Craig Keefner tours PMA in Vegas

There are 5,000 of these in the field right now (sans the enclosure and just tabletop). In editing, the overlays were very good and the text/phrases controls were excellent. Lots of templates. There is no POS built in but the new model will have a credit card reader and receipt printer. It uses a silver halide printpix printer and first print takes two minutes (and that is after warmup, I think).

Fuji also showed a Digicam Picture Center 1000. There were about 10 units sitting on a half-moon display that Frank Mayer built and designed. It's a cool tabletop unit and it has seven oversized buttons for controls, so it wins the simplest user interface.



Next stop was Polaroid.  This unit  was really very impressive in how a user could insert some magnetic media and the images seemed to almost instantly appear. The large buttons then set the user up to Pay and Print very, very quickly. The unit is unique, I think, in that the thermal printer it uses prints out the prints in two seconds (bam bam bam).  Key aspects are how quickly units get the users to print, and how fast they can burn CDs. This unit was designed to operate like an ATM, in the words of Polaroid reps.

The list price is $19,900 and the cost to retailers per print was around 29 cents. The spin is to sell a print for 50 cents and have a good margin. The unit is being piloted. I also liked the analog that the marketing folks used which is "Get your pictures the same way you get your cash." That may have been more true than I had guessed as the Marketing Director noticeably brightened when I mentioned that people like Loomis might be interested in new revenue opportunities along these lines. The M.D. said there was a lot he would sure like to say, but couldn't.

For more information on this unit there is a nice pdf describing the entire system available.  Click here for pdf.



Kodak was here in force. There were several new announcements from Kodak and how they are leading the industry.  I also put up a research pdf  which covers the entire Photo Industry and how things look for 2003.  The Picture Maker from Kodak has new software (G3) instead of the older KPM2. They have a Order Station, a Digital Stations and the Print Station.  The print station holds 500 sheets, which is great, and has the CD Burner.

One of the nice touches to the Kodak booth (which was multi-stage and super large) was the informational terminals it had at traffic points. There was an offset large cube base with an "umbrella" or flange LCD touch panel. Very distinctive. Also I was surprised to find one of the sleek black Friendlyway info terminals in the Kodak booth.

Some press releases associated with PMA and Kodak are Kodak Unveils New EasyShare Cameras, Docks and Enhanced Software - PMA 2003 and also Kodak Unveils Innovations to Captivate Consumers, Drive Growth; Industry Leader Introduces Array of 'Firsts' At Annual Photo Trade Show - PMA 2003 




Lucidiom also had nice countertops and standups. I noticed some of the standups used IBM enclosures (nice vents, fellas!). The units feature full configuration utilites for retailers (pricing, specials, etc).  Valley Dynamo makes some of the enclosures and there are currently about a hundred of the units at a major electronics retailer. Coverage extends to Europe (Dansk Camera) and pricing ranges from $4,500 to $7,900. 





 



Olympushad countertops and standups. The verbiage on the units is: A simple, hassle-free process to turn digital images into beautiful-looking prints is what customers want, so why not give it to them via the Olympus TruePrintTM TP-200? Customers just insert their media into the upright, floor-standing TP-200 kiosk, use the easy-to-operate interface to have their images printed automatically, and receive them in a matter of seconds. And because the printers are located behind your service counter, the customer can browse your store before picking the prints up. It's a fast, convenient, and beneficial way for both you and your customers to get "true" results.

I have to say the floor-standing model had a few less than optimal finish details (space between panels and missing spacers) but turns out that they have a new configuration/enclosure which will be available in 30 days. They are squeezing another two inches in on the units. Horizon USA in Houston built these units. In the new config. Basically what happens is that you can take the TP110 ($11,000) and use it to build the standing unit. I liked the countertops. It holds 220 sheets of 4x6 and what I heard is that 80 percent of the time that is the choice. These units have added functions in remote monitoring which can be done with the units.

Total cost for the largest unit is $14,500 and the cost per print is 28 cents. It also prints index prints (but only in tandem with single prints, not exclusively. Maybe in the next software...). The plan right now is to market these units as Olympus units since the Olympus name has so much value and is a camera company. I spoke with the Olympus marketing director and the units come with a three-year service warranty, and that's what Olympus believes will differentiate it from its competitors. 

AGFA has a big booth. Big print processors (and how about all those Elo touchscreens being used for the head unit?) The big unit is the d-scan.20. The Agfa Image Cube reads all commonly used data carriers (CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Multimedia Card (MMC), Memory Stick, Secure Digital Card (SD Card)). After compiling the order, customers can immediately use their data carriers again, as the images have been saved on the CD-ROM.  Their e-BOX was really pretty nice as well. It has POS capabilities built right in (as many of them do.) We have a pdf on the Agfa products available here. and Here 




Another company which specializes in these units is Pixel Magic. They had the all the iStations (100 and 200s) and also the Photo Ditto.  The iStations are a compact countertop unit that allows retailers to offer digital camera owners digital media input and online sharing capabilities; can be networked to Pixel's line of imaging kiosks and digital mini-labs for a variety of output options. Connected to a MegaPixel™ dye-sublimation printer, retailers can utilize a trademarked communications program, Digital Prints on Demand™. Intuitive, easy to use software with auto-detect digital media, and begins loading images right away.

The flagship kiosk offering, Photo Ditto® was first introduced in 1996. The latest version includes an improved workflow, intuitive user interface, and auto-detect feature for digital media. Photo Ditto® is a full-service print, film negative and digital media photo consumer kiosk that provides both convenience and creative options for your customers. By utilizing our MegaPixel™ dye-sublimation printer, your customers can order 4x6 prints, and you can take advantage of our trademarked Digital Prints on Demand™ marketing communications program. 



Sony has some really cool units and word has it that they have an extremely interesting press announcement they will make at PMA which is supposed to really put a buzz through the industry. 

The Sony PictureStation Digital Photofinishing System allows you to offer prints from a variety of digital media at a fraction of the cost of a digital Mini-lab. Create high quality pictures from Smartmedia, floppy disk, CD-ROM, Compact flashcard, PC card or Sony Memory Stick media. The PictureStation System allows your customers to create borderless prints in multiple sizes: 3-1/2" x 5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7" and 8" x 10" at lightning fast speed! A 4" x 6" high quality print in approximately 23 seconds! With the PictureStation System customers can see their pictures on the screen and print out the ones they want instantly. Because customers choose the images they want before they print, the price is what they expect, which leads to increased satisfaction and more repeat business.
 
The PictureStation System gives the opportunity to enter the lucrative digital market starting at $7,995. Sony was also represented by Pakor (www.pakor.com). 

Konica had a nice Digital Input Station. It was hard to get close as many folks were crowded around it but I did manage to snap a picture. It has the basic preview/edit/select functions plus it supports direct connectivity to the Konica MiniLab. I think that is the R1 (new unit) and along with the Elo touchscreen it looks like they are using the Photo Ditto software from Pixel Magic and also software from Whitech USA (out of New York). Konica was also using a Noblis computer from Equus which was pretty cool. 15" TFT Touch screen with USBs on the panel (link. All in all an admirable effort at a quick solution. 




DigiPIX Image Station from ASF (Applied Science Fiction) had lots of units there. The DigiPIX Image Station allows consumers to automatically perform photographic film/print restoration, capture images from digital media and edit images, affordably and quickly in a self-service environment with multiple output choices including prints, enlargements and CD output while offering retailers functionality, flexibility and customization options. For more information visit their website 


Whitech was sandwiched in between Toshiba and Mitsubishi and they had some neat stuff and some neat relationships. These are the same units I think that Kodak sells in Australia, and the Whitech software is also used for printing to the R1 Konica units. Whitech units also use the Mitsubishi printers.

Photo.Teller is the latest product created by the R&D team at Whitech Software Solutions. It has been specifically designed to provide photographic retailers a cost-effective way of accepting photographic work via a self-serve kiosk.

Photo.Teller allows customers to drop off traditional film for development as well as negatives for reprints or enlargements. Photo.Teller also accepts a complete range of digital media and stores it in a simple to use file format ready for processing with any compatible digital printer. Visit their website for more information.

Next up was Mitsubishi. They have the Diamond Digital Express (on the right) which is a touch panel mounted on a printer. Mitsubishi also had a real industrial strength unit they are distributing from Casio called "Let's Photo". It also was on the same size as the Polaroid unit (almost sized and built like a new soda pop machine)

The only other notes I should make at this time is 1) the Snap It Digital folks were there which is the KIS Photo-Me Group with the DKS Customer Station and the Phot-Me Digital Booth. I wrote about them a year or so back when I saw them at the ATEI in London. Also I should comment concerning the entry of HP into the photofinishing world of digital stations and big minilab-type printers.  They are going into the One Hour Custom Print market in a big way and I hope to have some pictures when I get back.

That's it from Vegas. See the Photo Kiosk Section of KO for more information on this market.

Craig