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PMA • EUROPEAN compared to current sensor designs. The new sensor design advances the existing Kodak technology that has become a standard in digital imaging, the company said. The “Bayer Pattern”, an arrangement of red, green and blue pixels, was first developed by Kodak scientist Dr. Bryce Bayer in 1976. In this design, half of the pixels on the sensor are used to collect green light, while the remaining pixels split evenly between sensitivity to red and blue. After exposure, software reconstructs a full color signal for each pixel in the final image. Kodak‘s new proprietary technology adds panchromatic, or “clear” pixels to the red, green and blue elements. Since these pixels are sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light, they collect a significantly higher proportion in the light striking the sensor. By matching these pixel arrangements with advanced software algorithms from Kodak, users will be able to experience an increase in photographic speed, directly improving performance when taking pictures under low light, the company said. Since the new technology enables faster shutter speeds, motion blur will be reduced and the design of smaller pixels will result in higher resolutions in a given optical format while the performance is retained. Currently, Kodak is developing CMOS sensors using this technology for consumer markets such as digital cameras and camera phones. As the technology is appropriate for use with CCD and CMOS image sensors, it can be expanded across Kodak‘s full portfolio of image sensors, including products targeted to applied imaging markets such as industrial and scientific imaging. The first Kodak sensor incorporating this technology is expected to be available for sampling in the first quarter of 2008. PENTAX CORPORATION OF TOKYO, JAPAN, HAS FORMERLY APPROVED THE TENDER OFFER BY HOYA CORPORATION TO PURCHASE ALL SHARES OF THE COMPANY FOR A PRICE OF YEN 770 PER SHARE. The decision was made on a board meeting on July 2, 2007, following the Pentax Annual Meeting on June 27, 2007. At the Annual Meeting, Pentax shareholders elected Yukio Ohara (President of Hoya Service Corporation, an affiliated company of Hoya Corporation) and George Stuart Souther (General Counsel of Hoya Corporation) as Directors of the company. PHOTOCHANNEL NETWORKS INC. OF VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, HAS TAKEN IMMEDIATE CONTROL OF PIXOLOGY PLC, SURREY, UK. According to a press release, the company, which has received acceptances from the holders of over 94 percent of the outstanding Pixology plc shares, has determined to complete the acquisition of Pixology under the proposed terms originally announced on April 25, 2007. According to a press release, funds for the acquisition of the Pixology shares tendered will be delivered to Pixology shareholders within the next 14 days from existing cash. PhotoChannel operates primarily in North America, while Pixology has largely focused on the UK where it provides digital solutions for the UK‘s largest photofinishing retailers, including Tesco, Asda (Wal-Mart UK), Boots and Jessops. The company also serves Costco in the USA. PhotoChannel Networks‘ CEO Peter Fitzgerald commented: “With the acquisition, PhotoChannel will become a complete solutions provider with an offering covering all three digital image printing segments – online, in-store kiosks and mobile. The company will be in an optimal position to address its retail customers‘ current and future needs and capture the market‘s global potential with new retailers moving forward.” FUJIFILM CO. LTD. AND NORITSU KOKI CO., LTD. HAVE AGREED TO FORM A NEW COMPANY TO PROVIDE AFTER-SALES SERVICE FOR PHOTOFINISHING EQUIPMENT IN THE JAPANESE MARKET, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2007. In March 2006, both companies formed a global alliance in the photofinishing field to expand the demand for retail printing. According to a press release, Fujifilm‘s domestic maintenance company for photofinishing equipment (FIC Techno Service Co., Ltd.) and Noritsu Koki‘s company will be integrated into a new domestic maintenance company called N&F Techno Service Co., Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The new company will employ approximately 300 people. THE ASSOCIATION OF IMGAGING EXECUTIVES (AIE), A PMA MEMBER ASSOCIATION, HAS ELECTED A NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT ITS EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE FROM JUNE 27 TO 29, 2007, IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, USA. Kim Toren-Freeman, Allied Photographic & Imaging, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, was elected new President, succeeding Mark Lane, American Color Imaging Inc., Cedar Falls, Iowa, who is now immediate past President. Other newly-elected board members include: Tom Rieger, Rieger Communications Inc., Clarksburg, Maryland (President-elect), Ken Wilson, Lustrecolor Inc., Canon, Mass. (first Vice President), Susan Rau, Northwest Professional Color, West Fargo, ND (second Vice President), Tom Hayes, Visual Image Photography Inc., Cedarburg, Wisconsin (Treasurer). Ted Fox, PMA, Jackson, MI (Secretary and Executive Director), Steve Troup, Buckeye Color Lab, North Canton, Ohio (past President Directorat-large), Glenn Paul, Exclaim, West Trenton, NJ, John Rak, The Artona Group, Vancouver, BC, Canada, and Larry Apple, Associated Photo & Imaging Inc., Miami, FL (Directors-at-large). Copyright: 2007 Photo Marketing Association International.
© NEWSLINE • PMA MEMORY TRENDS CONFERENCE & EXPO (MTCE) AND PHOTO MARKETING ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL (PMA) HAVE ANNOUNCED A CO-LOCATION BETWEEN THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS. According to a press release, MTCE and PMA will co-locate January 31 to February 2, 2008, during the PMA International Convention & Trade Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The new event offers expanded, targeted educational and buying opportunities to retailers in both the photo and scrapbooking markets and will also deepen the prospect pool for show exhibitors. MemoryTrends will work with PMA on its international shows as well, focusing on bringing dynamic conference programming to a new market and providing new global exhibiting opportunities to manufacturers. The international events will be held in Canada in September 2007 and Australia in 2008. In its eighth year, MTCE serves the scrapbooking, paper crafting and rubber stamping markets, providing educational programming to assist retailers in building successful businesses. With over 300 exhibitors, the award-winning MTCE is the largest exhibition dedicated solely to these markets. MTCE is owned by CKMedia, a multimedia company that produces products, magazines, websites and events serving the scrapbooking, paper crafting, crafting, quilting and sewing markets. LOGITECH, THE GLOBALLY OPERATING MANUFACTURER OF WEBCAMS BASED IN FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, USA, AND ROMANEL- SUR-MORGES, SWITZERLAND, AND CARL ZEISS, THE OPTICS SPEZIALIST BASED IN OBERKOCHEN, GERMANY, HAVE ANNOUNCED AN EXCLUSIVE COLLABORATION. According to a press release, the first Logitech webcams featuring a Carl Zeiss lens are expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in July for a suggested retail price of Euro 99.99 (Europe). Logitech released its first webcam in 1995 and has been leading the development of webcam technology since the inception of video communication over the Internet, the company pointed out in press release. The cooperation of both companies is expected to deliver a new level of image quality for video calling and sharing. JESSOPS, THE UK‘S LEADING PHOTOGRAPHIC RETAILER, HAS ANNOUNCED DETAILS ON ITS STRATEGIC REVIEW. According to a press release, the company plans to close 81 of its 311 stores in a bid to save £15 million; 550 jobs are affected. Obviously, the decision was made in view of a pre-tax loss of £ 25.2 million on sales of £178.9 million for the 26 weeks to April 1, 2007, compared with a profit of £5.1 million on sales of £177.8 million in the same period last year. The company has also announced to cut its central overhead by 20 percent and reduce its total overheads by £15 million. Jessops pointed out that new banking facilities have been arranged with HSBC, which has agreed on a £66.5 million facility to December 2008, of which £60 million is committed. The agreement includes interests charged at up to 5.25 percent over LIBOR, a deferred re-financing fee of £7 million, payable in December 2008, and the issue of warrants to HSBC over unissued ordinary shares equivalent to 10 percent of Jessops‘ issued share capital (five percent exercisable from June 2007 and 5 percent after the AGM to be held in January 2008). Inspite of a slight increase in turnover, Jessops suffered from declining margins in the digital camera business and in the market for memory cards. The company is the leading camera retailer in the UK with a market share of 21.7 percent in March 2007 (March 2006: 19.7 percent). Under its strategic review, the company will particularly focus on the digital printing (online and in-store) and photo gifts business, including photo books and calendars. According to a press release, Jessops averaged 1.5 million digital prints per week in the first half of the current fiscal year, compared with 1.3 million in the same period of the previous year. Jessops‘ Picture House, the online photo printing and storage site, recorded more than 500,000 registered users by April 1, 2007. The company expects to achieve one million online customers by Spring 2008. In March this year, Jessops launched its new collect@store service, enabling customers to place orders online and collect them from their nearest Jessops store within as little as one hour. ROLLEI-BRANDED DIGITAL CONSUMER CAMERAS WILL RETURN TO EUROPE. RCP-Technik GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg, Germany, has licensed the Rollei brand for consumer products in Europe. The company is a subsidiary of Supra Foto Elektronik Vertriebs GmbH, which has been known as a supplier of cameras and accessories for large retailing companies for many decades. Thomas Guettler was appointed Managing Director of RCP-Technik. He joined the company from the German department store company Karstadt, where he was most recently purchasing director for multimedia products. According to Guettler, the company intends to launch Rollei-branded digital cameras in exclusive designs and will target specialty retailers as distribution channel. RCP-Technik, however, will be able to rely on the service infrastructure and the purchasing power of its parent company, Supra Foto Elektronik. The company will position the Rollei brand exclusively in the digital camera (and accessories) segment, in line with the traditional reputation of the brand. The first products will become available in Germany in September this year, with other European countries to follow from the first quarter of 2008. Contact: RCP-Technik GmbH & Co. KG, Tarpen 40, Gebäude 6b, 22419 Hamburg, Phone: xx49-40-7975571-10, Fax: xx49-40-7975571-60, www.rcp-technik. com. OLYMPUS WILL ESTABLISH A NEW RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER FOR LIFE SCIENCE IN MUNICH, GERMANY. According to a press release, the Hamburg-based European headquarters of the international camera and medical systems manufacturer, Olympus Europe,
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