The customer is in the picture
Digital Photography: A European premiere at the Sihlcity opening: Mediamarkt introduced HP's new all-in-one photo kiosk solution to the Swiss market there.
Digital photography A European premiere at the Sihlcity opening: Mediamarkt launched HP's new complete photo kiosk solution on the Swiss market. With the advent of digital photography ten years ago, not only has the way we deal with images changed, but private individuals/amateurs and professionals are also taking far more photos. However, this does not mean that images are being printed to the same extent. On the contrary, the majority of images are orphaned on computers or storage media and, in the best case, are occasionally used for digital slideshows, and because more and more images are being printed out at home, photofinishers have lost out on sales compared to the good times of analog photography. In the medium to long term, however, this decline in sales is likely to more than just return to the previous level, as digitally captured photos are starting to take off and the output of images is likely to increase in volume again.
The predicted flood of images will be boosted above all by camera phones, as according to information from IHA/GFK, sales of both digital and, as was clear, analog cameras are declining. Only digital SLR cameras are predicted to see (slight) growth. This year, however, around twice as many photo-compatible cell phones are expected to be sold as all analog and digital cameras combined.
HP focuses on photo kiosksAccording to Arnold Marty, Country Manager Imaging and Printing at HP, the company is already well positioned when it comes to printing digital images for amateur and professional photographers at home or in the studio. However, HP is no longer satisfied with selling printers and consumables and now wants to secure a piece of the photofinishing market. The company is taking a different approach to its competitors and is the first provider of so-called photo kiosk systems to use inkjet printing instead of chemical processes.
HP offers three systems in the photofinishing segment: Firstly, the HP Photosmart Studio, the HP Photosmart Express Station and finally the HP Photosmart Minilab. They were all presented shortly before the opening of the new Sihlcity shopping mall in Zurich within the media market as a complete solution and, nota bene, a European premiere. At the Photosmart Studio station, users can independently transfer images to the system, compile posters, photo books, etc. and initiate the corresponding print job. The photo kiosk solution prints out an order slip, which is to be paid for when the pictures/photo book etc. are collected after one hour of production time. In the store, employees initiate the print orders and select the appropriate printing system. Posters are produced on professional inkjet printers and conventional photo orders on the Minilab, which is designed for larger volumes. Photo books are also produced on site at the Mediamarkt within hours.
The Express station, on the other hand, is completely self-sufficient. Designed as a self-service solution, the user can print out the images themselves at the station. A CD burner is also integrated, allowing the images to be burned to CD-ROM on site to free up space on the digital camera. In line with the camera phone trend, a wireless LAN network is also integrated into this kiosk solution. The station can be located in the cell phone via Bluetooth technology and images can be transferred in this way. HP was the first photo kiosk solution to network all the systems installed worldwide. Thanks to the connection to an ERP system (a system for making better use of a company's resources) at the retailer or with computers in the USA, both Mediamarkt and HP gain a very precise insight into, for example, the average number of printed pictures, formats etc. as well as other habits of the shoppers and can adapt their range accordingly.
The user guidance of the two kiosk solutions is extremely simple. The touch-sensitive monitor guides the user step by step to the order confirmation or directly to the image. However, the stations have one shortcoming when using USB sticks: no directories can be selected and - at least in the practical test - no Mac-formatted memory sticks can be used. There is still some room for improvement here.
The bottom line is that the new offer is convincing. Posters and self-bound photo books within hours is a convincing offer. For the Mediamarkt, the calculation should work out twice over, as many customers will probably use the hour of production time to find out about other offers.
Digital photo market boomingAccording to HP, the Swiss printed or developed around 200 million pictures at home in 2005 - this corresponds to a fifth of the approximately 1 billion pictures stored and used in Switzerland. The company estimates that this figure will rise to 400 million in 2008. In 2010, around 480 million of the 2.4 billion images are expected to be printed. HP has very ambitious goals as far as the Swiss market is concerned and wants to take a big slice of the cake. HP wants to generate 53 million francs from a market estimated to total more than 280 million francs next year. Between 1,000 and 1,500 stations are to contribute to achieving this goal over the next two years.
Jürgen Franck
The predicted flood of images will be boosted above all by camera phones, as according to information from IHA/GFK, sales of both digital and, as was clear, analog cameras are declining. Only digital SLR cameras are predicted to see (slight) growth. This year, however, around twice as many photo-compatible cell phones are expected to be sold as all analog and digital cameras combined.
HP focuses on photo kiosksAccording to Arnold Marty, Country Manager Imaging and Printing at HP, the company is already well positioned when it comes to printing digital images for amateur and professional photographers at home or in the studio. However, HP is no longer satisfied with selling printers and consumables and now wants to secure a piece of the photofinishing market. The company is taking a different approach to its competitors and is the first provider of so-called photo kiosk systems to use inkjet printing instead of chemical processes.
HP offers three systems in the photofinishing segment: Firstly, the HP Photosmart Studio, the HP Photosmart Express Station and finally the HP Photosmart Minilab. They were all presented shortly before the opening of the new Sihlcity shopping mall in Zurich within the media market as a complete solution and, nota bene, a European premiere. At the Photosmart Studio station, users can independently transfer images to the system, compile posters, photo books, etc. and initiate the corresponding print job. The photo kiosk solution prints out an order slip, which is to be paid for when the pictures/photo book etc. are collected after one hour of production time. In the store, employees initiate the print orders and select the appropriate printing system. Posters are produced on professional inkjet printers and conventional photo orders on the Minilab, which is designed for larger volumes. Photo books are also produced on site at the Mediamarkt within hours.
The Express station, on the other hand, is completely self-sufficient. Designed as a self-service solution, the user can print out the images themselves at the station. A CD burner is also integrated, allowing the images to be burned to CD-ROM on site to free up space on the digital camera. In line with the camera phone trend, a wireless LAN network is also integrated into this kiosk solution. The station can be located in the cell phone via Bluetooth technology and images can be transferred in this way. HP was the first photo kiosk solution to network all the systems installed worldwide. Thanks to the connection to an ERP system (a system for making better use of a company's resources) at the retailer or with computers in the USA, both Mediamarkt and HP gain a very precise insight into, for example, the average number of printed pictures, formats etc. as well as other habits of the shoppers and can adapt their range accordingly.
The user guidance of the two kiosk solutions is extremely simple. The touch-sensitive monitor guides the user step by step to the order confirmation or directly to the image. However, the stations have one shortcoming when using USB sticks: no directories can be selected and - at least in the practical test - no Mac-formatted memory sticks can be used. There is still some room for improvement here.
The bottom line is that the new offer is convincing. Posters and self-bound photo books within hours is a convincing offer. For the Mediamarkt, the calculation should work out twice over, as many customers will probably use the hour of production time to find out about other offers.
Digital photo market boomingAccording to HP, the Swiss printed or developed around 200 million pictures at home in 2005 - this corresponds to a fifth of the approximately 1 billion pictures stored and used in Switzerland. The company estimates that this figure will rise to 400 million in 2008. In 2010, around 480 million of the 2.4 billion images are expected to be printed. HP has very ambitious goals as far as the Swiss market is concerned and wants to take a big slice of the cake. HP wants to generate 53 million francs from a market estimated to total more than 280 million francs next year. Between 1,000 and 1,500 stations are to contribute to achieving this goal over the next two years.
Jürgen Franck
