








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.
  
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[Kodak and Shoebox are trademarks.]


 
