Wondering why we haven’t blogged much recently? We’ve been busy making Backdrop feature complete and getting it ready for our beta studios and today we’re pleased to announce the official release of Backdrop Beta.

Over 20 new features were added to Backdrop in this release, but we hate talking about number of features, so instead I’m going to focus on a few things that really make running a studio simple and fun.

• Export to Lab: After entering orders in Backdrop, employees can easily group several orders into a lab bag. Now you can ftp all the ordered images to your lab directly from Backdrop with one click! Since we archive your high res images, the data is sent out directly to the lab via our high-speed internet link instead of tying up your studio’s connection for hours.
• Online Scheduling: We’ve made setting up and using online scheduling incredibly easy. Easily select a client group, date range, appointment types, and employees and you’ll have an instant calendar where your clients can go online and book their appointments. Clients will get customized email appointment reminders and an invitation to view their proofs online once they’re imported into Backdrop.
• Retouched Image Storage: Store your retouched images directly in Backdrop! Backdrop will keep a history of all image revisions so you can always go back to the original if there is a mistake. When it comes time to export your yearbook images Backdrop will automatically fetch the latest retouched version.

Our beta studios are already cutting costs using these features. Want more info? Interested in becoming a beta studio? Let us know!

One of the core tenets of programming is Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY). The logic being the more times you repeat yourself, the greater the chances of you making a mistake.

We’re bringing this concept to Backdrop. Many school photographers use CamLynx to acquire and manage their images as they’re photographing. CamLynx provides users with an easy way to manage and organize their photoshoot, tying in image data with student. If you use CamLynx and Backdrop you don’t have to enter any of this information twice. Any client contact information entered into CamLynx can be imported into Backdrop along with client images. Photographing a school has never been so easy!

Let’s see whats involved…

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