Wizard IF Software

[DarrellB]

I am thinking of purchasing the wizard vizualizaton software and would like to get feedback from any one that is using it now. I will be using it with frameready software, so if anyone is using it with this framing software that would be even better. Thanks for any info



darrellB

 

[Kyle Henson]

I have Wizard IF program. I got it when it first came out. I have not been very happy with it. It is very fickle. I always get the same answer about any problems I might have, "it's a lighting issue." And it may be, however, I can't put in a photography studio lighting setup just to get acceptable lighting. Also was not very happy that a few months after the initial release, a second version was out with a $300 upgrade fee.

I have not had much experience on other visualization software. However, in my experience, this product is no comparison to their exceptional CMC products.

 

[Puppyraiser]

I, on the other hand, like it a lot. I tell the customer that it is to see proportion. The samples are to see colors. No one has had any issues with this, as far as I know...

 

[Baer Charlton]

I used it to build up several of my PowerPoint slides for my classes.

I'm with Ellen, it's for seeing how the proportions work or don't..... unless like you understand... want to build a photo stage, and are working on that $2,800 color balanced monitor and graphic card.

A hammer is for hitting nails, not for adjusting blades in a mat cutter.

 

[David Waldmann]

A hammer is for hitting nails, not for adjusting blades in a mat cutter.

True.

But I don't think any of the visualization companies are selling their tool as a "proportion" tool.

Lighting IS a big problem (with all photography, not just visualization), and I think the company that comes up with a solution to it at a reasonable price level will go far.

 

[GUMBY GCF]

I have Wizard IF.
I also have the If Retail Manager & a 3 month old 8500 wizard CMC(it is de Boss)
In my youth I worked as a Industrail Photographer.
It is all about the lighting.
However, You don't have to have a photo studio to get good results(not perfect but good).
The colors do shift from the lights you use to the monitor you have..
However, You will see the same shifts in the colors in the art work & the matting so if it looks good on the monitor it will most likely will look good as a finished piece.
The explanation is the technology. Like looking at a photograph and comparing it to a projected slide. No way could you compare the Brilliance of the slide to the photo. Take & print the example of the finished piece it will look much different on paper than on the screen. For that fact it will look different depending on the type of paper you print it on.

I use it to give the customer a better idea of what it will look like with matting & frame all the way around it, not what it will look like 100%.
Plus it saves me some big steps because I have it tied into the Wizard RM so it will automatically send all details to the workorder, sales slip, quote or directly to Wizard CMC.
As with the CMC software they do keep adding features to IF & RM to make it better.


Just my experiences.

I do like it alot. I believe it has helped me upgrade a few orders.

I also accept that there is not a piece of software on the market that is Flaw free
whether it is Wizard, Lifesaver, Windows or Linix.

I suggest you log on to www.wizardint.com look for the education section & sign up for a webnair on the IF some of the webnars are free and extremely helpful.

 

[Jefsco]

It's not very good. At the end of the day - it slows down the process of closing a transaction and is way too slow.

 

[Kirstie]

True.

But I don't think any of the visualization companies are selling their tool as a "proportion" tool.

Lighting IS a big problem (with all photography, not just visualization), and I think the company that comes up with a solution to it at a reasonable price level will go far.

Exactly. I use Wizard IF almost every day, and for what it is, it's great. Perfect for proportion, but for choosing subtleties of frame or mat color? Not so much. I sure have sold a lot of wider mats with it though.

Wizard mat designer recently added the ability to enter mat color numbers, but the problem is, these are colors that the user has scanned in, and are thus inaccurate.

Wizard needs to add a mat library by number for Bainbridge, Crescent, Artique, etc. This would make the whole program much better.

Do I advise you to add visualization? Absolutely. Your customers will be impressed and it will ease selection for some.

Some of my customers love it. For others, the bloom is off the rose.

Mat colors--PLEASE!