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The following is an unedited press release, shown as received from the company represented. We've elected to present selected releases without editorial comment, as a way to provide our readers more information without further overtaxing our limited editorial resources. To avoid any possible confusion or conflict of interest, the Imaging Resource will always clearly distinguish between company-provided press releases and our own editorial views and content.

Kodak's Picture Kiosk. Courtesy of Eastman Kodak Co., with modifications by Michael R. Tomkins. PRESS RELEASE: Kodak Expands Opportunity for Retailers Entering Digital Picture Printing Market; Extends Kiosk Range with New Digital System


Extension to KODAK Picture Maker G3 Kiosk Family and Kiosk Enhancements Help More Retailers Capitalize on Surging Global Digital Printing Market

ORLANDO, Fla., February 20 — Eastman Kodak Company today announced a new, lower cost digital printing kiosk product to make it easier for traditional and non-traditional retailers alike to gain entry into the rapidly growing digital printing space. The new KODAK Picture Kiosk is a pedestal-style digital system, which has a significantly smaller footprint and weight than current kiosks, and is ideal for retailers who have not traditionally been able to justify on-site digital printing services

In addition, new developments to the KODAK Picture Maker G3 family of kiosks will help more retailers harness the potential of the digital printing market. New kiosk features will enable connectivity for remote business management and remote service, and will also deliver real KODAK pictures through KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology.

“More and more consumers are using digital cameras, and in turn, we are seeing an incredible surge in the demand to print digital pictures,” said Patrick King, general manager of Consumer Output, Digital & Film Imaging Systems; and vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. “By extending our kiosk line with the KODAK Picture Kiosk, and creating innovative features and tools for our current G3 kiosk family, we’re generating new opportunities for retailers to leverage digital printing technology for increased sales.”

Lower Price Points Offer Easier Entry into Digital Printing
Kodak has expanded its KODAK Picture Maker G3 family of kiosks to include a new digital system that will give retailers an opportunity to enter the digital printing market at a lower cost, providing customers with a broader selection of locations at which to print their digital pictures.

The self-service KODAK Picture Kiosk features a pedestal monitor connected to a KODAK Picture Maker G3 Print Station with Photo Printer 6800, which allows people to preview, edit, select and print their digital images in just a few minutes. This new digital system offers a much smaller footprint on the retailer’s counter along with easy set-up and lower investment, while maintaining the most popular image editing features and print sizes.

People will be able to order prints from just about any digital camera memory card, including SECUREDIGITAL (SD) cards, MultiMedia Cards (MMC), COMPACTFLASH, SMARTMEDIA, MEMORY STICK, MEMORY STICK PRO and xD-PICTURE cards. Similar to the KODAK Picture Maker G3 family of kiosks, the consumer-friendly touch screen lets people zoom, crop, reduce red eye and print the sizes and quantities of the exact pictures they want up to 6 x 8 inches.

KODAK Picture Kiosks will begin shipping to select markets worldwide in July 2005.

New Kiosk Software Delivers Improved Image Processing and Enhanced Marketing Support
Kodak is launching version 5.0 software for its family of Picture Maker G3 kiosks. Prominent within the v5.0 software is Kodak’s proprietary image science technology, which delivers KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology. Photos printed from KODAK Picture Makers with KODAK PERFECT TOUCH Technology reveals more vibrant colors, richer detail, and fewer dark shadows. This improvement comes on the heels of a 2004 Good Housekeeping Institute report stating that print quality from the KODAK Picture Maker digital print kiosks was superior to that of its chief competitor.

The new software version also includes new capabilities that will help to drive incremental sales of Picture Maker services. Based on the consumer’s editing and ordering choices, the KODAK Picture Maker intelligently presents information for additional photo services available and allows them to add an additional service to their order with just one touch. Retailers benefit from this new feature as it promotes consumer awareness and trial of new photo services, as well as helping drive incremental profitability through premium services.

New Kiosk Enhancements Drive Additional Offerings and Revenue Opportunities
Kodak recently announced their selection of TouchPoint Solutions, Inc.’s CATAPULT platform as a primary component of its retail digital photo-printing infrastructure. The agreement will allow for the installation of TouchPoint’s remote management software, CATAPULT, on thousands of new and existing KODAK Picture Maker kiosks worldwide.

Kodak will use this new, networked infrastructure to further drive efficiency and profitability for retailers who own and operate KODAK equipment. By using a centralized remote management system, Kodak can provide flexible business management services allowing deployment of a variety of marketing, sales, and advertising programs via the KODAK Picture Maker kiosk. In addition, it delivers centralized daily collection of production data with ready access to reports all within a secure, proven environment. And, retailers benefit from proactive service and support that monitors and controls in-store equipment, even performing diagnostics and repair. Devices will automatically communicate with Kodak technicians and store personnel when attention is needed, thus minimizing equipment downtime.

This new capability provides retailers with valuable business and service information to optimize performance and profitability.

Enhanced Photo Printers Provide Increased Print Speed and Print Size Flexibility
Kodak has also announced enhancements to its photo printers for the KODAK Picture Maker family of kiosks. The new KODAK Photo Printer 6850 will replace the 6800 model beginning in the third quarter of 2005. The main benefit of the 6850 is faster printing speeds – eight seconds for a 4 x 6-inch print. The 6850 will maintain the award winning print quality of the 6800, which won the Digital Imaging Marketing Association (DIMA) printer shootout and Technical Imaging Press Association (TIPA) awards in 2004. The 6850 model will also continue to offer the same high print capacity (750 prints per roll) and print size flexibility (up to 6 x 8-inch borderless prints) benefits as the current 6800 model.

Additionally, beginning in the third quarter of 2005, the KODAK Photo Printer 8800 will be available for KODAK Picture Maker kiosks, offering increased speed and labor savings. Key benefits include borderless printing, the ability to print 8 x 10-inch prints in 45 seconds, and higher print-per-roll capacity of 300 8 x 10-inch prints.

Both new printer models support fast enlargement printing, ideal for consumer gifting and increased retailer profitability.

About Eastman Kodak Company
Kodak is the leader in helping people take, share, print and view images – for memories, for information, for entertainment. With sales of $13.5 billion in 2004, the company is committed to a digitally oriented growth strategy focused on the following businesses: Health - supplying the healthcare industry with traditional and digital image capture and output products and services; Graphic Communications - offering on-demand color and black and white printing, wide-format inkjet printing, high-speed, high-volume continuous inkjet printing, as well as document scanning, archiving and multi-vendor IT services; Digital & Film Imaging Systems - providing consumers, professionals and cinematographers with digital and traditional products and services; and Display & Components - which designs and manufactures state-of-the-art organic light-emitting diode displays as well as other specialty materials, and delivers imaging sensors to original equipment manufacturers. More information about Kodak (NYSE: EK) is available at www.kodak.com.

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Kodak and Perfect Touch are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company.
2005


(First posted on Saturday, February 19, 2005 at 09:00 EST)

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