks to the digital explosion, have meant that Foto Periquín needed to reinvent itself and offer new services. This is where the SureLab SL-D3000 dry lab comes in.

Chemical labs have dominated photography retailers for many years, but there were lots of disadvantages to operating one of these large labs on business premises: smells, constant maintenance, high temperatures and high energy consumption.

The arrival of Epson's SureLab SL-D3000 at Foto Periquín didn't just signal the arrival of an easy-to-use machine that takes up considerably less space at the shop, but also a large reduction in running costs and improved production speeds.

For Foto Periquín, the big difference in working with Epson's SureLab SL-D3000 digital dry lab and its previous solution is the quality. The customers are happy and, due to the print quality on offer, are placing orders for more than just photos, such as business cards, calendars, etc. The printer has enabled the business to make considerable savings, both in terms of energy use and in technical maintenance.

The circumstances behind Foto Periquín's purchase of two SureLab SL-D3000 units for its outlets are unusual. Pedro Sosa was visited by a sales rep who showed him some prints that had just been produced by the digital lab. After 40 years of experience in the photographic sector, Pedro decided to test out the durability and quality of the finish by immersing a print in water for 25-30 minutes. After removing it from the container, he dried it with a towel and a hair dryer. "The photos were exactly the same – completely intact, with no creases or anything like that. I bought the machine straight away," explains Pedro .

Aside from the price and quality, the business wanted to eliminate the smell of chemicals and the amount of waste generated , as well as to maintain the temperature in the shop at a tolerable level.

"The benefits of this type of lab include the versatility it offers, in terms of the wide variety of formats that you can print in, the replacement of chemicals with ink, the energy savings and the ease of use for a single operator," says Enrique Ten, official Epson distributor in the Canary Islands.

Epson's SureLab SL-D3000 is ideal for traditional minilab shops, giving these businesses access to new opportunities These include photo printing in a variety of formats, including panoramic, as well as invitations, leaflets and promotional brochures. All of these types of projects can be printed on glossy, lustre or matte paper, up to 30.5 cm wide.

The energy efficiency of the equipment enables users to consume much less energy than a wet (chemical) photo lab. Furthermore, because it does not require a water supply, air filter or chemical products, it reduces the environmental impact and by extension the total cost of ownership. The SL-D3000 starts printing rapidly without needing to warm up any chemical products and it can also move the finished prints to an optional sorting tray . It only needs occasional maintenance, and consumables can be replaced easily .