LONDON, Mar. 21, 2007 -- Digital asset cataloging pioneer iView Multimedia Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp., today announced the availability of The Getty Images iView Submission Utility. Getty Images is the world's leading provider of imagery, film and digital services.

Designed to cut preparation time for stock photo submissions, The Getty Images iView Submission Utility is available as a 'plug-in' for iView MediaPro, a cross-platform digital asset management tool used by the world's leading photographers to catalog and present large volumes and varieties of digital images. The utility is a free download for signed photographers to Getty Images Creative image collections.

"I can't wait to use the Getty Images iView Submission Tool," said Joe Vaughn, a lifestyle photographer. "This will be a real help in getting the right photographs submitted to Getty Images at the right time. In this business, staying ahead of trends means being first and fast."

It works by automating two key processes: 1) Image Validation: photographers' images are validated against a wide range of criteria that must match Getty Images submission standards (such as specific metadata, file size, format, and other image attributes); 2) Submission Packaging: once images have been validated, the tool creates packages of images together with, metadata summaries and release forms according to Getty Images specifications.

"Our close relationship with iView in developing this submission utility demonstrates our commitment to helping photographers streamline their overall workflow and deliver images to us with less hassle," said Paul Banwell, Director of Photographers and Filmmaker Relations at Getty Images.

"Simplifying the stock photo submission process means that photographers can work more efficiently and get back to shooting," said Kostas Mallios, senior director of the Rich Media Group at Microsoft. "This is the point of technology -- to save time and support creativity."