Electronic Imaging News

Items are dated as posted to PHOTON - actual press information may be earlier in date of issue. Some items are clearly UK specific and do not carry contact phone numbers. If you're very interested in any of these e-mail the editor.

Thought for the month

PhotoDisc advertisement for European-tailored Photo CD ROM library disks - "The diverse cultures and peoples of Europe at home, on the job, and at leisure".
Lads, in our English phrasebook "on the job" doesn't mean "at work"!
Isn't a multilingual community a wonderful thing?

March 9th 1995

Nikon to launch low-cost 5 x 4 film scanner

Nikon is said to be about to launch a competitor to Microtek's 45t desktop 4 x 5" film scanner. Their model will apparently retail for around the same original RRP and will have a maximum resolution of 3,000dpi. It will also be able to handle rollfilm and 35mm formats, but no indication is yet available of whether the resolution is fixed, or related to the area scanned.
March 9th 1995

Live Picture price slashed

The UK selling price for the FITS-based large picture manipulation and montage program Live Picture was cut at the beginning of March from its original �3,500 pounds sterling to only �795. This move is expected to increase the user-base of the dongle-protected new Version 2.0 greatly. Existing owners, in a move unprecedently generous and honest in the world of software, have received rebates on their purchase or multiple copies complete with dongles. Some of the earliest buyers have been given a total of five copies to compensate them.
March 9th 1995

Microtek 4 x 5 film scanner price cut

At the UK show Focus on Imaging, major dealer KJP were offering the Microtek 45t film scanner reduced from its original UK price of over �6,000 to a much more acceptable �3,950 pounds sterling - and were including both Photoshop and the new reduced-price Live Picture in the deal. This scanner has been tested at Icon (PHOTON publishers) and found to have a dynamic range only marginally less useful than a Leafscan for large format work. Its 1,000dpi base resolution has limited its applications for rollfilm work, as a true resolution of around 1,500dpi is required to enlarge a 6 x 6cm or 6 x 4.5cm transparency to fill a magazine page.
March 9th 1995

Mitsubishi Dye Sub Mac driver

A new Macintosh printer driver for Mitsubishi S3600 and S6600 printers is now available for UK pounds 99.00. The driver allows QuickDraw printing from the print command, but also includes a Photoshop direct Export plug-in. Speeds are said to be very impressive, a 20Mb file exporting in under two minutes.
March 9th 1995

SyQuest 44Mb to be dropped

Production of 44Mb SyQuest drive units is to cease, leaving the 44/88Mb dual standard drive as the entry-level capacity. 44Mb cartridges will continue to be available.
Several March 9th updates are taken from the excellent, informative newsletter of The Vision Corporation Ltd, Talmin House, Hogwood Business Park, Ivanhoe Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 4QQ. They are on CompuServe e-mail via Stephen Slater
21/2/1995

Pic filing and labelling program

BBF PUBLISHING have released a labelling database for photographers. SuperLabel can print labels for 35mm, 6 x 6cm and 5 x 4" transparencies and also organise their filing via the database. The program will work on the most basic of Mac setups, requiring only System 6.05+ and 4MB RAM. SuperLabel V1.3 costs UK �99. They also market PhotoTrack library software. You can e-mail Pat Bensky at BBF.
21/2/1995

Batch CMYK scan processing software

COLORPRO is a new automatic colour correction and separation package from Binuscan. It saves the user from manually sharpening and correcting images in PhotoShop or similar applications. ColorPro runs in the background constantly checking and updating files in a given folder making it ideal for batch or drum scanners. Distributed (UK) by IMC, ColorPro is available for Mac, PowerMac or Windows for �1,395 + VAT.
21/2/1995

Background image clip-photo CDs

FIELD OF VISION are releasing a series of royalty-free Photo CDs which will provide a wide range of backgrounds for the desktop designer to use freely. The first is Art Backgrounds featuring a range of paint and pigment effects, with other titles to follow. The UK cost is �40 (approx $65). For details, call (+44) 171 263 5054, David and Katya Coupland.
21/2/1995

High-res film recorders from IMC

IMC have launched two new digital film recorders, the LFR-MkII and LFR-MKIII. Compatible with Mac or PC they include up to 8Mb of memory and have 4,000 and 8,000 line resolution respectively. Both have an advanced CRT that prevents the common halation effect and can provide 16.8 million colours per image from a palatte of 69 billion. Prices are �11,750 and �18,750 + VAT. The company also produce a range of digitally-controlled film backs for most formats staring at �2,500 + VAT.
21/2/1995

DTP software training videos

MARRUTT LTD are offering a range of instructional videos on a range of Mac and PC software titles. The tapes are �39.95 each and run for around 90 mins. Courses consist of between four and six tapes and are available for Photoshop 2.5, QuarkXpress, Illustrator, FreeHand, PageMaker and CorelDraw. Discounts of 10% are given if purchasing an entire course.
21/2/1995

Picture Publisher 5.0 upgrade

MICROGRAFX have updated Picture Publisher (Windows rival to Photoshop and Photostyler) to version 5.0. It can be run on 386 or upwards PC compatibles with a minimum of 4MB RAM (with 486/8MB recommended). UK Price for the package is around �375 with existing users paying �99 for an upgrade.
21/2/1995

Nikon cut 35mm scanner price

NIKON have cut the UK recommended price of their LS�3510AF film scanner from �6,395 to �4,995. The auto focusing scanner has a resolution of 5,000 x 5,000 pixels and high scan speed. They have also just appointed Direk�Tek as their primary UK electronic imaging distributor.
21/2/1995

Low-cost transparency writer

POLAROID have introduced the HR-6000 Digital Palatte film recorder which can produce high resolution slides directly from electronic media. Conventional or Polaroid transparency film can be used. With optional accessories 3.5 x 4.5" prints, 3 x 4" AutoFilm or 5 x 4" sheet film can also be produced. Polaroid claim high compatability, ease of use and 4,000 line resolution. UK price is �5,750.
21/2/1995

Flicker-free lightbox for scanning

DW VIEWBOXES LTD have a new version of the Quasar lightbox, which incorporates an electronic ballast to eliminate mains pulse flicker. The unit is A3 sized with a A4 opal viewing area illuminated at 5,000K. With it come a series of black cards to mask for all transparency sizes when grabbing stills or taking densitometer readings. A new finish has been used to make it blend into the modern electronic studio.
21/2/1995

Free 33.6 kbps modem upgrade

SONIX COMMUNICATIONS has announced a free software upgrade for owners of its V.34 Volante Fast modem. It will increase the maximum transmission speed, in ideal conditions, from 28.8kbps to 33.6kbps. The modem will automatically choose the optimum transmission rate for the quality of line in use.
21/2/1995

Yamaha multimedia speaker kits

YAMAHA have produced a powered monitor loudspeaker for the computer and multimedia market. The YST-M5s use a wooden cone to provide a rich sound and have the ability to be hooked up to the YST-MSW10 compact sub-woofer to take bass response down to 35Hz. The speakers are magnetically shielded and have an automatic power switch. UK Price is �55 for the M5, and �116 for the MSW10 including VAT and cables.

New double-sided CD format to hold 10 gigabytes

24/1/95 Los Angeles, January 24th 1995: Nimbus Technology and Engineering (NTE) announced today that an agreement has been reached on a new standard for a double-sided CD format for digital video mastering. The new disk, called the Toshiba/Time Warner Digital Video Disc Standard, has been made possible by new NTE mastering equipment developed over the last seven months. A track pitch of 0.725 micrometers combined with double-sided recording enables fifteen times as much data as current CDs to be encoded, around 10 gigabytes or 135 minutes of video better than laserdisc in quality.

NTE is a privately owned company formed two years ago from the original Nimbus Records, which built and run CD manufacturing plants in the UK and USA from 1984 onwards. Since January 1992, NTE has sold twenty laser mastering systems worldwide. The first upgraded laser beam recorder capable of handling the new format will be installed in the USA in February.

The new standard has been agreed by Toshiba Corporation, Time Warner Inc., Matsushite Electric Industrial Co. Ltd (Panasonic, Technics, Quasar), Thomson Consumer Electronics SA (RCA, GE, ProScan), Hitachi Ltd, Pioneer Electronic Corp., MCA Inc., and MGM/UA. Additional support has been announced by Victor Co of Japan Ltd (JVC), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Nippon Columbia Co. Ltd (Denon) and Turner Home Entertainment.

"This is the most powerful group of hardware and software companies ever to propose a new standard", says the press release issued by Nimbus.

Further information can be obtained from Caractacus Downes, at Nimbus, on (+44) 1600 890682, fax (+44) 1600 890779, or request via e-mail to his Compuserve mailbox .