Lexmark and Kodak to collaborate on bringing digital photography to mass consumer market - Lexmark International, Eastman Kodak Co - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Oct 18, 1999

Lexmark International Inc. and Eastman Kodak Company has announced their intent to work together to forge a long-term co-development and marketing relationship. The companies announced this effort at Lexmark's fourth annual 2020 Vision On Print international press conference in Boston, Mass., attended by more than 200 journalists from around the world.

The companies together will develop appliances that offer higher quality, easier and more affordable printing of digital pictures.

Last month, Kodak and Lexmark announced the Kodak Personal Picture Maker by Lexmark, a $149(a) printer that allows digital camera users to crop, personalize, print or store photos without using a PC. This announcement, along with last year's introduction of the award-winning Lexmark Photo Jetprinter 5770, the world's first non-PC-attached digital photo printer, further confirms Lexmark's leadership position in what the company calls appliance printing. The new Lexmark and Kodak alliance, along with the co-branded products resulting from the alliance, will further advance PC-free digital photography so that it comes even closer to providing photo-realistic prints.

"When we looked for a company with whom we could work -- both in the market and in the lab -- to provide consumers with the best digital photography output, Kodak was the natural choice," stated Bernard Masson, president, consumer printer division, Lexmark International. "Kodak, along with being the world's leading photography brand, has made a tremendous investment in digital technology input. And they have backed that investment with a broad range of high quality digital cameras. This fact, combined with Lexmark's heritage of best-in-class printing solutions and the development of PC-free printers, is a winning combination for digital photography."

"As digital photography continues to grow, our two companies are well positioned to meet customer needs," noted Philip Gerskovich, chief operating officer and vice president, Digital and Applied Imaging, Kodak. "We are very pleased to work so closely with Lexmark, a company known for technology innovation and quickness to market with leading edge printing solutions."

The companies expect that together they will capture a leadership position of the burgeoning digital photography opportunity. As the demand for photographs continues to grow, and digital photography represents an ever growing percentage of those photos, customers continue to expect input and output devices that make it easy and affordable to experience this new kind of picture taking, cropping and storing.

Lexmark further confirmed its technology leadership in the digital photography arena with the introduction of the award-winning Photo Jetprinter 5770. This announcement expands on the company's strength in appliance photoprinting, which is one aspect of the appliance printing business in which Lexmark will continue to play a leading role.

Kodak, the world leader in imaging, offers products, systems and services to help people use pictures for personal pleasure, entertainment, information, education, business and health. The company has pioneered state-of-the-art digital technologies to enable consumers to take, make and use their pictures in new and creative ways never dreamed possible before personal computers and the Internet. Focused on making pictures more useful, more usable, and more fun, Kodak continues its history of innovation with new products and services in both traditional film-based and digital technologies for a broad range of customers.

FMI: www.kodak.com.

Lexmark International, Inc. is a global developer, manufacturer and supplier of printing solutions and products, including laser, inkjet and dot matrix printers and associated consumable supplies for the office and home markets. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lexmark International Group, Inc.

Lexmark is on the internet at www.lexmark.com or http://press.lexmark.com.

(a) Street prices are estimates; actual prices may vary.