By Paul Dunwell, writing for EasyFrame
© Copyright EasyFrame 2019
What this article is about
New for the 3rd quarter of 2019, EasyFrame is introducing high-quality 360° spin photographs of all its picture frame mouldings. Customers can now see all the way round a frame, so they know exactly what they will be getting.
Until now, if you wanted to know what one of our mouldings looked like, you had few options:
- A flat, 2-dimensional image on the website or by email, as flat as Mickey Mouse's ears, which left you guessing.
- A sample offcut by snail mail, which doubtless annoys anyone shopping online who wants quick delivery.
- Getting Rob Zanna, who has a sense of humour and is always happy to oblige, to pirouette with one in front of a camera on Skype or WhatsApp.
None of these was very satisfactory, and customers who couldn't picture the shape of a moulding could easily be disappointed with the result.
That has changed. With 360° spin imagery you get a real feel for height, width and depth before you make a decision you might live with for decades. One click on an image starts the show.
A tireless search for better ways to do things
From autumn 2019, Rob Zanna and the crew at EasyFrame will be creating high-quality 360° images of every frame moulding: a series of photographs stitched together so the eye cannot see the joins. It is quite a task. The result is that customers can go from one 3D view to another, spinning each moulding to see its detail from the front, back and sides, and whittle down the choices from a truly massive and growing selection. That has to improve customer satisfaction, which is always a priority.
The new imaging is one attraction of the smart new website at www.easyframe.co.uk. As well as facilities that market and sell EasyFrame's products, the site devotes a lot of space, and the investment to fill it with quality content, to fine art, DIY tips and pieces designed to inspire anyone to frame something interesting. Three of the latest examples as I write are www.easyframe.co.uk/NewsArticle/roy-lichtensteins-pop-art, www.easyframe.co.uk/NewsArticle/frame-academy-x (about picture rails) and www.easyframe.co.uk/NewsArticle/brass-rubbings.
The development also fits with two other recent acquisitions: the A + AUTOMATION T2400, which automates important parts of the framing process, and the Novex automated mount-cutting machine. Both transformed an already advanced factory in 2019. Rob Zanna, who tirelessly tracks down any technology that will give the business an edge, feels the 360° showcase is as important in its way as that production equipment.
Putting our mouldings on the catwalk
The new facilities are:
- Hardware. Industry-leading uplit turntables and light boxes for creating 360° product images quickly in house.
- Software. It automates image capture and stitches the images together, on a pure white or transparent background, into a single file that plays as a seamless walk-round view.
The hardware and software are synchronised. They damp out wobbles, centre each moulding so it spins around a central axis and rotate it accurately, quickly enough to make it worth EasyFrame's while to work through its entire stock.
How easy is it to use?
Despite its complexity, it's a total doddle. As you browse the EasyFrame site you will find this symbol above or below the flat images of mouldings:
Click the symbol for a walk-round view. It's responsive, and optimised for phones and tablets as well as PCs and laptops. Each rotating view is so clearly lit that you can almost touch it. That is what makes the system a game-changer, and why it became a must-have for EasyFrame.
Benefits will outweigh costs, as ever
Such purchases are made on the basis that benefits outweigh costs, and Rob Zanna is adamant that EasyFrame will quickly achieve payback.
“Yes this is another significant capital investment for EasyFrame and it’s not a cheap technology. Moreover this requires a lot of hands-on work, initially, to capture the images. All of that has to be costed into the exercise. But my research tells me that visitors to the new website will spend longer on each view of products. They’ll realise that EasyFrame has stolen a march on other framers. They’ll be more likely to identify, locate and select the mouldings they really want. And they will be more likely to be satisfied which means they’ll come back for more and recommend us to others!”
Conclusion
EasyFrame doesn't muck around, and the new 360° showroom is further proof of that.
If you are framing something precious, it's always worth going straight to a professional framer like EasyFrame for advice. EasyFrame is on 01234 856 501 and sales@EasyFrame.co.uk.