Kodak Connects Comprehensive Ecosystem to the World's Largest Retail Photo Kiosk Fleet to Drive More in-Store Printing, More Retailer Profit Opportunity

ANAHEIM, Calif., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Solving real problems that consumers and retailers face with their online premium and photo product orders, Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK), the world's leader in photo systems and the inventor of the photo kiosk category, announced today the availability of the most flexible connected solutions ecosystem in the industry, providing opportunity for large and small retailers alike to increase their photo profit opportunity.

The new components that make up this exciting new solution include:

• Facebook®, Picasa™ Web Albums and KODAK Gallery connection: As an award winning leader in social network marketing (1), Kodak is opening up retail store potential to more than 475M million active consumers (2) in 180 countries by providing consumers access to their Facebook, Kodak Gallery and Picasa Web Album pictures. With more than three billion photos uploaded to Facebook each month alone(2), Kodak is creating enormous opportunity for retailers to sell prints, premium products and more; and Kodak intends to connect to more social networking sites around the globe.

• KODAK Net-to-Retail Solution: Thanks to an open architecture, Kodak's new Net-to-Retail application programming interface (API) opens up sizeable opportunities to grow in-store fulfilment of products that can be delivered in less than one hour, with the following  benefits to online service providers, retailers and consumers:
• Industry leading real-time connection to multiple online service providers
• Ability for online service providers to offer, and for retailers to produce, any product available in Kodak's retail fleet
• Real-time information on hours of store operation and status of store equipment to ensure that stores have the capacity to produce the orders they receive
• Comprehensive order tracking and order management
• Consumer email order status feedback, which improves consumer satisfaction and raises the service bar in the industry
• Potential for unique catalogues, pricing, and branding for each online service provider

• KODAK Photo Web Site Solution, Desktop Premium Product Software Solution: These new turn-key solutions help retailers grow their businesses. Through Kodak's own solution as well as through existing and forthcoming partnerships, Kodak's new photo website hosting and premium product software open up more in-store fulfilment of lucrative premium products while growing the opportunity for more prints in store. Using Kodak's Emotional Technology initiative, the user interface of the Desktop Premium Product software gives the consumer true ease of use as well as all the control they need to easily and quickly create stunning keepsakes, with the benefit of off-site and immediate in-store fulfilment.

• KODAK NEXPRESS Press Fulfiller Connection: Kodak now has connection to fulfillers around the globe who have KODAK NEXPRESS Digital Production Presses by way of Kodak's Photo Website Hosting and Desktop Premium Product software. KODAK NEXPRESS Digital Production Presses are the world's only digital presses that contain award winning inline dimensional print capability, bringing memories to life right on the page.

• Kodak's Remote Business Services: Kodak leads the industry with today's connected fleet of more than 30,000 devices, representing the world's largest connected global photo fleet in the industry. Using the newest version of Remote Business Services, Kodak can deliver content, patches, pricing changes and fleet monitoring, providing the backbone for the world's leading connected fleet of photo kiosks.

• KODAK Adaptive Picture Exchange (APEX) Software v4.0: The new software includes new Photo ID Prints and canvas print product capabilities. Through a simple behind the counter process, retailers can easily create high-margin passport and ID photo services, with passport photo specifications from over 40 countries, as well as offering a wide variety of ID photo formats. With a worldwide ID photo opportunity measured in billions of prints (3), this solution helps grow profit opportunities for photo retailers. With the new Canvas Print Products feature, retailers can now provide premium canvas media products so that consumers can more easily create stunning enlargements.  APEX Software v4.0 includes a "what you see is what you get" user interface that provides interactive cropping and various frame wrap options, all aimed at providing the highest customer satisfaction with minimal labor and waste. In addition, the new APEX software offers a new wider range of other consumer products and new highly-efficient retailer workflows. Kodak will begin shipments of its APEX Software v4.0 in Q2, 2010.

• New Content Packages: Comprising over 400 themes and now with more than double the number of duplex card designs, Kodak is providing consumers with one of the broadest range of choices in the industry for in-store photo printing content.

• KODAK Greeting Card package: New KODAK Greeting Card package comprises thicker card stock, replicating card aisle offerings, and more duplex card content, helping the retailer get more profit opportunity from their KODAK DL2100 Duplex Printer. When combining the opportunity that photobooks, greeting cards and calendars provide, the new solution addresses a market of more than $23B in retailer revenue opportunity by 2012.(4)

"With all of these features connected together in an integrated and cohesive approach, keeping quality of delivery at the forefront, we are providing what we believe is the most comprehensive, trackable and growth-oriented solution in the industry, helping our retail partners large and small to capture more business and significantly grow their profit potential," said Nicoletta Zongrone, general manager of Retail Systems Solutions and vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. "Kodak's Emotional Technology initiative is the backbone that helps consumers share their life stories and preserve their memories, and at the same time, lessens the workload for retailers. The innovation we are delivering today, our number one position in instant photo printing, our global leadership in dry labs, and an installed fleet of over 100,000 devices, is proof of our winning value proposition to consumers and retailers."

In addition to the new connections, KODAK Solutions lead the photo category in multiple ways:

• The Longest Lasting Prints At Retail – While some industry players make longevity claims based on light fade only, Kodak's thermal prints are built to survive all four factors that affect longevity: light, heat humidity and ozone. According to Torrey Pines Research in Carlsbad, Calif., Kodak's thermal prints last more than two times longer than HP retail kiosk prints and more than five times longer than other Fuji inkjet prints(5).

• Greener Prints – Kodak's thermal prints come from PEFC-certified sources. In addition, Kodak's APEX reduces energy usage by 70-90 percent when compared to typical minilabs, saves up to 5000 litres of water with no chemical usage or waste, and the newest KODAK G4xe Order Station reduced energy usage by 29 percent when compared to G3 order stations. Kodak also runs one of the world's largest recycling programs of any type through its recycling of one-time-use cameras.

• Low Total Cost Of Operation – Kodak's retail devices are built to be scalable and modular, suitable for the range of small photo retail operations all the way up to large scale mass market chains. The APEX dry lab system has several distinct advantages for the retailer when compared to other technology dry labs. APEX has a lower outright capital cost than inkjet solutions, and virtually runs itself, leaving more dollars in the retailer's pocket right from the start. In addition KODAK Solutions can be scaled and connected as needed by the retailer, making for exceptionally flexible and efficient use of scarce capital resources.

• Consumer Research Based User Interface – Kodak's award winning user interface continues to lead the industry in making it faster and easier for consumers to create and share their memories in new ways, based on extensive and ongoing consumer research. Kodak's Emotional Technology means that the interface is focused on helping the consumer recognize the true value of their images as powerful memories and moments, specifically by not treating them as simply bits, bytes and pages. Kodak's last software version with the active upsell feature alone will deliver an additional $15m in retailer revenue within the first year.(6)

"Kodak is continuing to leverage our unmatched expertise in digital image science and material science to deliver new products, services and solutions with one button simplicity for consumers and retailers. These new innovations provide consumers with more ways to share and retailers with more ways to profit," said Zongrone.

For more information on this and other exciting solutions come visit the world's leader in the photo kiosk industry at PMA 2010 - booth 3100, Anaheim Convention Center, California, from February 21-23 2010.  

About Kodak

As the world's foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers, businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of pictures and printing to enrich their lives.

To learn more, visit the newly redesigned http://www.kodak.com and follow our blogs and more at http://www.kodak.com/go/followus.

More than 75 million people worldwide manage, share and create photo gifts online at KODAK Gallery -- join for free today at www.kodakgallery.com

© Kodak, 2010. KODAK and NEXPRESS are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company.

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

Picasa® Web Albums is a registered trademark of Google Inc.

1. Kodak's most recent award was the Excellence in Social Media Marketing award at the Gravity Summit, a premier social marketing networking event. The award was published January 22nd, 2010.
2. Facebook® Press Room Statistics, Facebook.com, 2/18/10; Kodak Gallery statistics 2009
3. Source: Kodak Market Research – Internal assessment of market potential.
4. Source: Infotrends, Future Source Consulting, Kodak market research.
5. Source: Torrey Pines Research www.tpr.com
6. Source: Based on incremental retailer revenue of $0.077 per order at 11 orders per day on average across 50,000 installations.

SOURCE Eastman Kodak Company