Sandrian Camera shops in Clinton, Morristown closing, done in by …

Sandrian Camera, which has been a presence in Hunterdon County since 1979, is going out of business. So all merchandise, including cameras, accessories, picture frames, photo albums and more are discounted to sell off as much inventory as possible before the Clinton and Morristown stores close at the end of this month. But services will not be discounted.

Owner Peter Sandrian Jr. said he decided on Dec. 4 to close the stores because “this year has just gotten to be more than I would want to repeat.”

A variety of things have contributed to the demise of Sandrian Camera, he said, but one is what digital photography has done to his printing business.

“People struggle to print their digital pictures, yet it is crucially important if they are going to have their memories five, 10, 15 and 20 years from now, it’s the prints that they will have. The digital files — unless they are very, very compulsive — will eventually be lost. Even if you store them online, they will be misplaced. People won’t find them and those pictures will just vanish. I can’t emphasize too much how important it is to print — and yet with digital every single print you make is a mental decision.”

With film, you had to get prints in order to see your pictures, and even after you threw the bad ones away, you’d have the prints for years and years. In those days, developing film and making prints were 50% of Sandrian’s business.

Sandrian said that when digital cameras were phasing in, each Christmas another bunch of customers would receive them as gifts, and film sales and printing volume would take another step downward.

Camera sales, although they “were never crucial in terms of profitability” were hurt by competition on the Internet. So was photo printing, where many vendors don’t charge state sales tax. Customers coming into the store to see the cameras — and then buying them online — happens less frequently now, Sandrian said. More people are buying local now, hoping to keep those stores in business.

The business started in 1927 when Peter Sandrian Sr. opened a photography studio in Morristown, later adding a sideline of making photostatic copies and architectural blueprints, and later selling film and camera equipment and accepting film for processing. Peter Jr. took over in 1969, and his father retired soon after that. Peter opened an additional store in Clinton in 1979, and at various times had stores in Bedminster and Far Hills. He had a photo-finishing shop in Flemington near the Circle for about 10 years before moving it to Bishop’s Plaza in Readington Township for another decade or so before closing it.

The company has had as many as 30 employees. The current crew of about a dozen “is truly the best staff I’ve had. The work they turn out is exceptional.” He said customers value the help they get in the store with selecting and cropping their pictures for printing, and with figuring out how their cameras work, since a camera now is a “complex computer.”

Sandrian Camera has diversified into printing art photos for photographers, printing really large photos, transferring movies from film or tape to discs and doing custom framing, while still selling cameras and printing snapshots. Peter Jr.’s wife Kathleen has done the bookkeeping for many years, but in the past three years or so she has learned the craft of custom framing, which “has been a tremendous help in keeping us viable,” Peter said.

On Dec. 12, the Sandrians sent an email to their customers saying, “After more than 86 years in business we are throwing in the towel. I have always said that if we can’t continue to serve our customers with the courtesy and care they deserve, we would stop; we can’t afford to continue, and while it’s sad, here’s the good part: YOU have FIRST SHOT at the ABSURD low prices of Sandrian Camera’s GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE.” They hope to liquidate their stock right down to and including the store fixtures and photographic printing equipment.

Since he “saw the handwriting on the wall” only a couple weeks ago, Peter hasn’t “figured out retirement,” but with good health and a good attitude, he’s expecting a good time. He and Kathleen have five children and five grandchildren, so some family time is anticipated.

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