TORONTO, Canada — TouchPoint Solutions Inc., which provides QuickPIX digital photo finishing and Catapult software, and Sony of Canada Ltd., a supplier of electronic and computer products, have announced plans to deploy self-serve photo-processing kiosks in retail locations across Canada, according to a press release.
The new kiosks combine QuickPIX and Catapult software with Sony’s photo-printing technology into an interactive self-serve kiosk. The kiosks enable users to purchase instant digital prints as well as CD archives of their personal photographs through a touchscreen interface, the release noted
Sony of Canada plans to introduce the kiosks to national consumer electronics stores across Canada, the release added. Sony also expects to expand the new kiosk network to include a variety of venues where Sony products are available.
"On their collaboration with TouchPoint Solutions, Sony [of Canada] has been able to leverage TouchPoint’s expertise in self-service technology to strengthen and evolve our ‘Prints by Sony’ initiative to deliver new photo-related services in new places, the way that consumers want them — and in a way that empowers retailers to provide them profitably," said Rick Perkins, product manager at Sony of Canada.
According to the release, a study conducted by U.S. firm InfoTrends Research Group revealed a 133 percent increase among digital camera users who purchased digital photo finishing services at the retail level in 2003. The study cited growth in consumers’ awareness of those services and the high value consumers place in the quality of retail prints as the primary influences on the results, the release added.
