"Silver Gelatin Prints"

Traditionally, prints are described as what they are made of, and then how they are printed, and finally what they are printed on. Like "silver gelatin contact print on Varycon", however, that is much more appropriate for a gallery or museum than a local market. Almost nobody will know what the heck you are talking about. Fewer will care. The first and foremost lesson of marketing is not to market to yourself. Market to your customer. People out shopping for whatever will buy because they like the print. If they find satifaction in the method, so much the better, but the prints that sell are the ones people relate to, or find interesting, or beautiful. Art is in the breast, not the brain.

Roger Cole said:

...But as I have commented on pilot boards where others keep running into folks that think an airplane plummets vertically if the engine fails, while I have NEVER met anyone who thought that, I don't seem to talk to as many dim bulbs as mist people do.

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I suppose if the engine failure was due to the wings the engines were on falling off, then the plummet might be vertical...

There was a heart-wrenching story about the young man who went off to WWI and never returned. He supposively chained his bike to a tree, and over the years the bike is now 10 feet up in the tree with the trunk growing around it. There is an approbiate photo with the story. It is difficult to convince people that in order for that bike to be 10 feet up in the air, it had to have put up that high originally. If someone hammers in a "No Hunting" sign 8 feet up a tree and the tree grows a foot a year in height, in 30 years that sign will still be 8 feet up the trunk...not 38 feet.

But anyway, since I do three different processes, platinum, carbon and silver gelatin (to differentiate between processes that use silver, but no gelatin emulsion), it is nice having short descriptive names for the processes. A carbon print, as opposed to a monochromatic single-transfer gelatin-carbon print.

Makes sense (the photo and the processes.) And you're right, "traditional darkroom" doesn't necessarily mean the same as silver gelatin. In fact some could say that silver gelatin is a newcomer and you're the one being traditional. Then the wet plate folks could say...

JBrunner said:

Art is in the breast, not the brain.

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If that's true then a girl I went to school with was a masterpiece!!

newcan1 said:

I give up. I'll just make sure my pics are 50 cents less than the competition.

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Yup, that's the answer

I recently went through the process of trailing new papers after realising my FB stock was low, and no longer produced. I made identical prints on half a dozen different papers and kept them in a folder that travels with me, just so I could pull them out and ask the opinion of other photographers/artists/clients I ran into. The people 'in the know' unanimously chose one of two of my favorite fibre papers. The majority of those 'not in the know' (non-arty folks, 'low-end' clients and a couple bigger-bucks clients) absolutely gushed over a semi-matte RC, most saying "Now THAT looks professional, just like what you used to get back from Kodak or Rabbit photo"

...I can't tell you how many times I slapped my forehead during this whole process, but I did learn: if it's a pretty picture, it will sell. If its a pretty picture on nice paper, it will be admired, but mostly by people who can barely afford to eat, let alone purchase art.

Sorry to disagree but Silver Gelatin Fibre Prints is a very know product in my community.

A traditional darkroom could be any process and would not let people who actually want to know what process is being used to make the print.

tkamiya said:

I agree with kevin and jovo.

Most people won't know what "silver gelatin" means. "Darkroom Print" will make more sense. I typically call my stuff "printed in traditional darkroom using finest material available."

At the end of the day though, most people couldn't care less how your print was printed. FB, RC, inklet, or something else. They just don't know and don't care. "Pretty Picture" is what sells - especially in a mass market like that.

Few times, I stressed over archival processing and toning for permanence, used white gloves to prevent finger oil during handling, etc..... only to find out the recipient put it in a cheap frame with cardboard matting full of acid.

If you want to explain your print for your own reason, go ahead but it won't make a darn difference to people who will be buying them. Good luck though. It will be a fun experience.

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Bob Carnie said:

Sorry to disagree but Silver Gelatin Fibre Prints is a very know product in my community.

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I think, then, your community is much better than the average communities in my area.

Getting back to the original question and intent of this thread....

I think it is important to evaluate the very purpose of setting up his products on the store shelves. I believe the purpose is to sell and make money. Educating the public is secondary. Differentiating one's product is only meaningful if it promotes sales in this context.

Vast majority of people who will pick up the product will not even read, know the difference, or care how the product was made. Being eye catchy is far more important than being technically correct. Harping on technical details and superiority of silver gelatin prints mean nothing to the audience if they don't care - even if it's true.

If I were doing this, I'll make a red shiny sticker that says "Printed by Hand" or "Real Photograph" to spark some curiosity. Then include a small piece of paper explaining what it is.

Just because we, the photographers and the enthusiasts care, doesn't mean at all, the general public that will be the target of OP's venture, will care. I think (myself included) we care way too much about the technical details of what we do. General public wants pretty pictures and wants it for as little money as possible.

Because of nature of his setup, collectors and enthusiasts won't be his customers.