The Render Margin: Why Bulk Image Pipelines Decide Retainer Profitability

Image generators turn visual production from per-asset labor into a configurable pipeline, so the agency that owns the template and the API call captures margin the studio model cannot match. The risk sits on the other side of the same ledger: usage-based pricing and shifting vendor terms can quietly convert a fixed-fee retainer into a variable-cost liability. Treat the category as production infrastructure with a contract attached, not as a design tool.