Brian Giffin, president of Atlantic Photo Supply, says there was a time when it looked like no one was interested in picture prints any more. However, that time seems to be past.
Giffin says the start of the digital photography revolution led to many people choosing not to print their pictures, but just store them on their camera or on other digital media. Those same people are now starting to realize how temporary these solutions are for retaining 'memories.'
"What's the first thing people run for if there's a fire or emergency," Giffin asks. "The photo albums. That's because they store far more than just pictures. They're our memories, our history. I have lost count of the number of people who have come to me saying their memory cards in their cameras have crashed or their CDs have gone corrupt and they've lost all their pictures. They're beginning to realize the only way to truly save a picture is to print it."
Atlantic Photo supply offers archival quality paper that will last 100 years, compared to a typical CD that's designed to save data for only six to seven years.
"And if you write on it with a marker, the ink will sink down through the data levels and the CD will only last two to three years," Giffin says.
This return to printing creates all kinds of possibilities for Atlantic Photo Supply's new Burnside location. Allen Sutherland, the company's general manager, says Burnside is their biggest and best new market since it represents an untapped source of commercial businesses.
"Now that we're officially open here in the Park, I will be hitting the pavement and making sure people here know who we are and what we can do for them," Sutherland says.
