 |
 |
 |
|
 |
press releasesMarch 2004
It's a last minute worldPaul Cooper, BIPP Photographer of the year has been using digital photo technology for over 2 years. He is a strong advocate of the technology and its benefits. March 2004 - Paul Cooper was an early adopter of digital technology. It began with occasional use, he would scan camera film and then print the digital file that was created using an inkjet printer. He later progressed to using digital cameras and inkjet printers. Then just over two years ago, Paul decided to pack up his film bag and go digital. "Around two years ago the quality of output of digital cameras and printers just got so good it seemed pointless not adopting it one hundred percent," he says. There were few benefits to justify operating two workflow systems when digital technology can achieve everything I need." Today the Bailey Cooper studios can provide clients with prints up to 24-inches wide. The studio is host to an Epson Stylus Pro 7600 which is used to print all of Paul's photographic prints for his commercial and social work. "Time is money," says Paul who can now produce higher volumes of work, provide additional services and meet tighter customer deadlines which two years previously he would have had to turn down." Last minute worldActivities such as producing accurate proofing materials can be carried out in-house on the Stylus Pro 7600. Furthermore Paul can use the printer to produce high quality wedding albums. This can prove to be particularly effective. "I can produce multiple prints of varying sizes for clients all onto one sheet of media and print from the Stylus Pro 7600." The printer has opened the opportunity for Paul to accept and deliver more business. "We live in a 'last minute' world where everything needs to be done quickly. I can deliver and meet these demands with digital tools such as the Epson Stylus Pro 7600." "To use an external bureau for cropping, resizing and printing can take at least half a day. When I do it myself in-house, using my large format printer, I can complete the same job in one hour. As a direct result, I am offering a faster and more efficient service to my clients." "Recently I took some pictures of a celebrity chef visiting and working with kids in a nursery school. The nursery school owners were so pleased with the visit they wanted a montage of the photos I had taken and they needed them for a special display the following day. If I had taken the shots with a film camera this would not have been possible due to processing times. With digital photography I could happily oblige and printed a montage poster from the Stylus Pro 7600 to meet their urgent deadline." Quality ControlProducing his own work also gives Paul complete control of the quality of output he is producing. "The quality of work through digital technology is better. Previously, when using an external bureau, if there was dust on the film and it was visible in the print it would have to be accepted due to the time, cost and hassle of getting the imperfection removed." Now that all of Paul's prints are produced in-house, it is quick and easy to reprint any images that are not up to his high standards. The speed and ease of use means that digital technology widens the opportunity for photographers to experiment with different media types and create new opportunities. "The canvas effect has recently become popular, and is easy to achieve using digital techniques," says Paul. "By exploring the different types of media that can be used with the large format printer, I can offer new and exciting options for my customers. As a result of the improved service my clients have become more loyal and I am benefiting from more repeat business." Seamless ProcessPaul Cooper chose the Stylus Pro 7600 because of its photographic quality. "By using my colour-calibrated profiles with the Epson UltraChrome ink and media, my photos are exactly how I intended them to be. The Epson Stylus Pro 7600 provides the closest output I have seen to traditional methods. In fact it's the ideal way to produce photographs today. It's helping me offer clients the high-quality images they expect much more quickly and easily." Digital 300dpi images of Paul Cooper's work available.
Epson Launches the World's First Rangefinder Digital Camera- TOKYO, Japan, March 11 - Seiko Epson Corporation ("Epson") has launched the Epson Rangefinder Digital Camera R-D1 *1 , the world's first rangefinder digital camera, in partnership with Cosina Corporation. Technical collaboration Epson has helped transform the world of photo printing into the digital world by developing inkjet printers and other digital photo printing technologies. Among the critical technologies behind the stunning quality of Epson's digitally rendered photos is digital image processing-technology for optimizing digital data as a high-quality photo image. Digital image processing technology is already being used in Epson's printer drivers, high-resolution scanners and other input and output devices, but Epson had been looking for new potentially intriguing applications for it, as well. It was while scouting the possibilities that Epson met up with Cosina, a company that can boast some of the world's foremost original optical technologies. Cosina has developed outstanding original optics technologies in the production of camera lenses while still maintaining a rigorous fidelity to the historic photography heritage. Epson felt that if the companies were to use the rangefinder camera platform-a platform that is being left in the wake of progress toward the digital age-and if they were to merge Epson's digital image processing technology with Cosina's advanced optics technology, they might be able to discover some completely new creative photographic possibilities. This idea led to collaboration between the two companies, with engineers from both sides paying uncompromising attention to detail during product development. Thus was born the R-D1 The R-D1 dares to swim against the high tide of fully automatic electronic digital cameras. It is a digital camera that still manages to feel like a traditional manual camera, for people who appreciate the peculiar satisfaction that comes with the ability to use an analog camera well. In other words, the R-D1 is simultaneously a state-of-the-art digital camera that offers outstanding performance and image quality, and a throwback that offers camera buffs the look and feel of a vintage film camera, as well as the joy of skillfully using their camera as a tool. Digital camera firsts Among many digital camera firsts, the R-D1 is the world's first rangefinder digital camera. A rangefinder is a type of camera that has a built-in device for measuring distance based on the principles of triangulation. The photographer focuses the camera by superimposing two slightly different views of a scene with the rangefinder. In general, compared to an auto-focus system, performance does not change even if lenses are swapped, and focus can be achieved quickly, accurately and with a light level that is nearly the same as the unaided eye, even in dimly lit locations. In addition, since the field of view is not blocked by the action of a shutter as it is with a single-lens reflex camera, the photographer will not miss the decisive moment. The R-D1 is also the world's first digital camera to accept Leica L- and M-mounts *2 . As such, it offers a new platform that links the future with the past. A huge number of lens types - more than 200 - have been created and sold over the long history of photography. This camera gives twenty-first century photographers a way to use these famed lenses from our photographic heritage. The new camera gives photographers the chance to develop a new cult of photography by allowing them to resurrect their familiar old lenses in a digital world. The R-D1 also uses the world's first 1x viewfinder, enabling photographers to view scenes - including panoramas - through the camera as if they were looking at scenes using their naked eyes. The camera also has the advantage of improved focus precision compared to low magnification optical finders. Epson = Photo With "Epson = Photo" as its watchword, Epson is committed to bringing color to life and to the way people communicate, by aspiring to create new possibilities that expand the horizons of the digital photo market and by suggesting new ways to enjoy digital photography using advanced digital image processing technology. The R-D1 will be exhibited at the 2004 Photo Expo, which will be held from March 19-21 at the Tokyo Big Sight. *1 Epson Rangefinder Digital Camera R-D1 is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corp. *2 The L-mount is adaptor-compatible. Note: Lenses with external dimensions exceeding 20.5 cannot be used with this camera. In addition, the following lenses cannot be used (correct as of March 11, 2004) Hologon 15mm F8, Super Angulon 21 mm F4, Super Angulon 21 mm F3.4, Elmarit 28 mm F2.8 (early models), Summicron 50 mm F2 (dual range Summicron), Hektor 50 mm F2.5, and Elmar 50 mm F3.5.
Epson reveal the UK’s most typical familyWant family from Newport set to feature as 'The Epson Family' After an exhaustive, six month search covering the length and breadth of the country, Epson, the world's leading digital imaging company is set to announce the Want family from Newport as the country's most typical family. Mr & Mrs Want and their two children will now become 'The Epson Family' and will embark on a unique social experiment. Starting on 15 th March this, until now, unknown family will be propelled into the public eye for a period of 100 days on their very own web site, www.the-epson-family.co.uk, that aims to prove that even typical family life can often be anything but. The Want family will have their lives documented via a continuous stream of photographs and images that will constantly be uploaded and updated throughout the 100 days starting in mid-March. The Want family photos along with those captured by an array of established celebrity photographers including Lord Lichfield, Richard Young and Tim Flach will be exhibited in a top London gallery in June of this year as part of a high profile exhibition entitled "A 100 days in the life of a typical British family." In addition to receiving a prize of £11,250 (the UK's typical wage for a 100 day period), the Want family will receive a contribution from Epson to a charity of their choice. The family household will also be kitted out with the latest state of the art digital cameras, printers, scanners and projectors, courtesy of Epson, that will enable them to capture key moments of their lives and relay them instantly to their adoring fan base via their Epson family online website. Father of the family John Want, aged 29, is a marketing manager for a meat pie manufacturer, while his wife Claire, aged 30, spends her time running around after their two mischievous kids Niclas, aged 4, and Ieuan aged 2. As if that wasn't enough the Want family also run their own business called Mister Bounce which specialises in the hire of bouncy castles. The Want family are an extremely active bunch who spend time travelling around the country in their caravan and like to be heavily involved in their local community. When they're not running the bouncy castle business or on their caravan adventures, the family spend as much time as they can at the local steam railway organisation, much to the delight of their eldest son Niclas who is obsessed with trains! The Want family faced tough competition from thousands of other hopeful applicants and secured their crown as the country's most typical family after convincing a tough panel of judges that they really are the most typical family in the UK. Jane Barnard, Epson spokesperson said: "To find a truly typical British family required a great deal of research into what constituted 'typical' family life in modern day Britain and once we had that information we set out on our search. The Wants stood out due to their typically British sense of humour, their love of caravanning and John Wants obsession with meat pies. With the Want family we aim to prove that even typical family life is both varied and rewarding and worthy of being digitally captured." John Want said: "We are really shocked and delighted to have been selected as 'The Epson Family' and we are looking forward to getting to grips with our life in the public eye and our very own 100 day show. It will be a great opportunity and something that we will all hopefully look back on in years to come. To be honest we are blown away and still a little stunned." 'The Epson Family' show starts on March 15 th and can be viewed at www.the-epson-family.co.uk -Ends-
Epson® PictureMateT revolutionises digital photo printingThe Epson PictureMate is a breakthrough personal photo printer designed to be easy to use and produce high quality photos conveniently at home by consumers who have little or no computer experience. Epson PictureMate is the ideal solution for digital camera users, who require professional photo lab quality 10x15cm photos - that are affordable and durable. With its optional Bluetooth Ô module the Epson PictureMate is also able to print from the new generation of compatible camera-enabled phones that have started to take over the mobile phone market - bringing digital photography to a whole new non-technical market. 25 th March 2004: With sales of digital cameras in the UK increasing by 81% from 2002-2003 1 , more people are turning to digital as a simpler, more flexible method of taking photos. This is driving the need for a high quality, easy to use, and cost effective method of printing in the home as a real alternative to retail photo printing. In response to this demand Epson has launched PictureMate, a new generation personal photo-dedicated printer. Designed to satisfy the needs of digital camera users, PictureMate removes the need for a computer or the necessity to visit a photo lab, photo kiosk or online photo services by offering an easy to use photo printing solution. Epson PictureMate supports all popular memory card formats 2 and offers direct printing from PictBridge® and USB Direct Print enabled digital cameras. PictureMate uses Epson's Advanced Micro PiezoT ink jet technology , exclusive archival 6-colour pigment printing for rich colour, perfect skin tones and the smoothest images that match the look and feel of traditional photo lab prints. It also features up to 5760 x 1440 optimised dpi with microscopic droplets for the sharpest detail, and seamless gradations. With growth in digital photo printing coming from the non-technical consumer, Epson have developed an intuitive interface, which guides users through a simple one-touch printing process. It couldn't be simpler. A printed proof sheet lets the consumer preview pictures to print beautiful glossy borderless 10x15cm photos. Print selection options allow for printing all photos, just one photo, a range of photos, or several non-sequential photos from the camera memory card. PictureMate automatically optimises each photo for colour and quality and allows consumers to print their colour photos in black and white or sepia tones. For consumers who would like to have more creative flexibility they are able to crop photos, add classic borders and make wallet-sized photos all at the touch of a button - without a computer. One of PictureMate's key differences is its low cost per photo. Designed to make purchasing consumables easy and hassle-free for consumers, Epson will introduce the PictureMate PicturePack. This economical and convenient pack contains a PictureMate photo cartridge and PictureMate photo paper to print approximately 100 glossy 10x15cm photos 3 and makes the cost per photo transparent for consumers. With an MSRP of £28.99 including VAT for the PicturePack the price for a photo printed from PictureMate rivals traditional high street photo processing costs. The PictureMate PicturePack makes purchasing consumables as convenient and easy as purchasing a roll of film. Epson PictureMate prints are superior to photo lab prints and to prints from other 10x15cm photo printers. According to Wilhelm Research Laboratory 4 they resist fading about two to four times longer than the leading brands of photo lab prints and about four to 20 times longer than prints from other dedicated 10x15cm digital photo printers. PictureMate photos resist fading up to 100 years displayed in a frame 4 and are also water-, smudge- and fingerprint-resistant for worry-free handling. "PictureMate marks a new era in digital photo printing" says Richard Baylis, Sales and Marketing Manager, Consumer Products, Epson UK. "With quality reaching, and in this case exceeding, photo lab standards, we have focussed on offering the consumer hassle free photo printing. PictureMate can be connected to a PC or Macintosh computer, but it is primarily a device that is more of an extension of the digital camera or camera-enabled mobile phone rather than a peripheral for the computer. Epson PictureMate will revolutionise printing digital photos as now even non-technical users can very easily print beautiful borderless and high quality photos. Consumers will soon have the ideal printing solution for sharing their memories - from summer vacations to their baby's first birthday party - without any compromises and in the convenience of their home." Using the optional Bluetooth module, PictureMate can print photos from compatible mobile phones. Users simply point and click, connect to the printer wirelessly over Bluetooth and print. For added flexibility and support, Epson has created a dedicated mobile phone printing application specifically for Bluetooth enabled Nokia mobile phones 5 offering users further print options. Based on the Symbian® operating system, the application allows users to control size and quality settings, and add frames to the image before printing directly to PictureMate. Key Features include:
Pricing and Availability PictureMate will be available from June for an estimated retail price of £149.99. PictureMate comes with a one year warranty. 1 GFK sales figures were collated between February and November 2002, and the same period for 2003. UK figures: 2002: 1,041,028 units 2003: 1,879,186 units 2 Supported memory card formats: SDT memory card/MultiMedia CardT, Memory Stick Ò , Compact FlashT type I and II, SmartMediaT, Secure Digital, xD and Microdrive. 3 The cost per photo is based on estimated average use conditions. Actual yields will vary based on images, colour balance, environmental conditions and frequency of use. Based on MSRP of £28.99 including VAT for the PicturePack. 4 Using the PictureMate Photo Cartridge and PictureMate Photo Paper, prints are predicted to last up to 100 years in a glass frame in indoor display conditions. See www.wilhelm-research.com for test conditions. Actual print stability will vary according to image and storage or display conditions. Epson does not guarantee the longevity of prints. 5 Current supported mobile phones are Nokia 7650, 3650, 3660 and 6600 -End-
Independent research commissioned by Epson® quashes misconceptions about the quality of home digital photo printing70% of consumers position Epson PictureMate TM as the new quality benchmark for digital photo prints (Source: Roncarati Research Group, August/September 2003) March 2004: Independent research commissioned by Epson will quash consumer misconceptions about the quality of home digital photo printing. In a series of quantitative tests that compared Kodak silver halide photos with photos from Epson's latest digital photo solution, PictureMate, PictureMate photos were selected as the highest quality photos in all test criteria. Latest industry statistics by PMA Data Watch projects sales figures for digital cameras in 2004 to increase by 64 percent to 50 million units, with Europe accounting for 36 percent of units sold. With this predicted growth, Epson commissioned Roncarati Research to interview consumers across the UK, France and Germany to understand current perceptions about printing digital photos in the home. Respondents were asked to compare the same image from different print outputs, but were not aware of the source. "The difference between traditional methods of photo printing and today's new inkjet photo printer is significant," says Richard Baylis, Sales and Marketing Manager, Consumer Products, Epson UK. "Many consumers admitted that they had not appreciated the technological advancements in home printing and the positive contrast in quality that is now available." The results showed: • 80% of respondents in the UK ranked Epson's PictureMate as the best print for quality, with 75% in France and 65% in Germany • However, only 18% thought the photo from PictureMate was produced on an inkjet printer, with 75% thinking it was produced using traditional methods • In a direct comparison of the two, 66% said that the PictureMate photo was better quality than the Kodak photo • When asked to rate each print individually from perfect quality to worse possible quality, three times more respondents gave PictureMate a premium quality score of between 91 and 100 compared to Kodak's photo • PictureMate also dominated when respondents were asked to rate each print on colour richness, colour realism, sharpness, contrast, smoothness and paper finish • When reviewing the break down by age groups 80% of 18-24 year olds and 71% of the 35+ age group placed PictureMate first in print quality for all their photos. PictureMate is a personal photo printer from Epson that will make high quality, cost effective digital photo printing a reality for the first time to the consumer technophobe. "The research reinforces the need for consumer education about the total digital photo-print solution," commented Baylis. "Digital camera sales are increasing rapidly, however there are still misconceptions about how easy it is to print in the home and the quality, cost and permanence of the final photo produced on an inkjet printer." Baylis says, "With our long-standing history in digital imaging Epson is leading the way in advancements for consumers. With products such as PictureMate that are easy to use and affordable, our aim is to make home photo printing more accessible to thousands more individuals. Consumers who have invested in digital cameras can now think beyond the camera to the benefits of printing digital photographs in their own home." -End-
Epson® announces wireless printing solution for Bluetooth-enabled Nokia camera phonesMarch 26 th 2004: A Symbian® based Bluetooth printing application has been developed by Epson and will enable customers with compatible Nokia camera phones to wirelessly print high quality photos in the home. The launch reinforces Epson's strategy to provide convenient, affordable, easy-to-use home printing solutions to customers from any digital photo device. The Bluetooth printing application has been developed with Nokia development tools to ensure the application fits to the high quality standards of both companies. With digital cameras estimated to account for 55 percent of global handset sales by 2008 , consumers now have an easy-to-use option to wirelessly print images, directly from a compatible Nokia camera phone to a range of Epson printers with a Bluetooth module. There is no need for a PC or cables. "Digital photography is going to have a huge impact on consumer devices, especially as complimentary technologies such as digital cameras and mobile phones converge. Epson is committed to enhancing the user experience, by providing easy to use and convenient solutions for high quality printing in the home, whatever the digital photo device," says Richard Baylis, Sales and Marketing Manager, Consumer Products, Epson UK. The Epson Bluetooth printing application for mobile phones will be launched for PictureMate TM - Epson's new photo printer allows customers to print their photos conveniently at home. PictureMate with the optional Bluetooth module enables users to print wirelessly from compatible Nokia phones. The new Epson Bluetooth printing application represents a new milestone in printing from mobile phones. Consumers can enjoy the flexibility of choosing between different layouts, sizes and print qualities. And for the creative consumers Epson offers the choice to print the camera phone image with different frames, which can be applied after the photo is taken. The framed photo can then be viewed in the Nokia camera phone display before it is printed. Pricing and availabilityThe Bluetooth printing application will be compatible with the Epson PictureMate, Epson Stylus Photo R300 and Epson Stylus Photo RX600. The supported Nokia phones are 3650, 3660, 7650 and 6600. Epson will support future Nokia mobile phones with Bluetooth functionality. The application will be available in spring 2004 and can be downloaded free of charge from the Epson website. -End- |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|||
