Industry Giants Rally Behind Open Standard for Digital Imaging ORLANDO, Fla.--Feb. 25, 2002--Hewlett-Packard Company, Adobe Systems Incorporated and Eastman Kodak Company today announced their endorsement of Exchangeable Image File Format 2.2 (Exif Print). Exif Print is an internationally supported, open standard file format that enables users to capture and display vibrant digital images with accurate colors. With Exif Print, users experience improved quality and consistency of digital photos, enabling them to capture and share images without risk of degraded image integrity. "With the growing consumer adoption of digital imaging, it is essential that consumers are able to share high-resolution, high-quality images across devices and platforms easily,'' said Evan Smouse, director of strategic technology, HP Imaging and Printing Systems. "Exif Print delivers compatibility, consistent results and overall consumer confidence.'' Digital cameras compress images into a JPEG format, enabling applications that support JPEG to read the image. Exif Print offers greater control by encoding information such as exposure time, contrast, white balance and color saturation by "tagging'' it onto the standard header of JPEG files. This new image refinement assures continuity of image color composition, regardless of how images are captured, shared, enhanced, displayed and ultimately printed. "We have long had a goal of ensuring consistent color reproduction from Photoshop and our other applications, and we're glad that this new Exif specification will make that consistency easier to achieve for digital camera users,'' said Kevin Connor, director of digital imaging, Adobe. "A true consumer-oriented digital photography system needs to work with a wide range of digital cameras, software and printing systems, reduce complexity and ensure consistently high-quality results,'' said Ken Parulski, senior technical associate and manager of standards, Digital & Applied Imaging, Eastman Kodak Company. "We feel Exif 2.2-enabled systems will fulfill this promise.'' The benefits of Exif Print can be articulated simply by understanding what is known as the "5-C Power'' of Exif Print -- the perfect combination of choice, color, control, convenience and confidence: * Choice: As an internationally supported open standard, Exif Print offers convenience of interoperability. This means that high-quality images can be realized from digital photography systems using many different devices that capture, enhance, store, display or print images. * Color: Exif Print allows a standardized color description so users and devices have more control over optimizing the imaging experience. Because Exif Print is compatible with ICC, a high-end professional color management system, users can have the control they need. * Control: Digital devices with Exif Print can automatically deliver highly predictable, optimal quality images with standardized color. With Exif Print, consumers don't have to worry about incompatibility between the displayed image and the final print. * Convenience: With Exif Print's extensive imaging information and extended color support, companies can manufacture high-quality digital imaging products that are easy to use. Consumers can focus on creating and sharing images, without worrying about image quality or device compatibility. * Confidence: Exif Print provides consumers with interoperability and increased functionality across a range of digital imaging products. Since Exif Print is compatible across a variety of products and supported industry-wide, consumers can create, build, upgrade and expand their digital imaging systems with confidence, ensuring that their precious memories will be preserved for the future.