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Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., and its Graphic Communications Group are launching a Web 2.0 community for graphic communications businesses. Kodak’s Graphic Community is an online world where users can build strategic relationships with business partners anywhere to create new revenue opportunities, says the company. Kodak is providing membership in this community free to all users of Kodak Insite Software Version 5.5 and to users of upcoming releases of products from the newly acquired Design2Launch, a Kodak company. Kodak’s Graphic Community is established to promote efficiencies and collaboration between Kodak’s workflow customers. 

Kodak to increase prices up to 20 percent on select consumables

Eastman Kodak Co.,

Rochester, N.Y., will increase prices on a select range of consumable products across its businesses on a worldwide basis by as much as 20 percent, depending on the product line and geography. The increases are a result of rising prices of key raw materials, especially silver and aluminum, as well as the rising cost of petroleum, says the company.

  Kodak previously noted the impact of these raw material costs during a conference call with investors following announcement of its first-quarter results on May 1. The price increases will help alleviate some of the impact of rising raw materials costs.

  The increases will be rolled out by product group and geography in the coming weeks, and the company expects them to be implemented by July 1.

  In recent weeks, Fujifilm Corp., DNP Photo Marketing, and Mitsubishi Paper Mills Ltd. all announced price increases on consumables based on reasons similar to those cited by Kodak. 

The United States files suit against European Union over taxes on high-tech devices

The United States recently filed suit against the European Union (EU) over tariffs on three kinds of popular high-tech gadgets, reports The Wall Street Journal. The EU taxes imports of set-top boxes, used to convert outside signals into sound and images on a television; flat computer screens; and multifunction electronics such as printer-fax machines. U.S. companies such as HP Co. believe those goods should be covered under a 1997 World Trade Organization treaty that guarantees tariff-free access for all information-technology products, says the article.

  The EU imports of the three high-tech products totaled US$11 billion last year. The EU says the products aren’t covered under the 1997 deal and shouldn’t be considered high-tech because they compete with traditional media. 

Microsoft signs search distribution deal with HP

In a bid to boost its Web search traffic, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp. announced a deal to make its Live Search the default on HP Co. personal computers shipped in the United States and Canada, starting in January, reports The Associated Press. The deal also calls for Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP to install copies of Internet Explorer with an extra Live Search toolbar on those computers. Microsoft said the toolbar also links to HP services such as its Snapfish digital photo printing site.