The Framers Forum

http://www.artframer.com/

Anybody used "Custom Framer" as a pricing and visualisation tool (see above link/address). I've downloaded the demo and it seems really good and for $249 includes really intricate frame design, pricing and even camera visualisation (it hooks to a camera and recognises when a new shot has been taken, downloads it and allows you to crop it or rotate - neat). All in a "fairly" intuitive way for a competent PC user.

Great thing is they also do a web version (simpler but with still lots of intricate framing options). Anybody used that and got an idea on price/service/pitfalls?

I have simple visualisation websites and spreadsheets for pricing and selling but am looking to have a more integrated, visual solution that can be used to "upsell" to v-grooves, slips, etc locally.

PS The downloaded software is better than the above website. I found a good website that compared all visualisation software and this seemed very comprehensive and very reasonable when compared (with no annual fees).

I don't have a shop so am not worried about linking to POS etc.

I think this software is definitely worth a look for anybody considering doing this kind of thing and trying to keep it reasonable. The software seems very professional to me so far after half an hour playing.

Any better alternatives out there?

Hi James,
I bought a copy of this about 6-7 years ago and recently got an upgrade, I haven't used it continuously but I have always been impressed with it. Recently, I had to knock up some images of a couple of canvases with some different mouldings round them and they looked really good. I was able to use their supplied images of Arqadia mouldings which happened to be the same as they used in the U.S. If this was a British firm offering moulding from Lion, Simons etc. then I would use it alot more, unfortunately if I was to use it in the Workshop I would have to create my own virtual moulding samples, if you're prepared to do that then fine but I never did. It's quite a comprehensive system and you can do pricing/invoicing but I only ever used for visualisation and e-mailing customers images of what their frame could look like. The support team are very helpful but based in the States. I have looked at Pre-View and I like the idea of visualisation but I think in practice you can't really beat pulling a sample moulding off the display wall and offering it up against your mountboard chevron
Adam/Bagpuss

Like Adam, I use it occasionally for visualisation. It's let down by a lack of decent help instructions or a manual but once you've sorted out the programme's logic it's easy to use.

http://www.getthepictureframing.com/gfa ... zation.htm

Thanks both!

Above I include the address of the comparison site I used, which does show this is one of the better ones out there (at the time of release but it's a bit out-of-date).

The nice thing about this program is you can use the software itself to edit up and install moulding shots - go to capture mode, take a picture, rotate crop and save all within the program. This saves the need for using seperate programs to take moulding shots (trusting you can get decent lighting/colour from the camera). You could even almost do this live with the customer if they wanted to see a chevron go round the whole frame. It does have the full Arqadia UK catalogue available which would be a great start for me - luckily.

I agree it is not the simplest to use program and I would worry if I had to train part-time shop staff to use it. The upside is it seems to cover about everything you could want it to e.g. multi-aperture mounts, fillets, unequal borders, v-grooves, lines, and it will link to POS, print invoices, save customers, etc. That's quite a lot for your money in comparison to others.

I also have a worry that this type of program would just encourage customers to be really picky and take up a lot of your time for free so I would only use the program when I felt necessary I think (at my lowish prices anyway) i.e. when grabbign a chevron off the wall and showing them a framed example of a v-groove won't do.

These guys are quite unusual in doing a web version and I have a theory that that's why the shop software is quite cheap to attract web customers (along with being in USD/an American product where the market is bigger). They have told me a typical website costs $3500 or £2200 depending on spec, which is a bit more hefty but not bad as they go. I think there may be a monthly hosting fee which I haven't found out yet.

The websites to me seem too complex for most consumers to use, and not especially graphically pleasing but if you can afford it would be a good way to serve trade customers and those who know their framing e.g. as a second site. Also the banner and so on is customisable so it's possible to get it looking how you want it to a degree.