Camera users take digital to paper, signaling better shots for retailers

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Consumers seem to have located finally the elusive "print" button on their digital cameras.

That was the news from the Photo Marketing Association's annual convention and trade show last month here--a strong hint that better times are ahead or retailers in the photofinishing business.

Show attendees were treated to the latest generation of kiosks and digital minilabs. While there were no revolutionary advancements, vendors are offering more configuration options and enhancements to equipment design ed to better serve consumers' printing needs, and new data indicate that print services are on an upswing. PMA predicts that 40 percent of all digital prints this year will be made at retail.

According to InfoTrends/Cap Ventures data, retail is finally on its way to surpassing home printing, as the number of prints made at stores in 2004 increased to approximately 22 percent of all images captured digitally, up from around 5 percent the previous year. Between September 2003 and August 2004, 37 percent of digital camera owners who printed pictures utilized some kind of retail service either on-site or online.

Uploading photos to retailer's sites for in-store pick up is still in its infancy, but shows significant promise. According to InfoTrends, 7 percent of digital camera owners who printed images did so online and that is expected to increase. Either way, it's a win-win for the drug channel. "There's a world of duality" in how consumers are printing, said Grant Pill director of photo processing at CVS. "There is growth in both markets."

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