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Kodak Unveils Printers That Produce Lower-Cost Digital Photos
Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Eastman Kodak Co., the world's largest photography company, for the first time plans to sell printers that use lower-cost ink cartridges to compete with Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Officer Antonio Perez unveiled three silver-and-white printers, which sell for under $300 and can copy and fax, on the set of ``Saturday Night Live'' today in New York's Rockefeller Center. The printers' color ink cartridges will be priced at about $15, or half the cost of some competitors, analysts said. Perez, who built the consumer inkjet division at industry leader Hewlett-Packard, said shortly after coming to Kodak four years ago that he would bring the company's own printer to market. Rochester, New York-based Kodak spent an estimated $100 million on the project, while firing more than 23,000 workers to help finance the switch to digital cameras and accessories.
Phone photos worth sharing
Cellphone makers including Nokia Corp., Sony Ericsson and Samsung Electronics Co. have begun upping the specs of phone cameras, offering higher-resolution, 3.2 megapixel photo sensors, built-in flashes and advanced lenses made by top-brand companies like Carl Zeiss Inc. After years of missteps, the wireless carriers also are finally making it much easier and cheaper to share pictures. The upgrades in quality and service are likely to accelerate a trend of ditching cameras altogether - just as many cellphone users no longer find it necessary to have a land-line telephone. For some consumers, especially young ones, camera phones are the main way to take pictures. .
Judge: Portrait can close 500 studios
The Portrait Corp. of America deal with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to close 500 of its photography studios housed by the retailer was approved by a bankruptcy court judge Tuesday. The 500 portrait studios, which lost $1.7 million in 2006, are a "drain" on the company, PCA said in court papers filed Friday. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in White Plains, N.Y., approved the new contract with Wal-Mart, which PCA called the "cornerstone of its reorganization." The company estimates that 1,250 of its 7,500 employees will lose their jobs. PCA said it expects the closures will save it $8 million in labor and manufacturing costs in 2007. Under the deal, Wal-Mart said it won't seek damages. All of PCA's North American portrait studios are located in Wal-Mart stores and operate under the Wal-Mart name, making the photography firm heavily dependent on the relationship with the retail chain, PCA has said in the past.
Ryerson picks architect for photography centre
Toronto-based Diamond and Schmitt Architects, creators of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, has been chosen to design the Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centre. The estimated $8-million facility will be located in the School of Image Arts building at 122 Bond Street in the university's campus, just east of Yonge Street. It will include galleries and exhibition spaces directly accessible from the street, as well as the Mira Godard Study Centre and storage for the university's collection of 291,000 historic photographs. .
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