RitzBitz

·    Don’t forget to read the May PMA Washington Report online now. This month’s Washington, D.C., news includes information about what Congress is proposing to deal with economy, housing, and energy (particularly gas and diesel prices) challenges. The new Washington Report also looks at the pending consumer product safety reform and equal pay claim rules. Find out all the details by reading the Washington Report, which is available to all PMA members and non-members.

·    Photo Experts Inc.,  Woodside, N.Y., a company in the photo developing industry and a wholesale facility, has selected Lucidiom Inc. as its digital imaging solutions provider. Photo Experts will install more than 300 APM 2000 kiosks at remote dealer locations across New York with order fulfillment at their central wholesale lab facility in Woodside. The kiosks, or automated photo machines (APMs), will include Lucidiom EQ Pro software, providing thousands of photo printing, photo book, creative memory, gifting, and CD/DVD options to the consumer and revenue opportunities for dealers.

·    Photographer Greg Gorman announces a series of week-long Digital Photographic Workshops at his studio adjacent to his oceanfront home in Mendocino, Calif. This workshop series is aimed at any serious photographer looking to enhance lighting, color management, image editing, and fine-art printing skills. The week-long workshops are offered June 8-13, Aug. 3-8, and Sept. 21-26, and are limited to nine attendees each. For $4,250, the workshop provides two models, paper and ink, printers, daily lunches and beverages, color management tools to calibrate monitors, two dinners and two wine tastings, as well as a certified Adobe guest instructor. Attendees are required to bring their portfolio, camera, and laptop computer. Travel and accommodations are excluded, and arranged by attendees.

·    San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe Systems Inc. said it is buying Overlook Center from Normandy Real Estate Partners in Waltham, Mass., reports the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. Included will be an office building shell and core totaling about 108,500-square-feet of space, a parking structure, and site improvements. The transaction is expected to close by May 2009, subject to the agreement’s closing conditions. Adobe currently occupies leased office space in Newton, Mass., for about 200 employees who are engaged in a cross-section of functions, including research and development, marketing, customer support and sales. Once fully complete, Overlook Center will house those employees and provide Adobe with room for continued growth in the Boston area, says the article.

·    signsearch Inc. , Burnsville, Minn.,  the search engine of the sign and graphics industry, announced that companies on the signsearch network can add video and photo galleries to their online profiles. Industry companies can display hosted promotional videos, such as those found on YouTube, directly through their company profile page. Photo galleries are also easily uploaded directly to their profile page. Once a buyer performs a search, a camera or video icon on a company listing indicates that photos or videos are available to view on the company’s profile page. Multiple videos can be presented on a company profile. A single profile can have three separate photo collections with up to 27 images and descriptions.

·    CBS Corp. , New York, N.Y., has reached a deal to buy CNET Networks Inc. at a 45 percent premium, as the TV broadcasting company moves to tap into the Internet to grow its business, reports MarketWatch. CNET Networks operates CNET, ZDNet, GameSpot.com, TV.com, mp3.com, CNET News.com and other websites. Upon closing, CNET Networks sites will be combined with CBS’s interactive businesses, which include CBS.com, CBSSports.com, MaxPreps.com, CBSNews.com, last.fm, Wallstrip, and MobLogic, says the article. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

·    Amplis Foto Inc., Markham, Ontario, Canada, which distributes Hahnemühle products in Canada, said Hahnemühle released a new and upgraded version of the Certificate of Authenticity. The Hahnemühle Certificate of Authenticity was designed to protect the security and genuineness of limited edition art works and reproductions on Hahnemühle paper and to reduce the risk of forgery. Each certificate is made of deckle-edged mould paper with a Hahnemühle watermark and fluorescent security fibres. A serialized numbered hologram can be added. The combination of certificate and hologram assures that each Certificate of Authenticity relates to one particular piece of art. Hahnemühle Certificates are printable on laser and inkjet printers. Packages contain 25 certificates sheets and 50 holograms.

·    InteliCoat Technologies, South Hadley, Mass., expanded its library of ICC profiles to include several new printers. All aqueous, pigment-compatible products are now profiled for both Magic and Magiclée brand inkjet media on the following inkjet printers: HP DesignJet 10000S with Onyx Version 7 RIP; Canon iPF 5100, 6100, 8100 & 9100 with the Canon Driver; Canon iPF 8000S & 9000S with the Canon Driver; Epson Stylus Pro 3800 & 4800 with the Epson Driver for Photo & Matte Blacks; and Epson Stylus Pro 4880, 7880 & 9800 with the Epson Driver for Photo & Matte Blacks.

·    Olympus Imaging America Inc., Center Valley, Pa., sponsor of the U.S. Open and the Olympus U.S. Open Series, announces its second annual national sweepstakes that will send five winners and their guests to the 2008 U.S. Open Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. To enter the contest participants must register their camera with Olympus. Winners will be coached by an Olympus Visionary and will have access to the photographers’ lounge and other locations. Consumers purchasing an Olympus camera between May 13 and July 18 may register to win by completing a registration form at participating retail locations, entering online at www.getolympus.com/register. Registration for the sweepstakes runs through July 18 ! and complete rules are available online.

·    The town of Alys Beach, Fla., will host a unique festival on Labor Day weekend. “Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach” was created to celebrate and promote talented and innovative digital artists. But the event has an unusual twist. Alys Beach has announced numerous award categories and more than $5,000 in cash prizes, including a $2,500 “Best of Show” award. A certain number of qualified artists may also be eligible for cash stipends to help them attend the event. Artists are encouraged to submit their original works of digital art for consideration as soon as possible. Entries may include new or existing abstract digital imagery, short films, photography, VJ sets, animations, YouTube videos, Adobe PhotoShop creations or entirely new interactive concepts. All subject matter is eligible for the festival, although a special $1,000 prize will be awarded to the best entry with a “green” or environmental theme. The deadline for all submissions is July 11. The festival will be held on the evening of Aug. 30.

·    Microstock site iStockphoto, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, the company that offers images online for prices as low as $1, announced it will add royalty-free audio tracks to its collection of downloadable stock content in September. The iStock user community will be able to purchase audio tracks for one to 25 credits and can be used in website production or to complement video footage and presentations. Every time an audio track is downloaded, 20-40 percent of the revenue will go to the contributing sound artist. This business model, known as micropayment, was created by iStockphoto in 2001. iStockphoto is a wholly owned subsidiary of Getty Images, Seattle, Wash.