Sony To Showcase Full Line Of Retail And Professional Photofinishing Products At PMA 2010

Sony is displaying its growing family of retail and professional digital photofinishing solutions at the 2010 Photo Marketing Association Expo. Sony’s diverse product line now offers more features designed to meet the expanding digital photo printing needs of retailers and event photographers in a range of professional applications.

Sony’s PictureStation™ and SnapLab® systems allow retailers to offer more than just a comprehensive digital photo kiosk. These solutions, while delivering the benefits of Sony’s dye-sub technology, can be customized for different sales environment – a countertop unit in the form of the Sony SnapLab or a stand-alone PictureStation kiosk.

Sony PictureStation

The retail possibilities for this “digital destination” are virtually endless, as Sony has the unique ability to bring together various forms of Sony content and technology. Sony’s system helps retailers offer everything from 4x6 photo prints to MemoryStick™ media, digital photo frames, Cybershot® digital cameras, batteries and readable/writeable disks for sharing and storing photos after printing. According to Belinda Lopresti, the senior marketing manager on Sony’s Digital Photofinishing business, this “Sony United” approach allows retailers to leverage Sony’s brand power, while increasing customer traffic and extending store visits.

“Consumers have come to expect that their local pharmacy or grocery store offers photofinishing, but as the shift to digital photography has taken hold, few small retailers have been able to keep up with their larger competitors,” said Lopresti. “PictureStation and SnapLab allow the smaller stores to not only offer the same top quality prints as mass retailers, but also a wider selection of digital photo-related accessories.”

The new Compact PictureStation system is a full-featured digital photo printing kiosk, with a small footprint to fit virtually any store layout. The combination of Sony’s UP-DR200 and UP-DR80 digital photo printers offers customers a range of photo prints from 3.5x5 up to 8x10 inch enlargements. Sony’s consumer-friendly software, CD burning and scanning expands the system’s capabilities and offers retailers more revenue opportunities.

The small footprint and simple operation of Sony’s instant digital photo kiosks means there is no need to hire or train additional staff. The PictureStation solution also offers the flexibility of a network configured system so users can send their photos from their home to the retailer for pick-up, create online photobooks, or order photo gifting products.

Sony’s UP-DR80 photo printer is not only an integral component of the PictureStation kiosk but also receiving acclaim by the professional and event photographer as a stand-alone printer. The Sony UP-DR80 printer is this year’s recipient of the 2010 DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out award in the Dye Sublimation, 8-inch roll printer category.

A state-of-the-art event printer designed for use by professional photographers both in and out of the studio, this portable unit offers glossy and ProMatte™ finishes. The UPD-R80’s fast print speeds can deliver professional quality images and photo packages in a range of sizes, from 4x8 photo greeting cards to 8x10 and 8x12 portraits.

“Since launching the UP-DR80 last year at PMA, it has been applauded by professionals and critics as the ideal printer for photographers who need a high-quality yet affordable solution for portrait photography,” said Lynda Falby, marketing manager on Sony Electronics’ digital photofinishing business.

The compact unit delivers optimal printing for high-resolution photography thanks to an easy-to-use color adjustment feature that enables close matching of print color to images displayed on the screen.

Another popular Sony photofinishing solution that can be seen at PMA is the UPX-C300 Digital Passport and ID printing system..

With its easy operation and professional quality photofinishing, Sony has sold more than 20,000 UPX-C300s to national retailers, convenience stores, leading drug store chains, and government agencies, making the system the market leader and the ideal product to complement Sony’s photofinishing retail solutions.