Top Fujifilm executive announces retail strategy for expanding Frontier Solutions

In a keynote address at the 2007 Photo Marketing Association (PMA) annual trade show, Yoshikazu Aoki, corporate vice president and general manager, Photo Imaging Products Division, Fujifilm Corporation, shared his perspective on the impact of digitization on the photo imaging industry. He emphasized Fujifilm’s continued commitment to develop new imaging products and solutions for retailers, and pointed to the penetration and integration of once-separate business sectors as a key factor driving both change and opportunity for Fujifilm and its customers.

“We are seeing that digitization is driving the convergence of imaging technologies and products that once resided in distinct business sectors. Today we are experiencing the fusion of copying and printing,” said Aoki. “The photo sector, the document sector, and the graphic arts sector have traditionally been independent. Things like ’on-demand printing’ used to be associated only with the world of documentation, but now it is widely used in the graphic arts and photo arenas. Fujifilm is fortunate to have a strong technology presence in all three of these sectors"

Aoki emphasized that finding new ways to increase the demand for print-at-retail services remains Fujifilm’s priority. He introduced Fujifilm’s strategy, Expanding Frontier Solutions, which builds from the well-established digital printing infrastructure with the Frontier digital minilab and its workflow management software as the hub.

Aoki explained Fujifilm’s strategy as being driven by the need to be able to provide retailers with solutions that can give their customers the choice of ordering imaging products in the store, or from home over the Internet for in-store pick-up. And just as important, the need to be flexible in offering a range of output options including dye sublimation, ink jet, and xerography -- in addition to silver-halide.

Today Fujifilm is the only company that provides retail customers with a complete range of solutions that give their in-store customers the choice of getting pictures in minutes, hours, or days, as well as offering photo specialty items including photo books, calendars, greeting cards and more.

In his address, Aoki cited 1996 as a milestone year for Fujifilm and the photoprocessing industry, when Fujifilm’s Frontier digital minlab established the foundation and quality standard for excellence in onsite digital photo printing. He then offered a look at new technologies introduced and in-development in Japan, that promise a continued future for the creative application of imaging technologies, and the preservation of the culture of photography that Fujifilm continues to nurture. These include advanced technologies that manage image color, detect the human face, combine images with sound, incorporate GPS location data in image files, creative collage and shuffle photo print formats and mobile imaging applications and services.

Aoki also shared several of the innovations Fujifilm is featuring at the PMA show. Joining the growing family of Fujifilm Frontier retail and professional printing solutions are: Fujifilm’s new dry lab solution, the Fujifilm Frontier Lite; photo-specialty printing solutions featuring Xerox® printers coupled with Fujifilm workflow and Image Intelligence; and the Lab$ense portal, which gives retailers the ability to customize and control their photofinishing business for maximum profitability and productivity. In addition, t he company’s latest additions to its digital camera line up feature Fujifilm’s Picture Stabilization technology, Dual Shot Mode and a versatile xD/SD Media Compatible Slot that accepts both xD-Picture Cards™ and Secure Digital™ (SD) media cards.

Fujifilm will be showcasing the full portfolio of imaging technologies and services in its booth at PMA (#E100).For more information, call 800-800-FUJI or go to www.fujifilmusa.com/pma .