News

Polaroid's Opal and Onyx are its gems

March 26, 2002

NEW YORK and CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Polaroid Corp. (NYSE: PRD) today announced two new digital printing technologies that can be applied to kiosks.

Code-named Opal and Onyx, the printing platforms are central to Polaroid's digital strategy and mark a shift from the company's traditional film market. Polaroid revealed its new gems, which took two years to polish, as well as its new business model, at a meeting at The Digital Sandbox in New York.

Gary T. DiCamillo, Polaroid's chairman and chief executive officer, said that Opal and Onyx will revolutionize how digital images move from pixels to prints. The two innovations offer 35mm quality in a digital print, he said. The company intends to encourage partners to use the technology to create digital printing products.

Based on thermal print methods, Opal and Onyx are open architecture platforms whose speed, quality and price make them suitable for mobile printing, home printers, commercial kiosks and microlabs, the release stated.

Dr. Samuel H. Liggero, vice president of media research and development, said that Opal can produce 50-to-60 35mm-quality prints per minute.

Opal technology is a two-sheet, thermal print medium that combines thermal transfer and inkjet technologies to generate photographic-quality color prints. Onyx is a single-sheet, thermal print media.

DiCamillo acknowledged that declining film sales spurred Polaroid's interest in digital imaging. DiCamillo said that Polaroid will continue to manage its traditional instant film business to generate revenue for the near future. In addition, the company is creating an instant digital printing business focused on the Opal and Onyx technologies.

Polaroid plans to introduce the first Polaroid-branded Onyx consumer product by the end of this year and the first Opal products in 2002. Polaroid's annual sales approach $2 billion.