YORK, Penn.—Analytical Design Solutions Inc., developers of the KioWare Kiosk Software, and OneSource Interactive have announced the release of PicsWare, a portable photo tagging solution that syncs up and sends pictures to print-on-demand kiosks.
PicsWare is designed for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry but is uniquely suited for the cruise industry. Cruise photographers take a picture and scan a passenger's ID card in order to tag the photo as that passenger. The system integrates a Wi-Fi camera with a handheld computer running PicsWare Mobile. The computer has a card scanner, which tags the picture to that passenger and syncs it up to a centralized server. The server then distributes the pictures to print-on-demand kiosk stations, which attract customers by rotating through the various pictures snapped.
Once at the kiosk, customers can retrieve their photos by scanning their ID card at the kiosk. They also have the ability to search by time, date, event, group and other activity-related criteria. Customers can then print their pictures, download them, or share them with family and friends online.
Edward Crowley, co-founder of PicsWare, said, "It can sometimes be difficult to locate one picture among the sea of other smiling faces. PicsWare creates a more efficient way to find these pictures, while increasing the overall passenger experience."
The software can provide a rapid ROI, multiple opportunities to increase revenue and the ability to gain press attention for going green.
ROI can be seen immediately because the kiosks free wall space for other profitable uses, such as advertising. In addition, the solution eliminates the need for manned POS stations while it provides an opportunity for supplementary revenue streams through ads and promotions on the kiosk, as well as post-cruise purchasing opportunities. Passengers can charge pictures to their room and print on-demand at the kiosks. The pictures can also be posted online after the cruise, allowing passengers to share with others and giving them a second chance to purchase the pictures.
At the same time, the print-on-demand feature helps make the ship more environmentally friendly by eliminating the need to print pictures that aren't purchased. The kiosks can offer a more "green" marketing approach by grabbing attention with a secondary monitor or other forms of digital signage, flashing the pictures in front of consumers.
