HP's Photokiosks

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One of the most exciting developments to be seen at Photokina this year was the launch of several new additions to Hewlett Packard’s range of ‘retail publishing solutions,’ as the company calls them. HP, one of the world’s largest IT companies, continues to target customers who want to print out their photos at home, or upload them and order them online, but they are also focusing on the printing opportunities in retail outlets. Their new self-service retail photo publishing solutions are designed to empower customers with new tools to do more with their digital photos, whilst also helping retailers to increase their revenues and profitability.
HP’s stand-alone photokiosk solutions allow customers to mix personal content with third-party professional or licensed content for a tailor-made publishing experience, as well as giving retailers the ability to create customised materials – from posters to event signage – for their customers.

As Michael Diehl, Vice President, HP Retail Publishing Solutions EMEA commented at Photokina: "The transition from analogue to digital presents significant market opportunities for print service providers, and creates opportunities for professional photographers and consumers to bring rich content to life. Today’s announcements enhance HP’s portfolio of innovative digital photography solutions and services to enable this transformation of the photography industry and help customers create, access, manage and publish their content."

Integrating the HP Microlab, Minilab and Photosmart Studio systems, the HP Photo Center is a versatile, scalable and space-efficient instant digital print solution offering a complete photo solution that lets customers order and process their prints, and also create a variety of unique, creative photo products like photobooks, posters, canvas prints, calendars and greeting cards, all of which have a high margin for retailers and can be produced within a one hour service model.
The solution is designed to either work alongside a retailer’s existing lab infrastructure or completely replace traditional silver halide chemistry-based printing systems by using the new dry, ink-based printing technology from HP, which is far kinder to the environment. It can produce up to sixteen different print sizes, incorporating a redundant twelve-ink cartridge system for uninterrupted printing. The vending capabilities of the photo kiosk allow customers to retrieve their own photos without employee assistance, making it an entirely self-service experience.

HP’s photo kiosks have already been installed across the European market, and are particularly visible in 300 real department stores across Germany, following the partnership agreed in July between HP and the Metro Group, one of Germany’s largest retailers. HP is undertaking to provide real with five hundred Photosmart Express stations, which will enable real customers to print high quality 10x15 cm pictures cheaply and quickly, or burn their photos onto a CD. The solution is a stand-alone Photosmart Express kiosk that handles customer orders right from the uploading of the digital photos to their printing, including printing an order receipt for payment at till. The HP Express photokiosk delivers prints seconds after the storage device is inserted, so customers can collect their precious snaps without interrupting their shopping. The colour touch screen allows customers to upload photos stored on a variety of media, including memory cards, Bluetooth, USB drives, CDs and DVDs. Remote monitoring and diagnostics, along with a large paper capacity, means that there is little requirement for manual intervention from the retailer.

HP’s Photo Centre is also a feature in the real Future Store project based in Tönisvorst, North-West Germany, where a new store has been opened to showcase cutting-edge products from its partners, integrated with new technologies that aim to modernise the shopping experience within the retail industry.

Swains International, Europe’s leading photo and telecoms distributor, recently launched a new company – Retail Photo Solutions Ltd. – which will sell HP’s retail publishing solutions to the UK market. Real, and all the other European retailers who implement HP’s retail publishing solutions, have the opportunity to tap into the vast publishing marketplace, which in the retail segment is expected to grow by more than $36 billion (over €25 billion) in the next five years. HP is a definite ‘watch-this-space’ contestant in this accelerating market.