Fujifilm Digital Mobile Printer MP-70 Announced

February 9, 2005 | Mark Goldstein | Printers | Comment |

Fujifilm Digital Mobile Printer MP-70Fujifilm Digital Mobile Printer MP-70 is to be unveiled at PMA 2005. The MP-70 is specifically designed for printing credit sized photos from infrared enabled camera-phones at 254dpi. A small adapter can also be fitted to the Digital Mobile Printer MP-70 to connect it to a PictBridge-compatible digital camera.

Fujifilm USA Press Release

FUJIFILM UNVEILS PORTABLE, WIRELESS CAMPHONE PRINTER

Palm-Sized Printer Enables New Markets, Consumer Applications

Valhalla, NY, February 8, 2005 - Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. today announced the next step in printing solutions for today’s digital imaging generation. The new Fujifilm Digital Mobile Printer MP-70 - the first portable, handheld wireless printer specifically designed for the accelerating US camera phone market - creates a credit card sized, photo from an infrared enabled camera phone in about 20 seconds.

“The digital camera market exploded before the infrastructure to provide simple, quick prints was ready,” noted Bill Drysdale, Vice President, Marketing, Digital Devices Division, Fujifilm Imaging Group. “We’re taking steps to make sure that when the next generation of high-resolution camera phones reach mass market levels, the industry is already there.”

A Kiosk In Your Pocket
Weighing just over seven ounces (205 grams, without batteries), the compact Fujifilm MP-70 is about the size of wallet. The printer uses two CR2 lithium batteries and Fujifilm patented Image Intelligence™ to transmit and produce a 254 dpi RGB print from an image captured on a camera-phone (up to 3 megapixels, or 900K) anytime and anywhere. A small, USB-based adaptor (IR-100) is also available to connect a PictBridge-compatible digital camera. The MP-70 is expected to be commercially available in the early summer of 2005.

Worldwide unit sales of camera-phones are expected to exceed over 250 million in 2005, (source:Info Trends/CAP Ventures). With the rapid expansion of the camera-phone market and the introduction of high-spec models with image resolution of one megapixel or higher, demand has been increasing for printing of pictures taken with camera-phones.

Operation is simple click and print, and reprints can be made immediately. Because the portability and instant nature of prints from the MP-70 differs from home printers (ink jet) and retail print services, the printer creates a new category for digital printing and a new market for camera-phones.

A new photo pack helps to achieve speedy printing in 20 seconds together with low energy consumption (approx. 130 prints from two CR2 lithium batteries). Fujifilm’s Image Intelligence™ (digital image processing software technology used in Fujifilm Frontier digital minilabs) provides auto exposure compensation for images taken with insufficient light.

Compatible infrared-enabled cameraphones available to date (as of December 22nd, 2004) include:

  * Nokia:
    3200, 3205, 3620, 3650, 3660, 5140, 6220, 6225, 6230, 6260, 6600, 6620, 6820, and 7250i
  * Siemens:
    CT66, SX1, S66
  * Sony Ericsson:
    K500i, K700i, P800, P900, P910a, S700i, S710a, T610, T630, T637, Z600

Consumers Demand Choice
The mobile imaging market is very lifestyle driven. Whether printing at home, in retail or now, on the road, Fujifilm engineers are prepared for this, putting several options in place, including services for camphone users to create quick and fun prints from their new devices.

This printer follows several announcements with US mobile service carriers allowing customers to send their mobile images directly to a participating retail photofinisher of their choice for real prints of their camera phone pictures, in sometimes in as little as one hour.

About Fujifilm
Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. is a subsidiary of Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. and delivers technology solutions to meet the imaging and information needs of retailers, consumers, professionals and business customers. As a global leader in digital imaging, Fujifilm pioneered the development of digital medical systems, and today is the leader in digital minilab systems. The company was ranked in the top ten for U.S. patents granted during the last decade, employs 73,000 people worldwide and in the year ending March 31, 2004, had global revenues of more than $24 billion.

In the U.S., Fujifilm is a leader in delivering high quality, easy-to-use imaging and information solutions in the following categories: Digital Imaging Systems, Recording/Storage Media, Film and Imaging Systems, Motion Picture Film, Graphic Arts and Printing Systems and Medical Imaging and Diagnostics Systems. Fujifilm is an environmentally friendly, humane enterprise and an exemplary corporate citizen.

For more information on Fujifilm products, consumers can call 800-800-FUJI or access the Fujifilm USA Web site at www.fujifilm.com.