Sony Unveils New Professional Digital Photo Printer Lineup

LAS VEGAS – Sony Electronics is expanding its line-up of professional digital photo printers with the introduction of new and enhanced models at the Photo Marketing Association show.

Sony’s printer offerings range from quick retail solutions for passport photos and on-demand photo greeting cards to streamline solutions designed to eliminate reliance on commercial and professional labs.

The lineup is highlighted by the new UP-GR700 digital photo printer, Sony’s latest on-site solution for professional studio, portrait, wedding and event photographers.

This new model is the industry’s first printer to offer Sony’s ProMatte™ finish, a patented, professional portrait finish with a fine raster texture to give media the look and feel of traditional photo paper.

To protect professionally created images, photos are watermarked with the words “Professional Photos are Protected by Copyright” on the back.

“With the new UP-GR700 printer, photographers and retailers can deliver high-quality, matte-finish photos on-site and on-demand, a capability that was once only reserved for commercial and professional photo labs,” said Lynda Falby, Sony Electronics’ marketing manager for digital photofinishing products. “The ability to provide customers with high-quality, customized photo packages on-site helps retailers expand their services and generate additional revenue opportunities. It also helps increase customer satisfaction, as customers can choose their images and packages immediately before walking out the door with photos in hand. No waiting, no return trip.”

In addition to the photo quality, the UP-GR700 printer is fast and versatile. When used with third-party software, it can print photo packages in multiple sizes from wallet to 8 by 12-inch prints.

With its included Windows drivers, it produces ProMatte 8 by 10-inch prints in about 53 seconds, and ProMatte 8 by 12-inch prints in about 58 seconds. A glossy 8 by 10-inch print is produced in about 43 seconds, and a glossy 8 by 12-inch print is produced in about 48 seconds. (The print speed does not include data transfer time.)

Users will not have to worry about swapping out media since the model offers both glossy and ProMatte prints from the same media pack, and has a high capacity design that holds 170 8 by 10-inch prints or 150 8 by 12-inch prints per pack.

Rounding out the UP-GR700 model’s user-friendly feature set is its front-loading design, which allows easy replacement of paper and ink ribbon, and its PC and Macintosh® compatibility that enhances flexibility.

UPX-C100 SnapID Passport System

Other PMA highlights from Sony include the new UPX-C100 SnapID™ passport system to help retailers profit from the surge in demand for passport photos. The tethered system includes a 5-megapixel digital still camera with an auto preview option to review captured images, and features a USB 2.0 interface for high-speed transfers of image data.

The camera offers five custom image capture settings that allow users to easily preset combinations, which may include exposure value and flash settings for different skin tones and lighting conditions.

The UP-DR150 Digital Photo Printer

The new UP-DR150 high-speed digital roll printer with faster speeds and higher throughput will be shown at PMA. This enhanced printer can now produce 500 4 by 6-inch prints per hour. Speeds have also increased to about 6.6 seconds for a 4 by 6-inch print, and about 12 seconds for a 5 by 7-inch print (actual print time).

UP-CX1 Digital Photo Printer

The new UP-CX1 model is a part of the show lineup designed to produce vibrant, 4 by 8 photo greeting cards with Sony’s applicatons software. The printer can also produce 3.5 by 5-inch, 4 by 6-inch and 5 by 7-inch digital photos.

Print speeds are fast: about 13 seconds for 3.5 by 5-inch prints; about 16 seconds for 4 by 6-inch prints; about 17 seconds for 5 by 7-inch prints; and about 21 seconds for 4 by 8-inch photo greeting cards (actual print time).

SnapLab Digital Photo System

Another key product in Sony’s lineup is the SnapLab™ digital photo system, an “on-location photo lab” that provides quick, premium quality digital prints from an easy-to-use tabletop unit for both commercial and prosumer use. It features an on-board LCD screen and inputs for a variety of the most popular digital media.

The printer can produce 3.5 by 5-inch digital photo prints in about 13 seconds, 4 by 6-inch digital photo prints in about 16 seconds, and a 5 by 7-inch digital photo in about 17 seconds.

The SnapLab system features a robust set of editing tools, which include Zoom and Crop, rotate, color adjustment, red-eye reduction and sepia or black and white transformation. Custom designed borders can be loaded onto the system for logos, event names or to create decorative frames, greeting cards and announcements.

PictureStation Systems

The four latest PictureStation™ systems will also be featured. They begin with the PS500DLX3/BL kiosk system that is equipped with three printers: two high-speed UP-DR150 roll printers, the UPD75 printer and a scanner for print-to-print pictures. Then there is the PS500DLX4/BL system, which is similar but offers a fourth printer, the new UP-CX1 4- by 8-inch photocard model. Both of these systems print wallet-sized, 3.5 by 5-inch, 4 by 6-inch, 5 by 7-inch and 8 by 10-inch digital photos.

The other two new systems include the PS500CTR/150 countertop model with a UP-DR150 printer, and the PS500CTR/X1 model with a UP-CX1 printer. Each offers fast, quality output for high productivity, more print sizes and digital scrapbooking software.

The UP-GR700 digital photo printer is currently available through authorized resellers for a suggested list price of $4,450. The UPX-C100 SNAP ID digital printing system, the UP-DR150, the UP-CX1 and the SnapLab digital photo printers are now available through authorized resellers for suggested list prices of $895, $2,595, $1,250, $1,995, respectively.

The PS500DLX4/BL, PS500DLX3/BL, PS500CTR/150 and PS500CTR/X1 PictureStation systems are now available through authorized resellers for suggested list prices of $14,500, $13,525, $6,000 and $4,950, respectively.