Milestones - 1998

January 8, 1998 - Kodak's redesigned home page is up and on-line. www.kodak.com/go/further showcases cutting-edge applications and information using digital photography, animation, plug-ins, and other exciting technologies. Visitors can also enjoy a rotating feature article reflecting the individual and emotional aspects of photography and Kodak products and services. "The new kodak.com builds on our original vision for the site - to strengthen relationships with our customers," said Kathleen Sheehan, manager of the site.

February 2, 1998 - With the new KODAK PROFESSIONAL DCS 520 Digital Camera, professional photographers can increase their productivity by using less consumables, shortening image workflow procedures, and extending the time they have before deadlines (because of their immediate access to images). Images taken with this camera anywhere in the world can be made available immediately and appear on a printed page within one hour. The DCS 520 camera's variable ISO of 200 - 1600, real-time LCD image verification and analysis, and state-of-the-art Canon SLR camera features make this possible. Developed by Kodak in conjunction with Canon from specifications outlined by leading photojournalists and commercial photographers, this camera is an ideal example of Kodak responding to customers' needs.

February 12, 1998 - Visitors to the Kodak booth at PMA saw a variety of new films and digital products for both the amateur and professional markets, including:

• a black-and-white APS film
• the world's first non-SLR 5X zoom APS camera
• film scanners for APS pictures
• a switchable one-time-use camera with a choice of two print formats and the fastest flash recharge time of any one-time-use camera on the market
• Kodak's lowest priced digital camera, the KODAK DIGITAL SCIENCE™ DC200 Camera

February 12, 1998 - Kodak announced its lowest priced yet digital camera, the KODAK DIGITAL SCIENCE™ DC200 Camera with "megapixel" (million pixels per image) image quality. The camera looks and operates like a conventional point-and-shoot camera and fits into a coat pocket. It has built-in automatic flash and a 1.8-inch color liquid crystal display that serves both as a viewfinder and as a viewer for reviewing, organizing, and deleting pictures. The software shipped with the DC200 camera lets even novice computer users make basic corrections, send pictures via e-mail, and print their pictures to the KODAK Picture Network or KODAK IMAGE MAGIC Print Service. The camera is compatible with virtually any computer platform.

February 12, 1998 - Kodak and PictureVision, Inc., announced that PictureVision will become a subsidiary of Kodak. PictureVision's digital PhotoNet™ online network products, combined with Kodak's brand name and marketing capabilities, will bring wider choices to consumers for sharing their pictures quickly, easily, and inexpensively. They'll now be able to scan film images or photos into the digital network, transmit the images, and then obtain a variety of hardcopy output, ranging from reprints and enlargements to gifts and specialty items.

March 16, 1998 - Kodak announced it will grant stock options to regular, full-time, non-management employees worldwide. This will help employees think and act like owners of the company, sharing in the success and the value that they help create. They will have ten years to exercise their option to purchase 100 shares of common stock, at a price to be determined on April 2, 1998. The stock will vest at the end of two years.

April 30, 1998 - Kodak and Intel Corporation announced a series of agreements with the goal of expanding the way people create, store, use, and share pictures, by removing the boundaries between digital and traditional imaging. New Intel scanning equipment in Kodak's Qualex photofinishing labs will make available an easy, low-cost way to put photos onto CD-ROMs for use on home computers and in picture kiosks nationwide. Collaborative consumer-oriented marketing efforts will focus on educating consumers about digital imaging, targeting both those who are computer savvy and those who are not.

April 6, 1998 - Kodak Polychrome Graphics announced its intention to acquire Horsell Anitec, a global supplier of graphic arts films, plates, and paper products. Polychrome has projected annual sales of more than $1.5 billion in products and services to customers in the pre-press and printing industry around the world.

May 19, 1998 - America Online and Kodak announced an alliance to offer AOL members an exclusive online service. Members will be able to have their processed pictures delivered to their "You've Got Pictures!" box on AOL. They will also be able to order reprints, enlargements, and other personalized merchandise from photo retailers and to let friends and relatives have access to the images, for viewing and ordering. Consumers will be doing more with their photos than ever, unleashing the power of pictures.

June 3, 1998 - Kodak announced a large-format digital print service. Users of aerial and remote sensing images can now obtain high-quality, cost-effective photographic prints of up to 4 x 8 feet (1.20 x 2.40 m) in size for use in displays and presentations.

• Digital solutions for retailers, such as the new digital lab system
• Digital solutions for consumers, such as an enhanced version of Kodak's DC210 zoom digital camera and new inkjet media products
• New networking solutions, such as Kodak PhotoNet™ online picture-sharing service
• A new generation of KODAK ADVANTIX Cameras, including two ultra-compact cameras
• A new 35 mm color-reversal film (with the highest color saturation of any 100-speed consumer slide film) and three new 35 mm cameras
• State-of-the-art products for professional photographers, including films and papers for portrait and wedding photographers, an improved ISO 800 color negative film for photojournalists, and a top-of-the-line professional digital camera

• The KODAK ADVANTIX T500 Autofocus and T550 Autofocus Cameras are sleek, ultra-compact cameras small enough to fit into the palm of a hand. Consumers will love their portability and durability. The T550 camera also features Sensalite™ flip-up flash technology to reduce red-eye.
• The KODAK ADVANTIX C300 Auto, C400 Autofocus, C650 Zoom, and C700 Zoom Cameras offer more advanced features to help snapshooters get great pictures every time.
• The KODAK ADVANTIX F300 Auto Camera is an easy-to-use and affordable point-and-shoot model that introduces beginner picture-takers to the benefits of the Advanced Photo System (APS).

September 16, 1998 - Kodak introduced at Photokina a family of four new color negative films designed especially for the professional photographer. KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA 160NC, 160VC, 400NX, and 400VC Films give a choice of film speeds and color saturation—natural color (NC) for controlled lighting situations and vivid color (VC) for more brilliant colors. Regardless of the film speed or the format, the prints should look the same. These films can also capture those hard-to-reproduce colors, because the individual color layers respond to color in a way very similar to how the human eye does.

To maximize the results of the new PORTRA Films, Kodak introduced a new KODAK PROFESSIONAL SUPRA III Color Paper and improved its KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA III Paper. They eliminate color variations due to reciprocity failure, so that prints of different sizes and from different film formats will match in color balance and saturation. This is a great boon when filling an order for several sizes from the same negative or when shooting an assignment on multiple formats.

October 22, 1998 - The Image Bank (TIB, a subsidiary of Kodak) announced the acquisition of Artville of Madison, Wisconsin. TIB’s customers can benefit from the best royalty-free images available, be they photographs, illustrations, or motion picture film. Not only are the images chosen for their unique content but they are especially targeted to the advertising, design, and corporate segments. Designers and art directors working with restricted budgets, who don’t require exclusive use of images, will find TIB an even more valuable resource option with the addition of Artville’s 13,000 image library.

October 28, 1998 - In 1962, John Glenn used Kodak film to record his reactions to traveling through space at 17,400 mph. On his 1998 trip, he and the other members of the STS-95 crew again used a Kodak product, a modified KODAK PROFESSIONAL DCS 460 Digital Camera to capture critical mission moments and awesome views of the Earth. Kodak and NASA posted the pictures on their web sites for near real-time public viewing. Visitors to the Kodak site were able to order prints from the collection and to read about John Glenn’s return to space in a regularly updated feature story, "Space Snapshots". Other Kodak contributions during its more than 30-year involvement with the space program included special cameras for the lunar orbiter and Apollo missions, the Hubble Space Telescope’s back-up mirror, the "eyes" of the Mars Pathfinder Rover, the digital camera payload on IKONOS 1, and the telescope system developed for NASA’s space-based X-ray observatory, AXAF.

October 29, 1998 - Kodak provided high resolution motion images for the first High Definition Television (HDTV) broadcast of a space launch. The footage included films from John Glenn’s 1962 orbit and other space flights from NASA’s archives. Kodak scanned the historic films on the Philips Spirit Datacine film scanner to transfer them to the new digital format. These plus recently shot 35mm motion images of the space shuttle and launch preparations were interspersed throughout the 70-minute HDTV transmission, which was made available in 20 cities. Coming two days before the official start of digital TV in the U.S., many stations moved their on-air dates ahead to accommodate the broadcast.

November 18, 1998 - People could now interact with their animated friends using digital photos. Kodak and Disney have agreed to feature Disney animated characters and live-action movie scenes in KODAK Sticker Prints kiosks and KODAK Fantasy Theaters, which were located in nearly 1000 movie theaters, retail stores, theme parks, and other tourist attractions throughout the USA. This seemingly magical technology was similar to that used to create special effects in movies, making it possible for people to create stickers of themselves with Mickey Mouse, for instance, or prints and posters of themselves standing on a leaf with Flik, the lead character in A Bug’s Life. These digital photos could turn a trip to the movies into a personal experience.

December 1, 1998 - Kodak and Imation Corp announced the completion of Kodak’s acquisition of Imation’s medical imaging businesses in North America, Latin America, and Asia. "We believe that there are tremendous opportunities in health imaging that expand beyond traditional diagnostic markets, where we have competed for over a century. This acquisition brings important technology, physical assets, and top-notch individuals needed for us to take full advantage of those opportunities," said Martin Coyne, Vice President of Kodak.

December 2, 1998 - Photo retailers named Eastman Kodak Company’s Picture Maker kiosk "Top Product of the Year" in a survey run by Photo Trade News. These kiosks could remove red-eye, do quick and easy color corrections, and zoom or crop to select and print the best part of a photo. "Picture Maker brings the unwired of the world into the fun of digital imaging," said the magazine’s editor Mike McEnaney. Kodak saw them as central to the company’s strategy to help consumers take their film-based photos into the digital environment.

December 3, 1998 - Kodak donated to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum the KODAK DCS 460 Digital Camera that John Glenn and his fellow astronauts used during their recent space flight. The camera captured high-resolution images for real-time transmission back to Earth. Kodak has played a key role from the beginnings of the space program with a variety of photographic and digital imaging products for scientists and astronauts to document their work and experiences.

December 8, 1998 - The World Environment Center (WEC) awarded their 1999 Gold Medal for International Corporate Environmental Achievement to Kodak, for the company’s closed-loop reuse/recycling programs for its single-use cameras and for a variety of photographic waste, including packaging. The WEC judges especially liked Kodak’s redesign of what initially was a disposable camera into one that comes back as many as 10 times for recycling and reuse of its components. The award looks for a company’s exemplary environmental policy, globally uniform application of that policy, and a leadership that sets new corporate boundaries.

December 14, 1998 - Some of Kodak’s solid-state imaging sensors were on board the Mars Climate Orbiter, launched on December 11 to gain a better understanding of Mars’s atmosphere and climate history. The sensors helped the spacecraft’s two cameras acquire images in up to eight colors and two ultraviolet spectral bands. Another Kodak sensor was in the Mars Descent Imager, which was mounted under the craft to capture black-and-white images as the craft descended through Mars’s atmosphere.