Online Digital Photographic Processing

Silicon Valley, Cal. November 06, 2013. - "Traditional" photo labs, watch out: a new generation of Web-based photo print services are getting ready to eat your lunch. They have their eyes set on the consumer market, and they are not wasting time.

That is the essence of recent remarks by Frank Simon, founder and CEO of Ecce Terram (Silicon Valley / Germany / New Zealand), the pioneering provider of digital imaging solutions for photo processing centers and leading retailers.

Simon made his comments following the announcement that Wuerzburg, Germany-based flyeralarm GmbH, one of Europe's largest b2b online printers with operations in seven European countries, has launched an online photo print service specifically geared towards consumers.

The new consumer-facing platform, branded as my FLYERALARM, lets online visitors select and design personalized photo products in 11 categories, from photo-imprinted soda cans to high-end photo books. Customers download a client software based on Ecce Terram's Photo2Lab solution. Branded as My Design (for Windows / Mac), it ensures a user-friendly design experience, as well as seamless ecommerce and order processing workflow.

"What impressed us most about the my FLYERALARM team was their forward-thinking approach, focus and keen understanding of today's digital photo services consumer" said Frank Simon. "my FLYERALARM has done its homework. They clearly grasp what their new target market demands now, and where it is heading, and they are determined to use their main advantages, flexibility and speed, to become a major player."

"The current range of photo products is just the beginning," said Stefan Constantin, CEO of my FLYERALARM. "We pride ourselves on being an innovative company and stay on top of the newest trends."

Simon added that his company considers my FLYERALARM a prime example of a new force that is bound to change the photo processing industry. Working with FLYERALARM Ecce Terram added features to its print solution which very much help the customer to visualise what he is buying and provide FLYERALARM with far superior up- and cross-selling tools than online photo labs are currently using.

"Based on recent experience in similar projects, I think it is fair to say that commercial printers seem to be much more flexible, compared to the old guard, in their response to the current shift in the consumer market for photo services and products." Simon said.


“Their mantra is 'time-to-market' - not 'time will tell.”

END.

About ECCE TERRAM Internet Service GmbH
ECCE TERRAM, headquartered in Oldenburg (Germany), is a global enterprise focusing on photo ordering solutions and social media services for digital photo labs, retail chains and printing centers ("Photo2Lab Software Suite"). The company has subsidiaries in the US (Silicon Valley) and New Zealand (Auckland).

About flyeralarm GmbH GmbH
flyeralarm GmbH, based in Würzburg, Germany is one of the largest online printers in Europe. The rapidly expanding group of companies focuses on the manufacture, processing and distribution of printed products. Its portfolio includes printed matter of all kinds, from flyers to bound books. flyeralarm GmbH currently operates five production sites around the metropolitan areas of Würzburg and Dresden. Every day, the print specialist processes 10,000 orders on average and in 2012 generated sales of 260 million euros. flyeralarm GmbH was founded in 2002 and has about 1,500 employees. The company’s international footprint includes the United Kingdom, Italy Austria, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands.

About Photo2Lab
The Photo2Lab Software Suite by ECCE TERRAM offers a complete solution from photo ordering to processing in commercial labs. It includes software applications for Windows, Mac and Linux, along with iOS, Android and social networks, as well as state-of-the-art web applications based on HTML5. The modern connection protocol – TRON – is freely available and is supported by a variety of third party manufacturers.
Along with the core photo order processing functions, aspects such as payment, promotion, and adaptation options for affiliates and partners are taken into consideration as part of the white brand solutions on offer. The product range covered by the Photo2Lab Software Suite includes anything from photo prints to photo gifts and hardcover photo albums. Photo2Lab thus offers a flexibility and openness unique to the industry, with the goal of enabling customers of this solution to reduce costs and reach new target audiences.

Contact
ECCE TERRAM Internet Service GmbH
Frank Simon, CEO
Phone:  +1 678 244 1521
Fax:    +1 404 586 6824
E-Mail: pr@ecce-terram.com

Auckland, NZ / Sydney. 11 April 2013. - Yesterday’s digital imaging solutions are ill-prepared for the rapid market shift driven by mobile media and social networks, says Auckland-based Ecce Terram, a global digital imaging company. It now has launched Photo2Home in Australia, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for large retail chains, commercial printers and online retailers.

To underline the software’s capabilities, Ecce Terram introduced it with a fully working online store (www.photo2home.com.au). The Photo2Home concept enables photo processing and retail industry leaders to realize new revenue streams and new product lines, by offering consumers new levels of convenience.

Photo2Home has already successfully been deployed in the U.S. and in Western Europe. The comprehensive solution for large retailers and processing centers is positioned not to replace, but to fully complement their existing processing technology, thus protecting prior investments, according to Ecce Terram.

The Photo2Home online store was established to show off the strength and flexibility of the underlying technology to industry decision makers and technology buyers, and to introduce them to the broad range of new business opportunities that await large players who are looking to overcome bottlenecks in their existing infrastructure.

Under the tagline “Create your photo products anywhere, at any time,” site visitors are invited to experience the convenience and versatility of the Photo2Home world. In addition to multi-platform desktop clients, it provides them with an HTML5-based online client, as well as mobile and social Apps, for location-independent mobile photo processing and order needs.

The main advantage of the software’s modular, open structure is that it allows retailers and printers to deploy the elements of the white-labeled version of Ecce Terram’s software suite either individually or all of them combined, like in the fully functional Photo2Home store on the Web.

Ecce Terram’s software addresses a huge challenge currently faced by leading national retail chains and online retailers who offer photo services to their customers: On the customer-facing side, they still rely on online client software for desktop computers to enable consumers to upload their pictures for processing and order photo products. In Europe and in the U.S., most consumers now prefer the convenience of social and mobile media to create and order photo products from their favorite snapshots.

The retail sector and photo service providers in those countries have shifted into high gear to meet their demand. They have created additional revenue streams and new product lines, by offering “apps” for smartphones, tablet computers and social networks.

According to Ecce Terram’s founder and President Frank Simon, the company has created  the new Photo2Home site as a “Window of Opportunity” for large retailers and processing centers.  Mr. Simon welcomes “early adopters” and photo enthusiasts discovering the convenience of the new Photo2Home online store, he said: “We are looking forward to their feedback and insights, which have been proved extremely valuable for our consumer-driven approach to software development.”

Yet the main purpose of the new service is a different one, he emphasized: to show industry customers a way to create new revenue streams without having to abandon existing investments and more proprietary  technology. “We were asking ourselves, what’s the best way to let players in the imaging and print industry and photo enthusiasts actually experience industry-strength solutions that overcome the bottleneck of desktop clients, and take full advantage of the social/mobile shift?” he said.

“Someone recently described the current shift as a ‘window of opportunity’ - for new convenience services, product lines, order channels, revenues.” “So when we conceived the Photo2Home site, that’s what we had in mind,” Mr. Simon said. “We said, let’s build this as a 'window of opportunity' that are proven and work. You can come and see for yourself on the Photo2Home site.”

ECCE TERRAM will present Photo2Home on CeBIT Austrlia in Sydney from May 28 to June 1 in Hall 5, booth X20.2. To schedule an appointment, please contact us via email at cebit2013@ecce-terram.co.nz or via phone at +64 9 304 0709 within New Zealand/Australia , +1 678 244 1521 (EST) within the United States/Canada,, and +49 441 500 120 within Europe.

###

About Photo2lab
The Photo2Lab Software Suite offers a complete solution from photo ordering to processing in commercial labs. It includes software applications for Windows, Mac, and Linux, web components, and modules for CD processing or mobile platforms, like iOS and Android devices. The modern connection protocol TRON is freely available and is supported by a variety of third parties. These provide solutions for, among other things, set-top boxes or kiosk terminals. Along with order processing, aspects such as payment, promotion, and adaptation options for affiliates and partners are taken into consideration as part of a white label solution. The products can be used to handle anything from photo prints to hardcover photobooks, thus offering unique flexibility and openness with the goal of enabling solution customers to reduce costs and reach new target audiences. 

For more information, visit http://www.ecce-terram.co.nz/

About ECCE TERRAM
ECCE TERRAM was founded by Frank Simon in 1996. It has specialized in solutions for e-commerce for the photo industry, lab control, e-payment, and content management. The company's Internet applications are used by well-known companies in the photo industry and beyond. Company headquarters are located in Germany, with subsidiaries in the U.S. and New Zealand.