Kodak’s Industry First Digital Products Induce Clients to Print Photos Again

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:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.