Last week was the pdn PhotoPlus Expo in New York City. The show was well attended and the convention center filled with interested attendees.



Kodak had a great booth at the show.


Kodak's Dave Shelp was showing off the qualities of Kodak Professional Endura Metallic Paper. You have to see photos on this Metallic Paper to believe it. It is so dramatic and striking - it really has a metallic appearance -  it shimmers.



Jeff Heehs was talking to booth visitors about Kodak's Photo and Fine Art Papers like the Kodak Matte Canvas Paper. Photos printed on paper like the Matte Canvas look like works of art that should be hanging in a gallery.

Jeff talks about the paper in this video.





There was lots more at the booth... high speed scanning, kiosks, digital cameras, film and more.



And there were lots of smiling Kodakers ready to assist - pictured here are Tom Lesio, Lori Guarino and Bob Murawski.

Much like Intel considers Ajay Bhatt a rockstar, we have our own rockstar here at Kodak. Steve Sasson, a Kodak research scientist who invented the first digital camera back in 1975, is our rockstar.

We aren't the only ones who know it. The Economist is honoring Steve with an "Innovation Award" in ceremonies in London on October 29. The Economist's Innovation Awards are considered the "Oscars of Innocation".

"Steven has refocused the face of consumer photography by pioneering the first digital camera at Kodak in 1975," said a citation from The Economist, also noting, "Kodak has continually driven innovation at the highest standard in both print and digital photography, as well as within other imaging products."

Steve is receiving the award in the category of Consumer Products and Services. Some other winners of the award in the same category are YouTube founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, video game pioneer Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo, and the Apple iPod team. Wow!

Congratulations Steve! Rock on!

Did you know?

On average, people print about 1500 pictures and documents every year—costing them on average $180 a year on ink.

One year's average saving on ink using Kodak equates to...

65 cups of regular brewed Starbucks coffee
55 tubes of chapstick
31 pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream
44 pairs of Old Navy rubber flip flops
44 Hamburger Happy meals
1 pair of designer jeans
111 songs on iTunes
gas for a drive from NY State to Florida

Kodak wants people to know how much money they can save on printing, so today is the first day of the Kodak Save $110 Tour.

This 110 day tour of retail locations across the US will provide an opportunity for consumers to try out the latest Kodak inkjet printers, the Kodak ESP 3250 and the Kodak  ESP 5250, and learn how they can save them money.

There will also be a chance to win a new Kodak ESP 3250 or ESP 5250 or a $110 Visa gift card at each stop.

You can follow the tour here...

Save $110 Tour webpage
@KodakSave110 Twitter
Save $110 Tour Facebook Event

It may seem like it's too early to think about the holidays, but if you have hot products for the gift giving season you have to start now!



Last week, Kodak was at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York for Holiday Spectacular. It's where the media go to find out what to showcase in their articles and on their web pages in just a few short months.

So what can you look for this year for your holiday gift list?

The Kodak Z950 and M381 Digital Cameras, Zi8 Pocket Video Camera, S730 and D830 Digital Frames, Theatre HD Player, and ESP 5250 and 3250 Inkjet All-in-One Printers.

And don't forget the Kodak Gallery and Kodak Picture Kiosk for great holiday cards and personalized photo gifts.

If you are clicking through Discovery, A&E, Bravo or CNBC this week you might catch the infomercial for the Kodak ESP 7 All-in-One Printer. History, HGTV, Lifetime and USA are also running shorter infomercials for the Kodak ESP 3 this week.

If you watch any of the segments you will see how a Kodak ESP All-in-One Printer can save you $110 per year on ink. * Kodak has everyday low ink prices... $9.99 for black ink and $14.99 for color ink.

Also if you order through the TV offer you get free bonus items... a Kodak Gallery gift pack, a USB cable and free delivery!

Here is a clip from the infomercial if you are curious.



or you can go right to the TV offer web site kodakoffer.com

* Results based on average ink costs of leading consumer inkjet printers using average annual print volumes of 150 4x6 in. color photos (printed on KODAK ULTRA Premium Paper, glossy finish & highest quality photo papers from other manufacturers), 800 black text pages and 550 mixed color graphic pages. Actual results may vary. See www.kodak.com/go/inkdata for details.

After last week's media event with all the new product announcements there are lots of great reviews out there. Here are just a few...


For the Zi8 Pocket Video Camera...

Gizmodo - The Zi8 earns Gizmodo's "bestmodo" tag reserved for the best of the best that the editors review. "The reason the Zi8's video really stands out is image stabilization. This is a much bigger deal than it might sound, because it accomplishes something that might not be immediately obvious: it cuts down on shimmering—that queasy rippling effect you get whenever you move a cheap camcorder too quickly."

CNET - A four-star review from CNET warrants the label "EXCELLENT."  "With the Zi8, Kodak finally surpasses Flip Video's video quality and feature set."

WIRED.com - "In short, if you were thinking of buying a Flip Ultra HD, you should be taking a long look at the Kodak instead."

Engadget -  "The perks of face recognition for improved exposure and gyroscope-based image stabilization are also pretty snazzy at this $180 pricepoint."

PCMag.com - "The Zi8 also offers electronic image stabilization, a rarity among pocket camcorders."



For the Kodak Theatre HD Player...

Engadget - "We didn't have a problem playing 30fps 1080p video on the Kodak Theatre HD Player when we tested it back in January, but apparently we were living on the edge -- the box just got an update officially supporting 1080p playback."

DeviceMag.com - "Another feature to be relished is the-collage view which brings you images from a networked PC sorted by date."



For the Kodak Z950 Digital Camera...

Pocket-Lint.com -  "Sitting at the top of the pile is the Z950, a 12-megapixel 10x optical zoom monster that sports Kodak's "Smart Capture" feature which auto adjusts focus, flash, and exposure."


For the Kodak S730 Digital Frame...

PhotographyReview.com - "The battery powered digital picture frame allows for new ways to enjoy and share digital images."

Whew! That's a lot of good stuff!