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Print ArticleDigital cameras need to have longer life cycles. We can not continue to effectively manage eight to ten month life cycles. The megapixel and feature race needs to stop. Two- to three-megapixel cameras with desirable features is all the consumer needs to make great pictures. We need to focus on keeping it simple for the customer.
Manufacturers need to focus their efforts on simplifying image capture and output . Retailers need to provide affordable fast high quality digital printing. Everyone needs to put all of their energies towards engaging the customer in making and sharing prints. Sharing prints is sharing memories and sharing memories is the magic of photography. It has been for over 100 years and will be for the next 100 years.
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WYNIT
Be Smart, Stay Profitable
by Pete
Richichi, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Wynit, Inc.
The photo industry is still all about digital. There is much
good news to talk about here. The economy is finally beginning to
show signs of recovery. Consumer spending is up. All of us should
be able to prosper in this industry if we are smart. What do I mean
when I use the word "smart"? I mean you need to be able to identify
the trends that will shape this industry and once you have
identified the trends, you need to be able to develop and implement
a plan to take advantage of these trends. Sounds simple? Yes and
no. If you have the right information, identifying the trends can
be simple. If you identify and make use of the resources you have
at your disposal, developing and implementing a plan to best
position you to take advantage of industry trends can also be
simpler than you think.
An example of this might be the trends occurring with digital
memory. With the rapid growth of portable digital products such as
digital cameras, cellular phones, PDAs and more, the market for
digital memory has, to put it simply, exploded. What does this mean
to you? You should realize that availability of memory is going to
be tight during the upcoming holiday season as memory manufacturers
scramble to produce enough memory to meet the increasing demands
for their products. This is called identifying an industry trend.
Some people might view this as a problem, which might negatively
impact their sales. Working closely with a good distributor, you
might understand that you can actually prosper from this shortage.
Your distributor would know that this is an industry wide shortage
and would advise you to stock up now for the holidays. This way,
while others may be out of stock during the holidays, your
customers won't have any problem getting their memory needs filled.
The end result… you prosper, your customers' immediate needs
are filled and you develop customer loyalty. Everyone wins.
Now, more than ever, it is important to be working closely with a
good distributor. A good distributor, in addition to being a source
of product, also is able to provide you with the "50,000 foot view"
of what's happening in the industry and can provide you with the
information you need to prepare you for the rapid changes being
experienced in the digital photo industry.
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ADOBE
Digital Solutions-With a Human Face
by
Bryan Lamkin, Senior Vice President of Digital Imaging & Video
Products for Adobe
Here at Adobe, we are committed to remaining at the forefront of
digital imaging innovation. In fact, one of our primary goals is to
create new and better ways to fulfill the promise of digital
imaging for everyone-from the average consumer, tohe hobbyist, all
the way up to the professional photographer. We have demonstrated
this commitment in our own product line with Photoshop Album for
the consumer, Photoshop Elements for the hobbyist and Photoshop for
the creative professional.
Photoshop users have been the vanguard of the digital photography
revolution. However, all revolutions are messy businesses and there
still remain areas that require an industry-wide effort to bring
them into the digital age. The most obvious of these is the role of
retail in a photographic industry, where digital is becoming
dominant.
Despite all that is happening in the digital photography arena,
consumers still feel most comfortable turning in and picking up
their photographs at their friendly neighborhood retailer. A few
years ago, industry pundits were predicting the death of retail
photo processing-as low cost, high-quality home printers from
respected companies like HP and Epson emerged and online print
services started to spring up. While home printing continues and
online print services have become sustainable businesses, it is
clear that many consumers still see a place for photo retail
outlets-valuing personal, face-to-face customer service from a
trusted, familiar source.
We are looking at a variety of ways to bring this established
behavior into the digital age, such as establishing links in our
software that can drive traffic back to retail, like mail order
offers and point of presence kiosks that make obtaining your
digital prints easy and convenient. In short, we believe that an
"at-the-counter" exchange has a place in digital photography. While
the more technologically advanced customer may satisfy their
printing needs via home printing or online solutions, most
consumers will continue to look to photo retail and the familiar
face behind the counter as their preferred photo processing
solution in the digital age.
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AGFA
The Consumer Digital Age Has Arrived
by
Bing Liem, President, Agfa Consumer Imaging
When we look back at 2003, the imaging industry will remember
many things-some positive, more negative. It's been a hard year,
what with war, SARS, an economic downturn and lousy weather.
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