Picture Services Network Press Release 07/01/04

LAS VEGAS—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 7, 2004—The Picture Services Network (PSN), a subsidiary of the leading global association for the imaging industry, I3A, has launched a service to enable digital photograpy users to quickly and easily locate and connect to digital imaging service providers nearby or wherever it’s most convenient - with any camera, through any Web browser, to any photofinisher participating in PSN.

PSN is the heart of the CPXe specification suite developed by I3A’s Common Picture eXchange Environment (CPXe) initiative, which delivered Version 1.0 in February 2003 and has just begun working on Version 2.0. Based on a Web Services framework, the CPXe specification comprises open standards for the exchange of digital images and photo services orders via the Internet.

By incorporating CPXe, photographic device and software vendors give their customers easy connection to a range of digital photography services. PSN’s private UDDI-based Directory Service allows any CPXe-compliant application to present consumers with a list of participating service providers. PSN thus enables digital camera users worldwide to quickly and easily locate digital imaging service providers near them, or wherever it may be convenient for them to purchase available services, such as near a friend’s or relatives’ home.

For example, a digital camera user in rural Vermont, where a winter storm has closed the roads, could take pictures of Baby’s first birthday party, then use PSN to locate a suitable CPXe-compliant photofinishing service in Los Angeles. The retailer will receive her images and order information, then create a keepsake for the Baby’s grandparents, or simply a set of prints made in one hour, for pick up near their home in Century City.

“PSN is delivering on its promise of providing seamless, global directory services to the digital photography industry,” said Lisa Walker, president of I3A and PSN. “It’s an exciting moment for the industry as a whole, and especially for retail service providers who stand to gain access to entire new populations of customers at less than the cost of a yellow pages ad.”

“PSN allows member companies to connect to each other to deliver consumer services via the Web in ways that were not practical until now,” said Patrick Gaglione, COO of PSN. “As it grows, PSN is going to change the face of digital camera usage the way that standardized films and processes changed the face of creating prints from film.”

PSN’s first participants are its executive members Agfa-Gevaert Group, Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK), HP (NYSE:HPQ) and Silverwire, Inc., who with I3A make up the PSN Board of Directors. As members, these companies are entitled to list all their own fulfillment partners, and they are in the process of working with those partners to populate PSN with individual retailer listings. Each retailer has complete control over the information made available to the public via PSN, and can include as much or as little detail as desired.

About the International Imaging Industry Association (I3A)
I3A is the leading global imaging industry association, driving growth of and setting standards for the photographic and information imaging markets. As the industry focal point, I3A offers a framework and environment where members can quickly find resources to solve critical issues and develop market solutions. Members of I3A work together to find common ground for advancing the industry and to enable better products and services for their customers.

I3A is an accredited Standards Developing Organization, serving as secretariat for the International Organization for Standardization Technical Committee 42 (ISO/TC42) on Photography, and as administrator for the USA Technical Advisory Group for this committee. Information about I3A can be found on the World Wide Web at www.i3a.org or by phone at 914-698-7603.

About the Picture Services Network (PSN)
A private, UDDI-based directory of Internet-based photographic services, PSN allows businesses to quickly, easily and dynamically find and transact business with CPXe-compliant Web Services. A Web service itself, the PSN Directory Service serves as a repository for information about participating services and providers. Client applications connect to the Directory Service via a standard API to discover and then interact with available services regardless of the service’s geographic location. Consumers can quickly locate services and providers using familiar search criteria including but not limited to zip code or desired product type.

PSN participation is open to any company, large or small, and dues are scaled to company size. Companies that will benefit from participation in PSN include photo-enabled device manufacturers; photo-enabled Web sites and portals; independent software vendors; traditional and non-traditional photo retailers; online photofinishers; and photofinishing systems integrators.

As a not-for-profit subsidiary of I3A, PSN was formed to provide participants with a cost effective way to expand their market reach and deliver innovative products and services to a rapidly expanding worldwide base of digital camera owners—regardless of the camera’s brand or where it was purchased. The not-for-profit nature of PSN helps to ensure that participation costs are minimized and reasonable.

For more information about PSN, visit www.pictureservices.org. Companies interested in learning more about or joining the Picture Services Network should contact Patrick Gaglione, at [email protected].