With the market moving toward digital photography, two Puget Sound-area photography companies, Ivey Photo of Seattle and Abolins AV Photographic of Tacoma, went out of business this summer. Ivey closed June 30 after operating for more than three decades; Abolins shut its doors after nearly 40 years in business.
Portland-based Ivey Imaging, the parent company of Ivey Photos, will retain a Seattle sales office. Originally Ivey-Seright, the company began with custom black-and-white processing and grew to become one of the nation's largest professional photofinishing companies.
Much of Ivey Photo's equipment, including a van and a set of scanning, printing and photofinishing machines, was bought by BIGink of Seattle for $60,000. BIGink, which focuses on large-scale graphics such as banners, said it did not have a need to purchase any photo-processing equipment. Two of Ivey's 14 employees were also offered positions with BIGink. The official last day for Abolins, a specialty retailer of audiovisual equipment, was Aug. 25. It carried a wide selection of cameras and large electronics, including laminators and projectors.