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email@fototechnika.com
About FotoTechnika WareCraft
ABOUT US
In the late 1970s FotoTechnika was only a dream. John and Saundra Howard, inspired by their studies at the University of North Florida and their desire to work together, envisioned the melding of graphic, photographic and fine art services into a single hybrid visual arts company; in fact, the name FotoTechnika (fō-tō-TĕK-nih-kŭh) was a contrived company name created for a college graphic arts course. FotoTechnika was incorporated in 1981 but remained a part-time venture – processing B&W film and freelancing art projects – until 1987 when the lab was established as a full-service venture.
As technology has changed so has the knowledge and experience of our personnel. We have reinvented ourselves numerous times, and that process continues to this day. From 1987 into the 90s we were a full-service photo lab, but by 1997 FotoTechnika had become part photo lab and part fine art digital printmaker. In 2002 we acquired our first digital minilab, followed by a 30” LED printer 18 months later, both using traditional photo paper and chemicals. We leased our first digital press in 2012, expanding into the modern graphics industry. Who knew that that digital press would lead to an association with Digital Print & Media (DP&M) and its owner, Tim Ware. Tim had his own commercial printing business but was willing to help us maintain our equipment. Time spent in the offset printing industry in the 1980s, common personal connections and shared interests brought us closer to Tim until we concluded that combining our two businesses would create the hybrid we envisioned all those years ago.
In 2019 The FotoTechnika Group and DP&M created a joint venture called FotoTechnika WareCraft, and as of 2024 we have been operating as one company. Both companies still provide all the services we have each offered for years, but now under one umbrella. Sharing space with Barnett’s Art & Frame Gallery creates new synergies and opportunities for our us and our customers.
Evolution of Solution: In 2006 we produced this presentation in-house to send to potential accounts. Longtime employee Brian Wanta, a multi-media specialist in his former life, jumped at the opportunity to produce a promotional slide show once again when we were considering possibilities for new marketing avenues, only this time it would be digital. Back in the old days slides were shot; reel-to-reel tapes were recorded, dubbed, edited and spliced; banks of slide projectors were employed using primitive computer controllers tied to projectors and sound systems -- all to make a stimulating and dynamic presentation. In our opinion there still is nothing as effective as the impact of rich photographic images projected in a slide show in a dark room -- oh, for the good ole days. Today, with digital technology the tools are different, but the process is the same. The timing, the photography, shot selection, narration, editing of music are all just as important as they were in the past. Sadly, Brian passed away in 2018, but his “blazing the trail” in our fine art giclée department still serves us today.
