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Ende Oktober war in Mainz Mantelsonntag. In diesem Jahr hatte sich das Team des Einrichtungshaus Holz am Flachsmarkt in Mainz etwas besonderes für den verkaufsoffenen Sonntag ausgedacht. Im Einrichtungshaus gibt es neben großartigen Möbeln auch noch eine kleine Kunstausstellung zu sehen.

Gemeinsam mit den Mainzer Künstlerinnen Ina von Bierbrauer zu Brennstein (Acrylmalerei) und Stephanie Dömland (Acryl/ Sand) zeigte querformat-fotografie ausgewählte Arbeiten aus der Architektur- und Straßenfotografie.

Die Präsentation der Arbeiten in Einrichtungssituationen unterscheidet sich völlig von der Präsentation in einer Galerie, bei der ausschließlich die Kunst im Vordergrund steht. Dadurch, dass die Bilder mitten in den Wohnlandschaften hängen, kann man sich noch viel besser vorstellen, wie die Bilder in den eigenen vier Wänden wirken. 

Insgesamt 4 Wochen, war die Ausstellung zu sehen. Wie alle Ausstellungen, so hat leider auch diese ein Ende. Um so mehr freue ich mich, dass – wie bereits vor dem Mantelsonntag – auch weiterhin ausgewählte Arbeiten von mir im Einrichtungshaus Holz zu sehen sind. 

An dieser Stelle bedanke ich mich noch einmal bei Alexandra und Andreas Thasler und dem kompletten Team des Einrichtungshauses Holz und freue mich auf unsere weiterhin gute Zusammenarbeit.

Für alle, die es nicht in die Ausstellung geschafft haben, gibt es hier ein paar Impressionen der Ausstellung zu sehen. Natürlich freue ich mich gemeinsam mit Alexandra und Andreas Thasler und dem Team über alle, die auch einfach mal so im Einrichtungshaus vorbeischauen und sich neben dem großartigen Möbelangebot auch meine Bilder anschauen. 

A few weeks ago, Jonathan B. from ZOR.com contacted me via eMail asking if I would like to collaborate with ZOR.com. I got their attention, based on my review of the Saal-Digital fotobook, I published 3 years ago.

I guess, that most of you don’t know ZOR.com. Therefore I would like to start with some words about ZOR.com …

ZOR.com is a provider of photo printing services based in Anderlecht, Belgium. ZOR.com started in 2015 in Belgium and now offers its services in many European countries. According to their own statements they have become one of leading providers of photo printing services in France.

ZOR.com offered a coupon for free production of one 60×40 cm alu dibond or one 60x40cm forex print. I accepted to provide a true and fair review.

ZOR.com’s current product range is limited to the following products:

ZOR-ALU = direct metal photo prints on Aluminium Dibond
ZOR-GLAS = direct photo prints on acrylic glas
ZOR-FOREX = direct photo prints on Forex

The product ZOR-CANVAS = photo print on canvas is currently not available.

Further products, such as FineArt-Prints or prints on photographic papers or photo prints under acrylic glass or on alu-dibond ar not part of ZOR.com’s product range.

ZOR.com advertises with unbeatable prices in different formats. Custom sizes are available beside standard formats.

For customer presentations I have a little collection of one photo in different materials in 20 x 20 cm format. Based on this I decided to order this photo in 20 x 20 cm in all 3 product variations, in addition to the free print in format 60 x 40 cm on Alu Dibond. This allowed me to compare with the products, provided by a local supplier.

Thus I ordered 4 prints in total, on a Sunday morning. The order process was quite simple. There were no issues for me. Uploading the file, selection of product and format … that’s it …

Once the order was given, the tension increased. Are the ZOR.com prices really unbeatable? And what is the catch? Is there any? The Standard-Service is offering a delivery within 7-10 working days. A competitor is providing a delivery within 5-6 working days. By my own experience the delivery was usually even quicker. My ZOR products have been supplied on Wednesday, so therefore 8 working days after ordering. In other words: in line with the promised standard delivery time. An express service is bookable, if you need your prints faster.

What was my first impression of the parcel? To be very open, my first impression was a little bit disappointed, since I am used packagings of higher quality by other providers. However if packaging is the only restriction in order to provide lower prices …

Once I opened the package my impression did not really improve. A great “unboxing” experience does look different to me. The prints – or rather the large one – have been secured against slipping and all prints were only secured by simple plastic sheets. Only the front side of the print on acrylic glass was covered with a protective film. However: all prints arrived undamaged and … there must be a reason for the lower prices.

When unpacking the prints a a significant difference compared the competitors products becomes visible. By default, the ZOR photo prints are delivered without a hanging system. Whilst the price of the competitor includes a wall mount with a 18 Euro value for the 60 x 40 cm format (= according to the information by the competitor), ZOR.com only offers a simple hanging stripe solution. This solution is for sure a low budget solution, however I personally think it’s a great pity since the impression that the print is suspended in front of the wall, which is provided by alternative hanging systems, gets lost.

Let’s remain with the back side of the prints for a moment. On a first view, I was disappointed by the missing hanging system AND the blue print on the rear, which did not really provide a professional impression to me. On a second view, I recognized the the blue print was part of a protective film, that can be removed. This protective film has already been removed on the competitors products, in order to fix the hanging system. Unfortunately the rear of the direct print on acrylic glas is not protected anyway. Therefor the rear might be easily damaged.

With regard to the prints, I have to admit, that from my point of view they are of really good quality, especially considering the excellent price-performance ratio. For sure it would be unfair to expect high-end FineArt-Prints, however the print quality of my reference photo is really great. Even in comparison with the prints of the same photo provided by my local supplier. Both – the products of the local provider and the ZOR products provide colour variations by material. As a solution ZOR.com offers ICC profiles for a softproofing with Photoshop and Lightroom allowing corrections in combination with a calibrated monitor. The direct print of the photo on Alu-Dibond from ZOR.com I like even a little bit more, compared with the result provided by the local supplier, although I got the impression that the photo has been sharpened a little bit by ZOR, resulting in better details on the print.

My conclusion:
For ZOR.com products you have to accept some smaller limitations with regard to the packaging and unboxing experience.
For me the biggest difference compared with the competitors products, is the hanging system out of the standard scope. The simple hanging stripe solution offered by ZOR.com doesn’t really make me happy.
For all, to whom the above is not that important, or those who are able to mount their own hanging system, ZOR.com provides a really good price-performance ratio.
The range of products offered provides a good quality for privat use or for large scale property outfits with small budgets.
The product range does not match with my favorite products. This is why I personally would wish a broader product range.

Feedback from ZOR referring to my review above:
“Regarding the negative parts that you’ve mentioned. We’re currently waiting for a new packaging machine to arrive, also in the near future we’ll add 3 new hanging systems.”