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1992-11-16
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6KB
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128 lines
NEW BUSINESS BORN WITH INTRO
OF KODAK PICTURE EXCHANGE
Find Perfect Picture Easily with
Kodak's New On-Line Image Service
NEW YORK, Aug. 25_Access to a vast array of images will be as
available as the public telephone network when the Kodak Picture
Exchange goes on-line next year.
Kodak Picture Exchange represents the company's vision for a
global imaging services network, similar to text and data
networks_for example, Dialog and CompuServe. Kodak Picture
Exchange will link distributors of images, such as stock photo
houses, with customers they serve, including graphic designers
and publishers. The service will be available in the United
States mid-1993.
As with a conventional dial-up service, Kodak Picture Exchange
will allow people to use a phone line for access from their
desktop computers. Image users will conduct fast on-line
searches using key words and will review low-resolution thumbnail
images. Once they've selected the images they want to see in
hard copy, Kodak Picture Exchange will alert the image suppliers,
providing them with the information they need to fulfill the
request. In most cases, it is expected that prints, negatives,
or transparencies will be sent out within minutes by a local
delivery service or air express.
"Kodak Picture Exchange is designed as the ultimate search and
retrieval tool for images," said Stephen S. Stepnes, general
manager and vice president of CD Imaging at Kodak. "The system
gives people the capability to search among enormous numbers of
images to find just the ones they're looking for."
Kodak's customer research reveals that prospective Kodak
Picture Exchange clients trust Kodak as the provider of this
exchange service, recognizing that Kodak understands their need
for quality and their concerns for copyright protection.
"It's important to note that the negotiations regarding the
use of a particular image will continue to be between the image
provider and the customer," Stepnes continued. "The only
difference will be that Kodak Picture Exchange will help bring
the parties together.
"The system will make it easier for image agents to distribute
photographers' images more widely and will make it simpler for
those looking for images to find what they need."
Images Go On-line
Qualified image providers will be able to post on Kodak
Picture Exchange any image that has been converted to a standard
Photo CD digital format. Each image will be stored on the
network in a low-resolution "thumbnail" form and will be linked
to index information to aid in its retrieval. This information
could include the photographer's name, ownership information, and
key words that describe the subject and attributes of the
picture.
People will obtain basic access to Kodak Picture Exchange by
joining the network and "dialing in" with a
communications-equipped desktop computer and Kodak software.
Once they have signed onto the network, users will be able to
browse through preestablished categories, such as "Hawaiian
beaches," simply by choosing them from a menu. They will also be
able to perform key word searches tailored to their specific
needs, the same way they now search a conventional text database.
Software used to search Kodak Picture Exchange mirrors the
look and feel of newly announced Kodak Shoebox image search and
retrieval software. In other words, Kodak Picture Exchange will
share a common interface with other Photo CD image databases that
run Shoebox software and with the Kodak Professional Photo CD
Image Library, an automated disc "jukebox" system that can store
thousands of Photo CD images. This furthers the company's goal
of providing a consistent look and feel and common user interface
in its various image management applications.
Future versions of Kodak Shoebox software will allow users the
option of linking directly to Kodak Picture Exchange to perform
image searches. (See the related news release on Kodak software
in this press kit.)
"Once users locate thumbnails of the images that appear to
meet their needs, we expect they'll select several to view in
hard copy, either as chromes or prints," Stepnes explained. "All
they'll have to do is choose what they want to see and sign off.
Kodak Picture Exchange will automatically supply contact
information on the potential customer directly to the agent of
each image, either by computer or fax."
The image agent will send, by courier or air expres, hard
copies of each requested image directly to the customer for
reviews, the same way most stock photography houses do today.
Any subsequent negotiations on use charges or other fees will be
strictly between the image agent and the customer.
"Kodak Picture Exchange benefits both the image provider and
the image user," Stepnes noted. "Image providers won't have to
take the time to search through vast numbers of images, trying to
find the ones they think the customer wants. And they won't have
to risk damage to valuable image originals by sending out large
numbers of chromes or prints on speculation, since the customer
will have already prescreened the thumbnails using Kodak Picture
Exchange."
Finally, Stepnes noted, Kodak Picture Exchange benefits
customers by allowing them to choose from a larger pool of images
and to narrow their searches quickly and with reduced image
handling liability.
"In the future, as the data-carrying capacity of telephone
lines expands, it will become possible to provide high-resolution
images directly over the network," Stepnes said, which will make
Kodak Picture Exchange even more convenient.
Charges and Fees
Both image providers and users will be asked to pay nominal
annual membership fees to join Kodak Picture Exchange. In
addition, image providers will be charged an annual per-image
storage fee and a referral fee for each hard copy image request
fulfilled for a customer. Users will also be charged access fees
amounting to only pennies per image.
Those interested in more information about Kodak Picture
Exchange may call the Kodak Information Center at 1-800-242-2424,
ext. 55.
###
[Kodak and Shoebox are trademarks.]