A Potential Problem?

**"Jeff Ball" j*@starband.net**

In the past six months, at least three sources of 35mm slides of new
plants dried up.  Ball Seed, Darwin, and recently Netherland Bulb
Information Center.  They say that all the images are available in
various qualities on their web site.  They suggest that if someone needs
35mm slides, the garden writer can take the electronic image to a
service bureau and pay to make the 35mm slide; so the garden writer is
going to spend an extra $10 or $20 for a talk that earns only $200? I
don't think so.  

I don't know how many garden writers in this country make presentations
with 35mm slides, but I suspect it is a goodly number.  I also suspect
that few garden writers are using Power Point for presentations,  first
because the projectors are still too expensive and secondly because the
color quality of the projected image sucks.  

Now at this stage, losing those three sources is not critical in my
view.  Lots of companies like Monrovia, Spring Meadow, are Proven
Winners are real helpful in providing slides for use in programs by
garden writers.  Most garden writers giving programs probably take some
of those slides themselves, but having access to a professional quality
shot of a new variety is valuable.  

I believe that in those companies changing their policy, some accountant
decided that if the image is available on the web site, why spend the
extra money; good accountant type thinking.  I assume the PR firms are
very aware of the value of having 35mm slides available, but maybe under
fiscal pressures, the execs in the grower companies are looking for
every penny to save.  

In the long run, I don't think cutting off 35mm images is an economic
benefit.  I hope this turns into a trend.  

Jeff Ball

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