Making the Leap Into Digital: McKenna Completes Successful Transition

The folks at McKenna Professional lmaging in Waterloo, IA, have something to celebrate in 2005, although president and COO Dave Mason isn't planning a big bash. "This is the year" Mason says, "when the price erosion brought on by digital imaging will be offset by our top-line growth."

This sort

of achievement might not be as emotionally satisfying as, say, winning a prestigious industry award. But at a time when digital photography remains a frustrating mix of blessings and curses, there might be no achievement that's more important. It tells Mason that McKenna has finally, successfully made it through the digital transition.

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(Above): Entrance to McKenna Professional Imaging, Waterloo, IA. (Left): Operations Manager Aaron Card (left) and President & COO Dave Mason examine output from their most recent capital investment, a Fujimoto SHP5080 Digital Lab System.

What now? More of the same. The challenge is to fill the pipeline," Mason says. "Some of the plans and product offerings we think will help us do that may stick and some may not." But the goal, he says, is to make sure that digital's cursed price erosion doesn't gain the upper hand. "Photographers stop proofing with digital imaging," Mason notes. "That's a high-margin product line for labs - traditionally, it's at least 30 percent of an optical lab's business. Plus, digital services are priced lower than optical services. Efficiencies from digital workflows give us a good margin lift, but you still have to maintain that top-line growth."