Kodak and HP Digital Photofinishing Joint Venture
Date: 04/02/00
Kodak and HP are forming a joint venture to create new Internet-enabled, Digital inkjet-based retail photofinishing options. The new joint venture will the bring benefits of digital photo services to mass market.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. and PALO ALTO, Calif., --
Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak) and Hewlett-Packard Company
(HP) today announced the formation of a global joint venture
that will develop retail photofinishing solutions to offer
retail customers a wide range of digital-imaging
capabilities for both traditional photographic film and
digital files.
“This is another step in our strategy to open up the digital treasure chest of pictures for consumers,” said Daniel A. Carp, president and chief executive officer, Eastman Kodak Company. “Through this joint venture, Kodak and HP will bring the benefits of digital inkjet photofinishing to the retail market, meeting consumers’ demand for output by making it easier to do more with their pictures, when and where it is convenient for them.”
“This is the next leap in a bold plan to invent new ways for people to develop and share photographs with friends and family more conveniently, anywhere at anytime,” said Carleton (Carly) S. Fiorina, HP president and chief executive officer. “HP and Kodak are creating a joint venture to drive the next wave of innovation in the emerging digital-imaging market. We will lead by invention.”
The new company will combine HP’s expertise in thermal inkjet technology and digital imaging with Kodak’s leadership in traditional and digital photographic technology. Both companies will bring high-resolution scanning and image science to develop compact, lower-cost digital photofinishing equipment designed for use in a wide range of retail locations – equipment not otherwise available in the market.
“The real winners in this new venture are our retail customers and consumer picture-takers,” said Robert Keegan, president, Consumer Imaging, executive vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. “Retailers will be able to deploy the compact, lower-cost equipment in a broader range of locations. This will create a greater availability of digital processing, which supports Kodak’s strategy to provide more consumer on-ramps and off-ramps for people to participate in digital and online photography.”
“Together, HP and Kodak are significantly changing the world of photofinishing, providing more choices and options for the retailer and the consumer,” said Antonio M. Perez, president of HP’s Consumer Business and Digital Media Solutions. “With the joint venture, consumers will have expanded access to exciting, new high-quality digital products and services, including a variety of Internet delivery options, through a broader range of local retailers.”
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The two companies expect the joint venture to lead the development of an entirely new business category -- digital inkjet photofinishing. With its new capabilities, the joint venture will help expand the total market for pictures, including Internet-based services, by offering retailers and consumers alike an attractive array of features.
Specifically, the company will develop photofinishing equipment to enable consumers and retailers to take full advantage of the rapidly growing digital photography business, including Internet printing, e-commerce and other digital-photo products and services. Using HP’s inkjet technology and Kodak’s leading image science, retailers will be able to offer consumers greater options for printing both conventional silver halide and digital photos, enabling retailers to provide a broader range of products and services. For example, these products and services will include the ability to print pictures on a variety of different media and remotely send digital files for processing at a retail location – allowing consumers to share photos quickly and easily with family and friends either across town or around the world.
The joint venture will bring a shared vision of a new generation of compact, highly capable onsite photoprocessing products. The joint venture is expected to being introducing products in 2001.
The company will be owned equally by Kodak and HP
and is expected to generate between
US$500 million and
US$1 billion in sales by 2005. The joint venture will set
its own marketing strategy and leverage the channel
expertise of the parent companies in the distribution of its
products and services.
Customers interested in more information on how the offerings of the joint venture may help their businesses should contact a member of the business development team via email: Ed Deller (edward.deller@kodak.com) or John Cronkrite (john_cronkrite@hp.com).
About HP
Hewlett-Packard Company – a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services for business and home – is focused on capitalising on the opportunities of the Internet and the proliferation of electronic services.
HP plans to launch Agilent Technologies as an independent company by mid-calendar 2000. Agilent consists of HP’s test and measurement, semiconductor products, chemical analysis and health care solutions businesses, and has leading positions in multiple market segments.
HP has 83,200 employees
worldwide and has total revenue from continuing operations
of
US$42.4 billion in its 1999 fiscal year. Information
about HP, its products and the company’s Year 2000 programme
can be found on the World Wide Web at
http://www.hp.com.
About Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is
the leader in both traditional photography and digital
imaging with sales of more than US$14 billion for 1999.
Kodak’s businesses serve a wide range of consumer,
professional, entertainment, commercial and health imaging
needs. In the digital imaging category, the company
generated more than US$2.3 billion sales during 1999. In
commercial markets, the company is the number one supplier
of high-end professional digital cameras, the top supplier
of high-speed, high-resolution scanners for document
imaging and the leader in digital laser imagers for health
applications.
In consumer markets, Kodak is among the top suppliers of digital cameras and inkjet media for home and small office use, and Picture Maker Kiosks for retail use. Kodak offers a range of consumer digital services, including Kodak Picture CD, Kodak PhotoNet online, ‘You’ve Got Pictures’ in cooperation with America Online and Kodak Picture Disk. During a six-week period ending January 15, 2000, Kodak scanned 40 million images to one of these four services. In 1999, Kodak sold more than 2 million units of Kodak Picture CD. Kodak PhotoNet online is one of the first and most popular Internet-based picture sharing services which, along with ‘You’ve Got Pictures’ and Kodak.com, makes Kodak a clear leader in this emerging new field.
More
information on Kodak’s products and services is available at
www.kodak.com.