Colour Confidence Press Release

Photokina Cologne, Germany, 26th September, 2006 - Colour Confidence, the leading independent colour management specialists, have today announced details of their newly revamped dealer programmes. Designed to expand the uptake of colour management solutions across Europe, the overall structure includes the new ‘ColorStore’ programme, an update to the Confident Reseller programme and details of the new Affiliate programme. To find out more visit Colour Confidence at Hall 4.1 Stand D-051 throughout Photokina, or alternatively go to www.colourconfidence.com/partners . “When we reviewed the European market for colour management solutions, it was either difficult to find companies selling products at all, or we identified dealers offering products only from a single manufacturer – leading to a lack of choice for end-users and often people being offered the wrong solutions, ” commented Geoffrey Clements, Managing Director Colour Confidence. “We will address this by creating a network of ‘ColorStores’ where customers can see a range of products and make an informed decision – all over Europe.”

ColorStore
The ColorStore programme is open to retailers with a physical presence who are willing to make a serious commitment to selling colour management products. In return for this commitment, they will receive sales and technical support, significant investment in marketing and PR and access to the largest level of stock anywhere in Europe. These benefits, alongside a raft of other initiatives, will make colour management an extremely attractive proposition to retailers looking to differentiate their business and add profitability. Colour Confidence aim to have 50 ColorStores in place by the end of 2007, ensuring that customers have the opportunity to purchase the latest colour management products at a location of their choice, as well as on the internet.

The demand for colour management is growing rapidly across Europe; the advent of digital photography has driven more and more users to attempt to take control of their workflow. Rather than trust outside sources with their work, individuals are looking to control their colour, from capture all the way to print. At the same time we are seeing falling prices and more user-friendly software – yet it is rare to find colour management solutions available in ordinary stores. This expanding market means further opportunities for retailers to diversify their business and add incremental sales.

With Colour Confidence’s unparalleled range of supplier relationships, vendors will now be able to offer a complete range of colour management solutions from all the leading manufacturers.

Confident Reseller Programme
The Confident Reseller programme which was launched in October 2005 is open to all resellers. The scheme provides them with a single source of supply, plain paper direct delivery to their customers and live on-line pricing and has provided many companies with the opportunity to add incremental sales to their business. Those who feel unable to make the initial commitment required to become a ColorStore could become a Confident Reseller to gauge the potential success of colour management within their business.

“Our Confident Reseller programme has been extremely successful in expanding the reach of colour management and we have seen particular growth in the amount of online retailers taking on colour management solutions.” commented Geoffrey Clements, Managing Director, Colour Confidence.

Affiliates
Many online shops and other websites may feel that while colour management is related to their business, it is not central to it. The affiliate programme allows these people to earn money by directing traffic to the Colour Confidence website. By tracking this activity these businesses can determine whether or not they could benefit from selling colour management solutions on a more structured basis as well as earning commissions on purchases made by their visitors.

Summary
“We are determined to drive the growth and awareness of colour management across Europe. The recent merger between X-Rite and GretagMacbeth has caused some concern in the marketplace, potentially reducing the number of solutions available to the end-user. Colour Confidence will continue to seek out the widest range of products for this growing marketplace and ensure customers’ needs are served with independent advice. The new schemes will be rolled out over the next 12 months and we hope to have a fully operational network of 50 ColorStores in place by the end of next year as well as several hundred Confident Resellers. It is our belief that this scheme will benefit vendors and customers alike.” concluded Geoffrey Clements.

Becoming a partner
For more information and to sign up to one of Colour Confidence’s dealer programmes please visit us at Photokina, Hall 4.1 Stand D-051 or go to www.colourconfidence.com/partners for more information. Alternatively if you would like to speak to us about any of the opportunities please contact us directly.

About Colour Confidence
Colour Confidence is the dedicated colour management division of TypeMaker Ltd which has been offering colour management solutions since 1995. From its inception, Colour Confidence has been at the forefront of the colour management market, offering education, product solutions and expert consultancy services to a diverse cross-section of users including digital photographers, labs, graphic designers, printers and publishers, and IT departments of multi-national enterprises.

In addition to its expanding reseller network, Colour Confidence’s own online store offers the widest range of colour management solutions anywhere on the Internet or high street. As well as Colour Confidence’s own innovative product range, solutions from ColorVision, EFI, EIZO,  GretagMacbeth, Just Normlicht, Kodak, LaCie, Monaco, NEC Pantone, PictoColor, and X-Rite are all available from www.colourconfidence.com