Philippines: Graphic Outsourcing Spells Savings for Global Businesses

With an image problem that spells “chaotic” and “corrupt”, the Philippines is certainly not the first that comes to mind when it comes to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). India is known to be the top destination for that industry.

But businesses are finding great opportunities for cost savings by outsourcing in the Philippines, what with the country’s deep pool of English-speaking talents who can do the job of their Western counterparts by at least thirty percent less.

In the field of graphic outsourcing, companies like LazyMask are finding that the Philippines’ graphic artists are critical in helping it carve its own niche.

LazyMask is one of the few companies to channel most of its resources to outsourced clipping path or image masking jobs. A clipping path outlines any image or photo and allows LazyMask’s customers to place any background behind the actual object. Clipping paths are often needed for catalogs, posters, brochures, websites, and other forms of print or design. LazyMask’s unique selling point is its guaranteed delivery of finished images within 24 hours or less - for a certain number of images.

CEO Jane Kirk founded LazyMask in Metro Cebu, the Philippines’ second largest metropolis. Cebu is home to other BPO firms, including those that operate as Print-On-Demand publishing firms, call centers, Search Engine Marketing firms, and web design houses.

LazyMask pooled its graphic artists from different backgrounds – most graduated from local universities with degrees in either Fine Arts or Information Technology. Others were self-taught in Adobe Photoshop. All, however, have professional experience and have, at any one time, worked for local advertising agencies, publishing firms and web design companies.

The quality of LazyMask’s work has so far been received with praises.

Tracy A. Butler, Art Director of Augusta Magazine, says, "The quality as well as customer service we have received from LazyMask is excellent. The time we would have spent masking difficult items has now been added back to our production time.”

Augusta Magazine is a Georgia-based publication house which produces a city magazine, a monthly parent magazine as well as custom publications. Other happy customers include marketing firms in Europe, as well as professional photographers.

The quality of work by its graphic artists has gained for LazyMask a growing number of clients. Kirk says she will be hiring more graphic artists to keep up with the demand. The Philippines’ image problems have not been an issue in business. In fact, Kirk is launching LazyMovie, another outsourcing business aimed at the video editing industry. Like LazyMask, LazyMovie also offers specialty outsourcing solutions – this time, in rotoscoping and chroma keying.

Rotoscoping and chroma keying are techniques used in post-production to change the background of a moving subject, or to clean up dirt and wires.