|Digital photo kiosk|
Ilse Jurriën : February 17th 2007 - 03:30 CET
Tiger photo kiosk : New Pearl Digital Technology Co. Ltd. said its Tiger photo kiosks – the newest digital photo kiosks from China – will make their U.S. debut in March at the Photo Marketing Association trade show with a sophisticated new software version that conforms fully to the functionality expected from leading kiosks popular in the Western Hemisphere, while maintaining their favorable pricing structure. New Pearl Digital’s freestanding and counter-top Tiger photo kiosks, first introduced to Western audiences last fall at photokina, will be on display, fully operational and equipped with the company’s new v2.0 software at PMA, March 8-11 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.|
Photo kiosk user interface|
Douglas Zhai, President of New Pearl Digital, noted that in a relatively short time, Tiger kiosks have gained a reputation for versatility, reliability and the ability to attract consumers using a selection of colorful exteriors, an intuitive touch-screen user interface, even a dual-screen option that displays ads and promotions on one screen while orders are placed on the other – all at an affordable price. He noted that with the Tiger photo kiosks’ updated user interface, reflective of systems preferred in Western markets where kiosks are popular, retailers can increase customer satisfaction and generate additional revenues for their photofinishing operations.
Douglas Zhai - Chinese Tiger photo kiosks
“We have entered the North American and European markets because both the concept and the acceptance of the photo kiosk are far more advanced in the West than in developing markets,” said Zhai, whose company is a founding member of the Photofinishers Association of China. “We made a conscious decision to design our Tiger freestanding and counter-top kiosks for consumers in the West. That means a functionality and a usability far beyond what has been common among kiosks developed in China and other Asian countries.”
Digital photo kiosk software
Zhai noted that his company has significant software expertise and controls the intellectual property associated with Tiger kiosks. In addition to developing the company’s v2.0 software, a development team of eight people creates customized programming to meet specific customer requirements for networking, ordering capabilities and imaging features. Also, retailers can choose an add/delete function that permits them to set the operating range of their kiosk and manage their offerings.
Digital Tiger kiosk - Color variants
The result is that New Pearl Digital can offer a dozen variants of its Tiger kiosks – including a selection of exterior colors with some models – to satisfy a broad range of operating and marketing requirements. The Tiger photo kiosk provides everything from basic prints to innovative slide shows accompanied by user-selectable themed templates and music, the company said. New Pearl also produces an optional dual-screen kiosk configuration (patent pending in China) that allows the retailer to display high-impact promotional messages to the public without interfering with consumers placing orders.
Photo printing kiosk - Image quality enhancement
Tiger photo kiosk offers automatic or manual image quality enhancement; special effects such as sepia and black & white; and include a generous number of design templates, borders and text embellishments for greeting cards, bookmarks, calendars, business cards, ID photos and other creative photo products, New Pearl Digital said. Tiger kiosks accept JPEG, BMP and TIFF files via all popular input media – CF, MD, SM, MS Pro and SD cards, as well as Memory Stick, CD-R/RW, USB and Bluetooth. The print output format is selectable for photo, inkjet and dye sub printers, as well as digital minilabs, depending on what output devices the photo retailer chooses to use, the company said.
Tiger photo kiosk - Cost-effective solution
In addition to its markets in China, New Pearl Digital sells Tiger kiosks through distributors in Malaysia and the United Kingdom, and currently is in discussions to sign more in Europe and the US, Zhai said. At photokina, the company took orders for more than 100 of its kiosks, he said. “Tiger kiosks give the retailer a cost-effective solution to providing their customers with exciting consumer photo products that they want and are willing to pay for. And now they offer the consumer a better user experience,” Zhai said. “Tiger kiosks extend the photo retail business beyond the standard product offerings – and beyond the store itself.” Details about Tiger photo kiosks, product availability, and price information can be obtained directly from New Pearl Digital.
About New Pearl Digital Technology
Established in 2004, New Pearl Digital specializes in the development of digital imaging systems. Its Tiger freestanding and counter-top photo kiosks, introduced in China in October 2005, offer an advantage over competing kiosks thanks to their ability to attract users and capture large multiple-output orders, which increases revenues for the photo retailer.
Douglas Zhai - Founder New Pearl Digital
New Pearl Digital’s founder, Douglas Zhai, has owned and operated four minilab-equipped photo retail stores and a professional portrait lab since 1998. Zhai decided to develop his Tiger kiosks instead of buying kiosks produced by other companies because their functionality didn’t meet the needs of his stores and their price was too high. Tiger kiosks incorporate a broad range of features and capabilities at a very affordable price. Zhai decided to build his kiosks for sale to other photo retailers, and the business has grown ever since.