Leading Independent Developer of Image-Correction Solutions Also Adds New Licensees

CALGARY, Alberta (16 February, 2010) –– Even as more imaging enterprises all over the world adopt Athentech Imaging Inc.’s Perfectly Clear® image-correction technology, the company continues to enhance its product portfolio with technology that brings its remarkable capabilities to a greater number of imaging environments – from photo labs and photo kiosks to online imaging communities and the Apple iPhone. Later this week at PMA ’10, Athentech Imaging will showcase its new iPhone Library – plus the world’s first fully automatic digital noise-removal technology. Both are now available for license.

In addition, Athentech Imaging will conduct demos and briefings for the latest versions of its entire line of image-correction solutions – from Perfectly Clear® LAB to Perfectly Clear® Photoshop Plug-In (Windows) to Perfectly Clear® iPhone. These activities and more will take place in the company’s Technology Suite (X106). PMA ’10, the largest U.S. conference and trade show serving the photo imaging industry, is slated for Feb. 19-23 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Perfectly Clear® is now available as a small iPhone library. Just as Athentech Imaging’s remarkable image-correction technology is known worldwide as the leading image-correction solution for photo labs, kiosks and online sites, Perfectly Clear® can now be licensed for integration into third-party Apple iPhone applications. It provides powerful automatic image correction instantly on the iPhone, iPod Touch – and also the new Apple iPad.

Also, as part of its continuing effort to offer cutting-edge, automatic image-enhancement solutions, Athentech Imaging has formed another of its technology partnerships – this time for automatic noise-removal technology with Moscow-based Stoik Imaging. This solution automatically detects if an image is noisy, and performs noise removal on the image only if noise exists. It does an excellent job of preserving detail, and executes its tasks very quickly.

“Perfectly Clear® is all about creating the best-looking image possible – automatically – to perfectly preserve the photographer’s memory of the event,” said Athentech Imaging President Brad Malcolm. “As more photos are generated from camera phones, and as more pixels are incorporated into smaller chips, noise removal will continue to be more important. Through our partnership with Stoik Imaging, we believe we now have the premier fully automatic noise-removal technology to address this issue.”

Malcolm also is scheduled to deliver a presentation in the PMA Photo Applications / iPhone Pavilion (#1830) – where Perfectly Clear® iPhone will be a featured application – at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21. This presentation will be hosted by Glyn Evans of The iPhoneography Blog. In addition, Malcolm will be in the Digilabs booth (#3184) at 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday, Feb. 21 and 22, to discuss how the Perfectly Clear® correction is especially helpful for users of hp indigo, Xerox iGen and Kodak NexPress printing systems.

Press-Specific Events
Athentech Imaging, the world’s leading independent developer of image-correction solutions, will be on hand at PMA’s press-only event – Sneak Peek – from noon-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, with a limited number of access codes for copies of its latest Windows Photoshop plug-in and iPhone app. The press also is invited to visit Athentech Imaging’s Technology Suite (X106) on an informal walk-in basis, 3-4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, when the company will conduct demos of upcoming products and answer questions.

In a fairly short period of time, Athentech Imaging’s Windows Photoshop plug-in has been well received and widely adopted. Professional photographer Rohn Stacks commented:

“Without Perfectly Clear® it takes me a while to edit images. But in moments, the result from Perfectly Clear® is better overall – more realistic, accurate and true to life. Never have I seen a program or a plug-in with the capability of producing as natural a view as Perfectly Clear®. It’s amazing. Perfectly Clear® has accomplished what I always thought was a dream – the ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if you could click on a photo image and have a professionally acceptable image’ dream.”

“We have a very full plate at PMA this year, and we’re eager to inform the photo community about the work we’ve been doing lately to integrate Perfectly Clear® into more imaging environments that can benefit from its world-class image-correction capabilities,” Malcolm said. “Our solutions are getting more elegant while our reach is getting larger. Our partnership with Stoik Imaging brings one more world-class imaging application into the Athentech Imaging orbit. We have more Perfectly Clear® solutions then ever before in more imaging enterprises than ever before. Our widespread acceptance is both flattering and proof that our imagine-correction technology delivers everything it promises. And we’re not done yet.”

Over the past year, Athentech Imaging has enjoyed tremendous growth and acceptance as the best solution for imaging enterprises whose interest in offering an image-correction capability has led them to search for a reliable image correction developer to team up with. Athentech’s most recent Perfectly Clear® licensees, signed over the last six months, include:

• Rakuten Shashinkan, an online Japanese provider of consumer photo books and other specialty photo products, uses Perfectly Clear® to correct photos prior to delivery / placement. Said COO Chris Nelson: “We did a thorough testing of Perfectly Clear® as well as other automatic solutions on the market, and we decided to proceed with Perfectly Clear® due to the accurate quality of its corrections and the ease of implementation.”

• PNI Digital Media, a Canadian enterprise that provides in-store and online digital printing services, including photo books to retail chains, uses Perfectly Clear® for automatic correction of photos in kiosks

• Imaxel, a Spanish photo imaging software developer that supplies photo kiosks, online photo services and consumer photo books, uses Perfectly Clear® to automatically correct photos prior to delivery to the consumer

• Photo Create, a major Australian supplier of personalized photo products to retailers, uses Perfectly Clear® to correct all of its photo image files prior to printing

• Trinity Mirror plc, one of the largest newspaper publishers in the Great Britain, uses Perfectly Clear® for automatic correction of all photos contained in its multiple national newspapers and 120+ regional publications

“We’re pleased that wherever digital photography is gaining ground and becoming more sophisticated, Perfectly Clear® is in demand,” Malcolm said. “This solution, which is the smallest ‘auto’ image-correction technology available for visually pleasing, error-free, color-accurate pictures, continues to attract quality imaging partners.”

More imaging businesses are choosing Athentech Imaging’s solution, including many who prefer it over more recognized brands of image enhancement software they receive as part of their overall equipment purchase. Along with its integration into a variety of imaging software products, online fulfillment sites and editing systems, Perfectly Clear® is currently installed in more than 55,000 retail photo kiosks, several thousand minilabs, numerous online photo sites and labs, and millions of copies of imaging software in nearly 40 countries.

About Athentech® Imaging Inc.
Athentech® Imaging Inc. is an entrepreneurial, privately held company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The company is involved in three industries and markets: digital imaging, signal processing (for medical applications), and earth sciences. For more information, please visit: http://www.athentech.com.

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Athentech and Perfectly Clear are registered trademarks of Athentech Imaging Inc. Any other corporate names and trademarks in this document are the property of their respective companies.