TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS CANADA (TPC) award is very competitive and is a real feather in Spectrums hat. The company held a press conference and hosted many of the technology leaders in BC.The funding can be applied directly to offset our R&D costs thereby amplifying R&D spending budget. It does not show up on the balance sheet and is repayed contingently as a VERY SMALL royalty against product sales in the future.
Spectrum release re Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK), has designed Spectrum's 'C6x-based
'Detroit' product into their revolutionary Digital Lab System, a new
high-speed digital photofinishing system for retail photo lab stores.
Spectrum's product will be a key DSP component providing real-time image processing for Kodak's Digital Lab System, which was unveiled September 16, 1998 at the PhotoKina Trade Conference in Cologne, Germany. As a result of Kodak's decision to design-in the Detroit, Spectrum was required to qualify as a 'certified supplier'. After a review of the Company's delivery and quality systems Spectrum is now an approved vendor. It is expected that this design-in, coupled with the certified supplier designation, will lead to volume orders of the Detroit product.
Eastman Kodak Company, the world leader in imaging, is a new commercial OEM customer for Spectrum. Orders have been received for over 50 DSP products for use in prototype and pre-production units of the Digital Lab System, which will be available worldwide to Retail Photo Labs in mid-1999. Spectrum expects to begin shipping volume quantities to Kodak at that time, as the manufacture of these state-of-the-art systems commences.
Mark Warda, Purchasing Strategy Manager, Strategic Commodity Sourcing at Kodak states, "Kodak was very impressed with Spectrum's quality
management system and we are pleased to recognize Spectrum as a
certified supplier. This certification process is only completed for
vendors that will be supplying Kodak with key components for products we expect to manufacture in high volumes." Warda adds, "Our prototyping process has shown that Spectrum's high-performance Detroit DSP product meets our rigorous performance and quality standards, securing Spectrum's position as a key component supplier."
These newly developed Digital Lab Systems incorporate Spectrum's
leading-edge DSP products, which will increase the speed, resolution and scaleability of Kodak's photo development system, and will support
efficient upgrades and migration to future technologies. Kodak's Digital Lab System consists of a high-resolution scanning process that can capture up to 1,080 scans per hour at 6 million pixels per 35mm frame. A highly sophisticated photo printing and outputting system is also included, which combines Spectrum's DSP technology, lasers, and a
precise scanner to produce a printing system that can achieve
remarkably sharp text and images and true 512 dpi printing for all images.
"We are extremely pleased that Eastman Kodak Company - an industry
leader, chose Spectrum's Detroit product as the DSP component for their new digital photo processing systems. We pride ourselves on providing leading-edge DSP products which contribute to increasing the
performance, modularity and scaleability of our OEM customers' end
products," states Barry Jinks, President and CEO at Spectrum.
Eastman Kodak Company
New Kodak Digital Lab System Offers Retail Lab Owners Quality,
Productivity and Profit Potential
New All-Digital Lab System Gives Consumers Better Pictures, More Choices and More Control
COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 16 --The new Kodak digital lab system gives
photo retailers a complete system for processing traditional
photofinishing orders of outstanding quality and with great efficiency, while adding many new print and digital products and services.
Introduced by Eastman Kodak Company here at Photokina, the system
accepts both 35 mm and Advanced Photo System film and a variety of
digital input. It provides a variety of output options with high
consumer appeal--exceptional-quality prints in a wide range of sizes,
several kinds of digital outputs, a convenient re-ordering system,
Internet uploads and picture-previewing capabilities.
The system features a high-resolution digital laser printing system,
controlled by a Windows NT computer. The computer serves as the system's unique image processing system. Designed by Kodak, it enables many of the system's advanced capabilities and employs Kodak color management and imaging software.
The Kodak digital lab system is based on a modular design that will
allow retailers to link with other digital systems, add new components
and upgrade capabilities over time. (See separate backgrounder for more information on the technology behind the Kodak digital lab system.)
Described by Kodak as a system that truly offers the "best of both
worlds," the Kodak digital lab system provides retailers and their
customers with many key benefits.
€Better-looking pictures than those produced by standard optical
systems, thanks to the system's advanced digital imaging technology,
image-enhancement capabilities and a cutting-edge laser printer
€More choices in terms of input and output options--which market tests
show consumers really want--to supplement the products and services
currently available through retail labs
€Greater productivity--with its multi-tasking and high-speed,
high-resolution scanning capabilities--than similarly rated optical lab
systems
€Easy connectivity with other Kodak digital systems
€A modular, scaleable design that supports easy upgrades and migration
to future technologies
€Excellent marketing and service support
"Retail lab owners who were waiting to see whether a digital system
makes sense for their business can invest with confidence in the Kodak
digital lab system," said Frederick R. Heigold, general manager, output business, Consumer Imaging, and vice president, Kodak. "They'll have a single lab that produces high-quality orders more efficiently, delivers new products and services that consumers really want, and offers a long-term pathway for developing their digital imaging business through incremental investment."
The Kodak digital lab system will be available in key worldwide markets in the spring and summer of 1999.
An ideal replacement system for lab owners who process 50 or more rolls of film per day, the Kodak digital lab system can also serve as an excellent specialty system for very high-volume retail photofinishers who typically process an average of more than 140 rolls per day.
Better Pictures
The Kodak digital lab system is designed to give consumers the
exceptional quality that they expect from Kodak and silver halide
technology, while adding new, compelling products and services made
possible by the power of digital technology.
The system's laser-based printer produces ultra-sharp pictures, the
quality of which will be readily apparent to snapshooters and photo
enthusiasts alike.
The system also includes image-quality enhancement software
applications, which give photo retailers a new level of control for
correcting common picture-taking problems. The system executes the
following enhancements automatically:
€Tone-scale improvements for enhanced detail in shadows and highlights
€Improved sharpness
€Correction for deep-underexposures (up to three stops underexposed)
€It also executes the following enhancements on a semi-automatic basis:
€Red-eye removal
€Defect removal for dust, dirt and scratches
€Corrections for severe high contrast (up-close flash) and backlighting
conditions
€Variable and easy-to-use zoom and crop
More Choices
Along with better-looking prints, the Kodak digital lab system lets
retailers give consumers more choices, in terms of both input and output options.
Lab owners can add hardware and software to accommodate virtually any
silver halide or digital photographic input. Input that the system
accepts directly includes:
€Advanced Photo System or 35 mm color negative film
€35 mm color reversal film
Input via the Kodak picture maker or Kodak power station includes:
€Photographic prints
€Digital still cameras via a PCMCIA card (Kodak Digital Science™ picture card) and other memory cards
€Floppy disks or CD-R (JPEG, FPX, EXIF)
€Kodak picture disk
€Downloads from Kodak PhotoNet™ online
As part of its continual customer research, Kodak has tested dozens of
potential output products and services, and offers the ones that scored best as features in the Kodak digital lab system.
Two of the key output options will be enabled by an optional storage
system that Kodak will offer with the Kodak digital lab system. With the Kodak digital lab system Store-It system, photofinishers can store
high-resolution scans of their orders for several weeks and offer
consumers two innovative ordering choices.
Preview and select service--To give consumers the desired photofinishing
order, the very first time, the system includes an optional preview and select service capability. Consumers preview their scanned roll of film on the Kodak power station kiosk, improve the composition of their pictures with crop and zoom, and print only the pictures they want in the quantities and sizes they want. This was an extremely popular option during user trials, in which consumers consistently spent more money than they would typically on a standard processing order.
€Average sales in the U.S. (per order) with preview and select were 50
percent higher than non-preview and select orders.
€30 percent of users made a 5- x 7-inch enlargement and 13 percent made
an 8- x 10-inch enlargement. (This compares to six percent and five
percent respectively for non-preview and select consumers.)
€42 percent of users said they would make additional reprint and
enlargement purchases if their pictures were left in the dealer's system
for two weeks.
Easy reprints and enlargements--The Store-It storage system is designed to help spark incremental sales of enlargements and reprints. With orders stored digitally, photo retailers will have a reason to follow-up with their customers in the two or three weeks following each original order when consumer interest in their pictures is highest. They can offer their customers convenient, easy reorders--by phone and with the help of the system's automatic backprinting feature that identifies every print.
Other output options include:
Noteable prints--Standard 3 1/2-inch and 4-inch prints with a white,
writable strip across the bottom of the picture. Automatically
date-stamped with the month and year, the area allows snapshooters and
photo enthusiasts to add to the memory-keeping power of their pictures
by recording titles and short notes with a pen.
Friendship prints--Ideal for photographers who want to share their
pictures with friends and family members, this print option gives them a standard-sized print and two wallet-sized prints for every frame.
The Kodak digital lab system also will produce 35 mm or Advanced Photo
System index prints, Kodak picture disks, Kodak picture CDs (from an
optional CD writer), prints from slides and enlargements up to 12 x 18
inches.
"The many new product and service offerings available through the Kodak digital lab system can help retail lab owners realize higher
profitability from their existing customers, while also attracting more, new customers," said Jerry Klos, worldwide marketing director,
photofinishing equipment, Consumer Imaging, Kodak. "And the convenient, simplified re-ordering options are designed to help photofinishers grow their reprint and enlargement business."
Improved Productivity, Performance
The new digital lab system scans more than 40 rolls of film per hour at 16-base high-resolution (2,000 x 3,000 pixels), or approximately 75
rolls per hour at 4-base resolution (1,000 x 1,500 pixels). Its
non-linear workflow enables minilab operators to scan one roll of film
while pre-judging a second and printing a third roll. With its
multi-tasking capability and high-speed scanning, the Kodak digital lab system's burst rate of 1,080 4R prints per hour achieves consistently higher net productivity levels than optical systems with the same burst rate.
The system also can produce mixed print sizes within an order without
operator intervention, and requires no additional job setup time
required to offer many new products and services. Since the system
creates and temporarily stores high-resolution digital files for every
frame, makeovers are less time-consuming and costly than they are with
optical systems.
Easy, Reliable Connectivity
The Kodak digital lab system is designed to be easily integrated and
compatible with the Kodak picture maker and power station kiosks and
Kodak PhotoNet online--for "wired" consumers who enjoy viewing and
sharing their pictures online.
"With the addition of our digital lab system, Kodak is giving retailers the three elements that will drive the future of retail photofinishing," Heigold said. "They are: an integrated network of consumer-interactive kiosk workstations, a seamless connection to the Internet and the productive scanning and digital printing capabilities of a digital lab system.
"The interactive delivery system that Kodak has built was designed to
enable photo retailers to better serve their customers--whatever their
imaging needs or comfort level with technology."
Future Capabilities
Kodak developed its digital lab system to be a modular, scaleable design that supports upgrades and migration to future technologies. This design also enables photofinishers to purchase only the components they need, when they need them--such as the optional image Store-It system.
The digital lab system is designed to be easily integrated with Kodak's current and future portfolio of advanced imaging solutions. Currently employing an ultra-high-quality laser printer, the Kodak digital lab system can be easily adapted to take advantage of new technologies as other printing systems evolve.
The Kodak digital lab system not only helps extend the value of
film-based photography. It also provides the growing base of digital
camera owners and personal computer users with high-quality output from familiar retail counters.
The system's software will be built upon a basic Windows NT operating
system, and is designed for ease-of-use and easy upgrades.
System Components
All the core components in the Kodak digital lab system are designed to deliver outstanding quality.
High-resolution scanner. When scanning at 16-base resolution (2,000 x
3,000 pixels), the system's high-speed scanner captures all the image
data that 35 mm and Advanced Photo System film has to offer. The
world-class scanner has a proprietary illumination system that is
programmed for optimized response to both color-negative and
color-reversal films, to account for the different dye sets in each
film.
Image processing workstation. Kodak's image science and color management technology built into the image processing software lets photofinishers deliver optimized orders the first time.
Integrated film processor, printer and paper processor. This device
combines three pieces of equipment in a single unit with a modest-sized
footprint built for retail environments. The system's solid-state laser printer, developed by Kodak, delivers ultra-sharp prints. It prints 512 pixels per inch at print sizes from 3.5 x 5 inches to 12 x 18 inches. The film and paper processors, manufactured by Gretag Imaging, employ Kodak-patented SM chemicals, which eliminate manual chemical mixing by injecting the correct quantity of chemical concentrate into the minilab tanks.
Optional Store-It system. The color and quality of reprints and
enlargements from the Kodak digital lab system will be virtually
identical to the originals, because they will be made from the same
original digital negative archived in the Store-It system.
Lab Owner Support
Kodak will provide a superior marketing support program encompassing
counter-personnel training, first-class point-of-sale materials and
merchandising tools, dealer advertising materials and shared market
research/test market findings.
Kodak also will support lab owners with a training and service support
plan, which will include installation, warranties on parts and labor and basic training for new operators and system administrators. The
company's service organization will use remote diagnostics technology,
which has been extremely successful in the wholesale photofinishing lab sector in minimizing downtime for service and repair.
(Kodak and Digital Science are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company.
PhotoNet is a trademark of PictureVision, Inc.)
It takes 1-2 yrs from an in to a win then the oem must train sales and support before marketing and sales come.
kodak.com
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