ATHENS, February 26, 2004: An imaging science breakthrough allowing professionals and consumers to easily create genuine 3D photography as well as all existing lenticular effects (flip, morph zoom, layered 3D) using existing, mainstream equipment, will be revealed at the DRUPA 2004 tradeshow, it was announced today. HumanEyes President and CEO Gideon Ben-Zvi, whose company is a sponsor and exhibitor at this week’s pre-DRUPA press event here, says that HumanEyes’ advanced lenticular solutions will be demonstrated at various locations throughout DRUPA, including the Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) exhibit located in Hall 16, 16B45 & 16C45. HumanEyes’ patented technology is the result of a technological breakthrough by Hebrew University Professor Shmuel Peleg, HumanEyes’ CTO and world-renowned computer vision expert; and two of his students; Dr Moshe Ben-Ezra and Yael Pritch. The three, who still play active roles in the company, achieved what has been heretofore considered impossible: combining 3D stereo and panorama. Conquering optical limitations that have existed for over 90 years has resulted in today’s HumanEyes product line , which allows users to employ ordinary digital cameras, printers, and presses to automatically create and output stereoscopic 3D pictures with minimal effort. “When I first saw this,” says Benny Landa, HumanEyes Board Director and founder, Chairman and Chief Executive of the former Indigo, today an HP company, “I realized that HumanEyes’ foremost job would only be to show the world, quite literally, that everything they thought about 3D could finally be put behind us. This is a new benchmark -- a new standard -- for lenticular applications; and the standard is as close as any of us has ever seen to natural sight.” Ben-Zvi elaborates, saying that in addition to its unique ability to replicate continuous, natural depth, which is primarily attributed to a non-layer-based method; the HumanEyes solutions transform the entire lenticular production process as it is known. “Gone are the days of having to buy expensive, specialized equipment and costly upgrades to achieve what always amounted to a second rate 3D effect,” Ben-Zvi says. “We’ve automated the capture, interlacing, everything.” Impressing a Tough Crowd Major Brands Coca Cola, Viacom, Modell’s and Captain Morgan are just a few of the earliest end-users of HumanEyes technology. Major Print & Production Houses Augustus Martin, the UK's largest producer of printed POP, outdoor media and moving images, is one of a slew of worldwide production and printing houses that moved quickly to adopt HumanEyes. Others include the New York/New Jersey metro area’s Sign Expo and Nomad Worldwide, Belgium’s Crea, Spain’s Panorama, Top Technologies of Chile, Nishikawa Printing Co. of Japan, and the U.K.’s Rotaset. Terry Smith, also in the U.K., is an early adopter that will also host the first HumanEyes 3D Community Open House, where top graphic professionals and photographers will be introduced to each other and given a hands-on demonstration of HumanEyes technology. Major Photographers Prestigious photographers such as Katrina De Leon, partners Ed Elliot & Eileen Lerner, Trudy Schlachter, Donna Callighan, and Paula Barr have also employed HumanEyes in their work. Says Barr, a fine art portrait photographer photographer based in New York, U.S.A, “As an artist who has worked on very large projects I come to partnering with HumanEyes with much experience in collaboration. The company, the support, the product, the technical expertise, and most of all the professionalism – are all on the level of excellence.” When 3D Works, It’s a Natural “3D is one of those things that the child in all of us always knew could be something incredible one day,” says Yoav Chelouche, HumanEyes Chairman of the Board and former Scitex President and CEO. “HumanEyes is delivering on that dream to the benefit of business, and especially consumer-goods companies and their creative and production partners, worldwide.” Statistics such as the following show 3D, and especially HumanEyes 3D, to be a powerful medium: Coca Cola reported an 11% point of purchase sales increase in locations where it placed HumanEyes pictures. An independent market study conducted by Market Watch concluded that 88% of those sampled preferred 3D HumanEyes advertisements in relation to 2D advertisements. 3D increases stopping power of advertisement by 5 times in relation to 2D pictures, according to Market Watch. 3D increases staying power of advertisement by 4 times in relation to 2D pictures, according to Market Watch. Applications There are endless applications for HumanEyes images. Whether customers want litho or digital prints, HumanEyes provides innovative solutions guaranteed to catch everyone's eye. Distribution HumanEyes is seeking distribution and OEM partners worldwide as it prepares for its DRUPA 2004 launch. The company will maintain its direct sales operations under the guidance of Amir Veresh. In Europe, Veresh is inviting those interested in reselling the product line (see addendum) to contact him at [email protected]. In North America, HumanEyes marketing advisor Daniel Herzka is overseeing the establishment of a distribution channel beginning immediately. HumanEyes has already set up a distribution channel in South America and interested parties should contact Ariel Stroh – [email protected] Human Eyes 3D Communities To demonstrate HumanEyes capabilities to the largest numbers of professionals who have the capacity to work together and benefit from its use, the company has devised a 3D Community program that it will support with education, marketing, networking, and product line discounts. The goal of HumanEyes 3D Communities will be to rapidly identify and “connect” co-located photographers, printers, prepress, and other graphic arts professionals who do, or would like to, utilize lenticular applications in regions throughout the world. Local printers or resellers will host open houses or participate in one-on-one demonstrations to prove the ease of use and superior imaging capabilities of HumanEyes. These printers and resellers can serve as central points of contact for the 3D Community by continuing to host demonstrations and educational sessions, and to support networking of community members. HumanEyes will also host all 3D Communities via its website, so that professionals can search and find suppliers, partners, and customers; whether they are in their geographic region or not. To encourage use, HumanEyes will make its photography capture application free to professional photographers working with high-end reproduction facilities; and is also creating “Lite” Print and View versions to be bundled with off the shelf digital cameras, printers, and 3D monitors. The first HumanEyes 3D Community Open House Event will be hosted by HumanEyes, KBA and Terry Smith, and will take place at Terry Smith headquarters in London on Thursday, March 18, 2004, at11am – 4pm. Those interested in attending should contact Sivan Spieler – [email protected].