Fujifilm Earns Top Honors for Digital Innovation, Industry Leadership
Press release from the issuing company
ELMSFORD, N.Y.--March 20, 2002-- Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. received a number of top honors for digital innovation, industry leadership and promotion at the recent Photo Marketing Association (PMA) 2002 Annual International Trade Show & Convention in Orlando, FL. Three Fujifilm FinePix digital cameras -- the FinePix 2600 ZOOM, FinePix 6900 ZOOM and FinePix 30i - each earned awards, as did the Frontier 370 Digital Lab System. In addition, Fujifilm earned top honors in both the "Consumer Supplier Firm'' and "Professional Supplier Firm'' categories from the PMA, and Bill DiMinno, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Photo Imaging Group of Fujifilm, received the PMA Distinguished Service Award.
"We are delighted that our products, our promotional activities and our people all received such prestigious awards and honors at this year's PMA,'' said Stanley E. Freimuth, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. "This wide range of awards underscores our commitment to being the leader in imaging and information, particularly in digital imaging. We are gratified that the industry has recognized our technological innovation and our overall commitment to the imaging marketplace and all of its key audiences - retailers, consumers, professionals and business customers.''
The FinePix 2600 ZOOM was the winner of the "Point-and-Shoot Category: $200-$299'' in the 6th Annual Digital Camera Shoot-Out sponsored by the Digital Imaging Marketing Association (DIMA), a section of PMA. To ensure the highest image quality and consistency, all of the images from the point-and-shoot cameras entered in the DIMA Digital Camera Shoot-Out were printed on Fujifilm's Frontier 370 Digital Lab System, which won top honors in the "Photo Print: Digital Mini Lab'' category in the annual DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out.
In addition, the FinePix 6900 ZOOM earned an "Excellence in Imaging'' award from Pepcom Inc. and its DigitalFocus showcase series as the winner in the "Mid-Range Digital Camera'' category, and the FinePix 30i was a Finalist in the "Entry-Level Digital Camera'' category. The awards were announced on the evening before PMA 2002 opened in Orlando.
In the PMA biennial Promotion Competition, Fujifilm swept both of the Supplier awards - for Consumer Markets and Professional Markets -- for its "Do You Speak Fuji?'' advertising strategy, which included both television spots and print advertisements in consumer, retail and photography publications.
"The impetus behind this strategy was to communicate that Fujifilm is a leader in the imaging field and is more than `just' film,'' said Joan Rutherford, Vice President of Advertising and Marketing Communications at Fujifilm. "The idea was to `demystify' digital technology and help people become comfortable printing their digital images.''
In addition to the product and promotion honors at PMA 2002, Bill DiMinno, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Photo Imaging Group, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc., was one of five prominent photo industry members to receive the PMA Distinguished Service Award at PMA. The award is given each year to individuals whose exemplary, lifelong careers and dedication to the photo imaging industry have contributed to the betterment of the industry as a whole.
"I am honored to receive this very prestigious award from PMA,'' said DiMinno. "Over more than three decades in the industry, I have personally seen the industry grow, expand and change in many ways. However, despite all of that growth, I believe that we have never before had such a bright future ahead of us.''
DiMinno's career has spanned more than 35 years in the photo imaging industry at such companies as GAF Corp., Konica U.S.A. Inc., Moto Photo, Noritsu and, since 1989, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. He has held a variety of executive positions with Fujifilm since starting as National Sales manager of Photofinishing Equipment. He has been instrumental in numerous sales and marketing initiatives and product development projects for both the Consumer Markets and Commercial Imaging Divisions of Fujifilm.
DiMinno was a featured speaker during the Image Retailing and Processing General Session at this year's PMA.
The Fujifilm honors at PMA come shortly after Fujifilm swept a number of awards in PTN Magazine's annual "Top Products of the Year'' survey, as determined by the magazine's readership. Fujifilm Digital was named the winner in the "Overall Technology'' category for its Super CCD technology, Frontier Digital Lab Systems and Aladdin photo kiosks. Each of these different Fujifilm digital technologies received votes in this category, and the Frontier 370 earned top honors in the "Minilab'' category.
Fujifilm's Superia also earned top honors for "Conventional 35mm Film'' from PTN, while several other Fujifilm films, including Reala and Provia, also received votes. Fujifilm also earned top honors in the "Single-Use Camera'' category for its QuickSnap product family.
Also, Photo Electronic Imaging Magazine presented its 2001 Cool2 Award to Fujifilm's Pictrography 4000II in the "Color Printers: $10,001-$20,000'' category as one of the "most desirable imaging products of the year.''