Photo Ops: Partner in the Picture at Lehigh University

When Lehigh University Printing and Mailing Services Director Glenn Strause heard about an in-plant using photo kiosks, he thought it was a great idea—just not the right idea for Lehigh.

“I decided that kiosks were too expensive for us,” he reports. “That in-plant caters to 30,000 students; we have 5,000.”

So Strause approached a local photo studio, Dan’s Camera City, and proposed a partnership. As a result, Lehigh faculty and students are privy to professional picture output on campus. Customers can place orders, upload images and pay the studio via the Printing and Mailing Services site, which is linked with Dan’s website. The in-plant receives a commission on each order.

The studio receives images, creates a barcode (scanned by the in-plant for tracking purposes), generates prints and delivers pictures to the in-plant, which then offers free delivery via campus mail. Typical turnaround is two days.

What really drives users to the on-campus service? It’s a parking issue, Strause contends. “We’re on an 1,800-acre campus on the side of a mountain and parking is prime,” he explains. “Once people get here, they don’t want to leave.”

The in-plant is considering photo book production, but proceeding cautiously. “Our marketing person asked if we could do photo books, collages and posters through Facebook,” Strause remarks.

He speculates that faculty might like to give photo books as gifts, but believes that students are more likely to share images online than compile them in a book.