As I mentioned in another thread, I'm opening a photo gallery in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco. I'm kicking around idea on how to both pay the rent, have fun, and build community.

One thought is to offer a large format digital printer and scanner for people to rent, on site. I'm thinking that maybe people know how to print themselves, want to print themselves, but don't have room for a large Canon ipf8300 printer (44-inch printing width). I also have a Epson v700 scanner and an iMac.

People could (for example) come down to the coast for a day or two and print on the big printer on their own media (or what they have had delivered? Or what they buy from me?). Cheaper than having a lab do it and you get more control.

Ditto with scanning. The v700 does an amazing job and I have a BetterScanning rig if that is of interest.

Do you think there might be interest in such a service? Anyone else offering it now? Any thoughts on pricing?

What other services might people need? LFcamera/lens rental for people coming in from out of town (say, visiting Yosemite)? Self-service mat cutting? I provide the mat cutter to cut your own mats?

The key here for me is that I have all this gear laying about, sitting unused 95% of the time. Why not have someone else use it?

Kicking around ideas...

--Darin