ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 21, 2008 -- Advanced software from Xerox Corporation makes
it easier and faster for commercial printers, photo labs and photo retailers to
produce photo books, greeting cards and calendars - the fastest growing segment
of the specialty photo printing market.
The Xerox FreeFlow™ Printer Server with JPEG Plug-in for the Xerox DocuColor™
242/252/260 Digital Color Printer/Copier simplifies the photo production process
by allowing print operators to use the image files in the same format they receive
them, eliminating steps from all stages of the production process and improving
efficiency.
Until now, when customers submitted raw JPEG files for photo specialty products,
print providers were required to pre-process each photo through photo editing
programs. However, the JPEG Plug-in eliminates this time-consuming step from
the process and offers easy printing of the appropriate size, number and layout
of photos.
According to InfoTrends, a leading industry research and consulting firm, the
photo specialty printing market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth
rate of 24.5 percent through 2010, reaching $800 million in revenues. Through
innovative software like the JPEG Plug-in and industry-leading technology like
the Xerox DocuColor and Xerox iGen3™ Digital Production Press family of
digital color printers, Xerox is helping print professionals profit from this
growth opportunity.
Dan's Camera City in Allentown, Pa., one of the nation's largest single-location
camera stores, was one of the first customers to test the Xerox FreeFlow Print
Server with JPEG Plug-in. Consumers submit their photo files through in-store
kiosks and via the Web, and the company's photo lab uses a Xerox DocuColor 260
to produce photo specialty products. Dan's Camera City is a Fujifilm U.S.A.,
Inc. customer and an example of the growing alliance between Fujifilm and Xerox
to help customers build their photo business.
"Helping our customers preserve their memories is our number one priority,"
said Steve Olock, director, Imaging Services, Dan's Camera City. "This
Xerox software makes sure that each digital print job is produced quickly and
flawlessly, no matter how complex the file or the project. With its advanced
technology, our lab operators spend less time manipulating files and more time
ensuring the finished product is something customers will want to keep forever."
Pre-set queues, a unique feature of the Xerox FreeFlow Print Server with JPEG
Plug-in, allow print operators to produce photo products, no matter how complex,
with greater ease. Benefits include the ability to print a zip file of JPEGs
as one print job or individual print jobs and account for image and paper size,
layout style, sequencing, as well as gutter and crop marks. Operators can easily
produce the most common size images by dragging and dropping a file into a folder
based on the desired output size.
One touch correction for poor quality photos
The Xerox FreeFlow Print Server also offers Automatic Image Enhancement for
"one-click" photo enhancements without the time or expense associated
with traditional photo manipulation. Print providers producing photo books,
greeting cards, posters, calendars and memory books on the Xerox DocuColor 242/252/260
can easily adjust eight quality settings including exposure, sharpening, saturation
and red-eye reduction - without having to go back into the photo editing software.
Pricing and availability
The JPEG Plug-in option for the FreeFlow Print Server will be available worldwide
through Fujifilm, a reseller of Xerox products and solutions, beginning in February
and will be available worldwide through other Xerox sales channels in the second
quarter of 2008. Automatic Image Enhancement is available worldwide today as
a standard feature of the FreeFlow Print Server and FreeFlow Process Manager.
The JPEG Plug-in will be demonstrated at the 2008 Photo Marketing Association
International Convention and Trade Show, the world's largest annual photo imaging
trade show, Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 in Las Vegas.
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