January 25, 2000
Mr. Phillips Lippincott
AZTEK, Incorporated
23 Spectrum Pointe 209
Lake Forest, Ca, 92630
Dear Phil,
This is the kind of letter that I am most happy to write, because I am taking this means of thanking you, Pam, Haddon, Evan and all of Aztek for your consistent help in making PhotoCorp of California the thriving business it is today. You and my Aztek Digital PhotoLab 8000 photo scanning production system are at the heart of my business success status. Without your sincere and forth right interest in supporting me and my business with both outstanding customer service and the clear vision to create such an easy to use yet professionally powerful product as the Digital PhotoLab; I now know I would not have been able to make the transition to digital imaging. Mine and my customer’s standards of quality are totally uncompromising. Only the best photo industry products and suppliers have historically met my expectations e.g. Sinar Bron, Kodak, Durst, Nikon ... and now Aztek and you.
About three years ago I began my earnest quest to learn what was necessary to become a competent offerer of Digital Photo Imaging services to my clients. My customers at the time were exclusively receiving traditional photo services from me, and then having other people do the scans etc. I felt it was essential to offer these services in order to avoid loosing my clients, and control of my work quality. I contacted many people in the industry including yourself and received much dis-information, buzz words and hype: scanner density responses, color management, resolution, CMYK / RGB techniques, platform prejudices, it goes on and on. Frankly it was unfortunately necessary for me to make some very expensive mistakes. You alone accurately explained the approaches and costs required to meet my expectations, yet out of naiveté I wanted to believe the more attractive sales and marketing fairy tales as presented by others. I bought my first scanner and computer configurations proving the business and technology concepts to be viable. It also demonstrated my ignorance regarding the proper photo quality configurations, equipment and solutions. I remembered you, your unheeded warnings, recommendations, as well as, your demonstrated drum scanner products. So after six months I came back to re-look and buy the right Howtek scanner, yet again the wrong software and configurations. You supported me valiantly and my business moved forward. I was able to create good results, but at a labor-intensive price, volume and effort. So over a year later I finally yet again went back and then bought the right Aztek drum scanner, with the right Aztek supplied computer configuration under professional photo control of the right Aztek software. I’ve never looked back! What an outstanding difference this has made, my customers and I are ecstatic! In my local business area, I am now the clear leader of Digital Photo Imaging, attracting more new customers and work by reputation. This is thanks in no small part to the accuracy, quality, speed and ease of use of my Digital PhotoLab 8000 drum scanner, ScanServer and software. And of course, the patience and help of you and the other Aztekies. I now have clearly learned that my digital imaging technology trust can totally rest with Aztek.
I hope you can share this letter with other prospective professional photo imaging customers, so they can avoid having to make the same mistakes I had to. Also my hope is that If others like me can learn to trust up front what the Aztek Digital PhotoLab Scanning and Image workflow technology advantages and you have to offer; Aztek can receive back some of the same good things it has contributed to my business and the photo imaging industry as a whole.
Sincerely,
Errol Higgins
PhotoCorp of California