In Search Of True Colors

BANGKOK, Thailand – Users of digital still cameras (DSCs) have this nagging problem: Whenever they take pictures, they always have to go to their PCs, open a photo application and adjust the picture’s setting before they can print the shot the way they envisioned it to be.

There’s good news, however. There is now a technology that allows DSC users to print photos straight from their camera to their printer without the need of a PC. And they’ll get the same colors in the printed photograph as those they saw in their DSC’s LCD screens.

Epson Corp., the printer company owned by Japanese watchmaker Seiko, has developed Print Image Matching (PIM), a technology that puts digital photographers directly in control of their printers.

The new technology was formally launched here last week during the four-day eExpo, the biggest technology trade show in Thailand, at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center.

Epson officials said they developed the technology for two years and spent some $120 million perfecting it.

"Print Image Matching removes the final hurdle for the average user who is hesitant in making the transition to digital photography," said Kazunori Aoki, assistant director of the IT Regional Business Division of Epson Singapore.

"With this breakthrough, consumers can now snap and print images directly to their PIM-enabled photo printers and be assured of consistent image characteristics with the original stored in their digital cameras. PIM is the imaging breakthrough the digital photography industry has been waiting for to finally legitimize its use as a true alternative to conventional photography."

The PIM has received support from 11 DSC makers, namely Sony, Casino, Kyocera, Konica, Minolta, Olympus, Ricoh, Toshiba, Asahi, Sanyo and Nikon. These companies, all based in Asia and accounting for more than half of the global DSC market, will soon be launching their respective PIM-enabled cameras compatible with Epson’s printers.

Digital photography has been in existence since the first DSC was developed more than a decade ago. DSCs, or those cameras that take still pictures without the use of film, have yet to be popular among the general public because of their prices.

Analysts, however, estimate that DSC’s sales worldwide would grow by 60 to 70 percent this year, mainly because of decreasing prices and increasing Internet use. With this forecast, the need for photo printers which can produce high-quality pictures is also expected to grow.

Toshio Kimura, Epson senior managing director, said that prior to the PIM’s development, it has been difficult to accurately print digital photographs which are faithful to the original intentions of the photographer.

"Though digital cameras can capture a wider range of colors, printers have not been able to access the data because the images were optimized for the limited sRGB color space of the typical computer monitor," he said.

He added that other critical image parameters such as gamma settings, contrast, sharpness, brightness, saturation, shadow and highlight points and color balance applied to the image through the camera were lost in the printing process and could not be seen in the final printout.

"This inherent problem has been rectified, with results being more outstanding and truer colors delivered overall," he said.

During the same event, Epson also launched its Stylus Photo 895, its first PIM-equipped inkjet printer. Boasting 2,880 dpi resolution, the six-color printer can produce photo quality images with or without borders.

The Stylus Photo 895 also offers direct printing capability without a computer. One has to simply insert a memory card from a digital camera to the printer’s slot and presto, a photograph comes out in just several minutes.

Epson introduced, too, an upgraded digital camera called PhotoPC 3100Z. Already PIM-enabled, this DSC can capture more than three million picture elements or pixels for ultrasharp images.

For more information on the PIM, visit www.epson.com.