Building on the momentum it enjoys worldwide in retail solutions,
specialty and professional labs and studios, Eastman Kodak Company
(NYSE: EK) is announcing a host of new features and functionality
enhancements in its digital printing solutions, along with new print
media and film products, designed to deliver the best possible customer
experience and productivity per square foot in the photo processing
industry.
"Kodak has a rich heritage of innovation in photo imaging, and the
groundbreaking new products that we are introducing today promise more
ways for consumers to share and more ways for retailers and pro-labs to
profit,” said Jeffrey Hayzlett, chief marketing officer, Eastman
Kodak
Company. "Kodak’s commitment to our retail and professional partners is
to help them deliver an exceptional experience to their customers and
operate vibrant, reliable and sustainable profit centers.”
Kodak pioneered do-it-in-store premium photo products that enhance the
photo experience. Kodak’s Retail Systems Solutions is introducing
innovative new digital products, including four industry firsts, which
grab consumers’ attention and compel them to create, and re-introduce
print photos into their lifestyles in truly meaningful ways:
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Social Network Connectivity of the KODAK Picture Kiosk -
breakthrough new connectivity between KODAK Picture Kiosks and some of
the world’s most popular online photo storing and sharing sites:
Facebook®, KODAK Gallery, and Picasa™ Web Albums, allowing millions of
users to access their photo libraries from the Kodak Kiosks. Consumers
using a KODAK Picture Kiosk running the new KODAK Picture Kiosk
Software v4.0 with the social network connectivity feature enabled can
easily access, right from the store, photos they have stored online,
and then they can quickly and easily create stunning sharing solutions
ranging from standard prints to personalized photo keepsakes such as
collages, greeting cards, photo books, KODAK Picture Movie DVDs,
calendars and more. This now enables impulse retail purchases from
millions of users of these sites.
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Kodak’s Video Snapshots feature lets consumers quickly and
easily review and select individual frames from their video files,
convert them into still images, and then use those pictures to create
prints, collages, greeting cards, photo books and calendars, or store
them on a CD. Video Snapshots will support video formats of top brand
digital still and point-and-shoot digital video cameras, including the
newest HD models. Over 90 percent of digital still cameras sold since
2006 have video capability and 50 percent of owners shoot video
representing a huge untapped opportunity in retail printing that will
help retailers grow their profits1. The simple and elegant
user interface was extensively tested with real consumers and makes
the experience quick, easy and fun.
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Kodak’s Pet Eye Retouch allows consumers to fix the very common
and problematic pet eye glare caused by flash photography of their
furry companions. With 71 million pet households in the U.S. alone,
pets rank in the top four of all
captured images.2 Consumer research shows that 65 percent
of consumers were likely to use this feature, and remarkably, 28
percent would be willing to go to another location where they can get
it.3
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Kodak’s
Facial Retouch is a market-proven feature that
instantly smoothes wrinkles, diminishes and/or erases blemishes and
improves skin tone for more perfect photo keepsakes. This technology
was successfully tested and launched with major European retailers and
is now available to all Kodak retail partners around the globe.
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One-Touch Premium Products creates animated product suggestions
before checkout using the consumer’s own images, allowing the consumer
to purchase an additional product instantly with the touch of one
button. This up-sell feature contains intelligent product matching,
which suggests the best fit product based on the number of photos
selected, the products offered at that kiosk and the products already
in the consumers order.
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KODAK Adaptive Picture Exchange (APEX) Software v4.0 for its
modular and scalable dry lab solution. Led by the new KODAK
Net-to-Retail solution for Internet-to-store fulfillment, the
enhancements in software version 4.0 open up a host of new in-store
and connected capabilities with multiple internet service providers.
In addition, the new software now offers a wider range of products and
new highly-efficient retailer workflows that give retailers the
opportunity to grow their profits.
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KODAK Net-to-Retail Solution connects retailers’ online photo
web stores, and other online photo repository services to Kodak’s APEX
dry lab fleet – one of the world’s largest – allowing consumers to
create and order print and custom premium products online for in-store
fulfilment. The Net-to-Retail Solution empowers retailers by allowing
them to turn their APEX fleet into in-store fulfilment centers for
online orders for all products the equipment is capable of producing.
Net-to-Retail allows retailers to receive online orders from multiple
online service providers, with the potential for unique catalogs,
pricing, and branding for each one.
In addition to its retail solutions, Kodak is bringing new products and
services to market for professional labs and studios, as well as
professional photographers. By leveraging cross company expertise,
technology and assets, Kodak offers its customers one of the broadest
portfolios of high quality, proven solutions. New products and services
include:
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KODAK PROFESSIONAL EKTAR 100 Film in 4x5 and 8x10: The world’s
finest grain color negative film is now available in 4x5 and 8x10
sheet formats. The award winning EKTAR 100 Film, also available in
35mm and 120 formats, is the ideal choice for commercial photographers
and advanced amateurs for applications such as nature, travel, fashion
and product photography, where the emphasis is often on color and
detail.
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KODAK Photo Paper: Kodak’s new thin, E-surface (Lustre) paper
responds to a market need from wholesale labs and retailers, who seek
the trusted Kodak quality, but require a thinner paper for mass
production workflow environment. The paper is much thinner than
standard consumer papers and is ideal for photo books, album covers
and postcards.
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KODAK PROFESSIONAL UV-Curable Display Film and UV-Curable Display
Paper: These new KODAK Media enable the creation of point-of-sale
and backlit display materials faster and at a lower cost. Similar to
KODAK PROFESSIONAL ENDURA Photographic Display Materials, these new
products feature exceptional clarity, consistency and quality for
maximum productivity and retail impact.
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KODAK Creative Production Software (CPS) v4: CPS, Kodak’s
powerful system- agnostic, workflow software is designed specifically
for the photo-specialty retailer. The easy-to-use, flexible, creative
tools enable a higher level of customer service and value-added
product differentiation, with minimal investment. In CPS v4, Kodak
expands photo book features and enables two-sided greeting cards and
prints of a variety of sizes.
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KODAK PROFESSIONAL Digital Print Production Software (DP2) v12:
The latest version of DP2, Kodak’s market leading central lab
software, highlights Kodak's ongoing commitment to drive increased
productivity through professional labs. First introduced 10 year ago,
this stalwart in professional labs helps to continually identify and
incorporate new category offerings through flexible design, and
efficient rendering and producing of any output.
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KODAK ROYAL Luminous Digital Paper: Kodak’s new consumer paper
provides a high gloss, iridescent surface, and offers retailers a way
to differentiate their photographic offerings. ROYAL Luminous Digital
Paper combines a distinctive gold backprint with a heavier weight than
traditional consumer papers for a premium look and feel.
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KODAK PROFESSIONAL ULTRA ENDURA High Definition Paper: Kodak’s
new professional paper, with its high gloss, iridescent surface,
extends the ULTRA Paper family to include a high-contrast premium
photographic paper designed for commercial applications. Also, because
the paper is non-backprinted, it maximizes both the placement and
method by which it can be displayed.
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KODAK s1220 Photo Scanning System: Updates to the software for
the KODAK s1220 Photo Scanning System simplify how consumers can use
print photos to customize photo publishing products and services to
share with friends and family. Retailers and other professionals, from
wedding planners to event photographers, can utilize the s1220 Photo
Scanning System to help their customers use prints to tell unique
stories through a number of creative print and digital mediums. New
features include a one-touch option for creating popular photo
presentations for DVDs/CDs. Other tools, including intelligent
auto-rotation and flexible file naming, enable businesses to optimize
scanned images for high quality photobooks and online galleries.
About Kodak
As the world's foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers,
businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of pictures and
printing to enrich their lives.
To learn more, visit http://www.kodak.com
and follow our blogs and more at http://www.kodak.com/go/followus.
More than 75 million people worldwide manage, share and create photo
gifts online at KODAK Gallery -- join today at www.kodakgallery.com.
2010. KODAK, KODAK PROFESSIONAL, EKTAR, ENDURA, ROYAL and ULTRA are
trademarks of Kodak.
Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.
Picasa® Web Albums is a registered trademark of Google Inc.
1 Sources: 2008 NPD Group and Infotrends, Inc.
2 Source: American Pet Products Manufacturers Association
(APPMA) 2009-2010 National Pet Owners Survey
3 Source: Kodak Business Research
