Safelight is a web app for photographers, illustrators, and graphic designers to allow easy proofing and ordering of prints and digital files by clients.
We’re on Kickstarter aiming to gather community support to get the core version of Safelight built, so we need your help in spreading the word.
Safelight is a flexible print ordering and proofing system that works alongside your existing website. With the primary focus of Safelight being galleries, let’s talk about them in a little more detail. Galleries can be set to be secure, requiring a username and password to access them, and open-access, meaning anyone can visit the gallery and order prints. Safelight will have three gallery types:
Purchasing galleries
Purchasing galleries allow the client to view and select images and progress through an order process where they can select print sizes/digital downloads and eventually enter their payment details.
You’re in control
We recognize that how your work is printed is very important, and Safelight gives you complete control. For this initial version of Safelight, when your client orders a set of prints you will receive an email listing the order and quantities. You can then fulfill the order however you see fit.
After Safelight has launched, the next thing we’ll be working on is automated printing. We have nothing set in stone at this stage, but ideally we want to give you options, so it’s not a matter of being forced to use one printing company that we’ve chosen — we want *you* to be able to pick from a selection of print partners, or choose to handle printing and fulfillment yourself.
We also plan on giving you the option to enter the details of your preferred printer, so if you have a local printer that you use for all your work and you have an existing relationship with, you’d be able to enter their details into Safelight, and when a print order is made your preferred printer receives the order from you, through the app automatically.
Limited Purchasing galleries
Limited Purchasing galleries work exactly the same as purchasing galleries with the addition of being able to set a limit on how many images can be sold. You have the option of having images that have reached their limit, disappear from the gallery or appear as sold out. This type of gallery would be ideally suited for photographers offering exclusive shots to newspapers/magazines (setting a limit of 1). Stock levels are also shown in real-time so visitors to the gallery can see stock levels going down as other visitors purchase prints so they better move quickly.
Proofing galleries
Proofing galleries focus on one-to-one communication. You upload all the hi-res images and Safelight automatically handles thumbnail creation and watermarking (if you want to apply it). The client flags the images they want additional work to be done on. Revisions are created so that the progress of a images development can be reviewed with commenting also being available. When the client is happy with an image they can approve it and it becomes available for download.
Designed responsively
We want to provide an outstanding user experience with Safelight. We want someone to be able to hand their Grandmother an iPad and all she has to do is swipe and tap to select the images she wants a copy of. For this reason the app will be fully responsive and optimised for whatever platform it is viewed on (desktop/tablet/smartphone etc). In addition the interface and the images you upload will be displayed at retina quality so your work is always looking at it’s best.
What do you get by supporting Safelight on Kickstarter?
You will receive a completely unrestricted copy of Safelight to install on your own web server, with free upgrades for 12 months after we release the first version.
After the project has been successfully funded and built, Safelight will be sold for £149 on a per-domain basis as software to install on web servers.
To get a copy of Safelight at half the retail price, plus additional rewards, pledge at the £75 tier. For full details of the additional rewards we’re offering, see our Kickstarter page.
Want to know more?
We’re posted regular updates on our Kickstarter page, including demos and case studies with photographers excited about Safelight.
You can also contact us via the comments section or message me directly. We welcome any and all feedback and I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.
We hope you’ll support us and help make Safelight a reality!
Safelight Links
Website: http://safelightapp.com
Kickstarter Page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ryanhavoc/safelight
Twitter: @safelightapp
About Ryan Taylor
Website: http://havocinspired.co.uk
Twitter: @RyanHavoc
