Two-day Jacky's open house to introduce new digital imaging solutions

The minilab, winner of Direct International Marketing Association's (DIMA) Most Innovative Product award - 2005, is being showcased for the first time in the Middle East at the two-day open house, beginning on June 11 at Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai.

The open house, organized by the Digital Imaging & Printing Department of Jacky's Gulf FZE, provides an interactive base to exchange ideas that will promote the use of digital technologies and enable Jacky's to better understand emerging market requirements, said Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Gulf FZE.

'At Jacky's, we aim to provide complete digital imaging and printing solutions. The requirements for each vertical segment are quite different and we aim to have a customized solution for each segment. Whether it be photography, proofing or large format printing we aim to demonstrate and educate our customers on the latest technologies, putting special emphasis on issues like colour management. Through our team of specialized engineers, we intend to continually keep our customers up to date on ways of maximizing their output and making them more efficient,' he said.

The open house will also introduce the Digital C-Carrier, a new solution that allows older analogue minilabs to be used as digital minilabs. With approximately two-thirds of the minilabs installed in the UAE being analogue labs, the Digital C-Carrier can enable an analogue minilab to work with digital technologies cost-efficiently. With the exponential growth in digital photography, the requirements for minilab owners to have equipment that can accept digital inputs from various types of memory cards or CDs is very important.

The new MK4 minilab from SMI, with multitasking functionality, is an entry-level fully digital machine that accommodates printing from a variety of media. Energy efficient and compact, it also requires less manpower and can scan, print, burn CDs, and process film simultaneously. Ideal for people wanting to purchase their first digital minilab or for those with space constraints, the MK4 is extremely user-friendly and uses simple, touch-screen icons for operating the machine. Service support and training for both the Digital C-Carrier and MK4 are provided by a team of qualified engineers at Jacky's.

Visitors will also see demonstrated the HP DesignJet 90 printer, an A2+ size printer that is ideal for the proofing and photo enlargement sectors. With a six-colour ink system and closed loop colour calibration, the Designjet 90 is ideally designed for providing photographic quality output. This printer is developed for both Windows and Mac users. Using the latest series of HP Vivera inks and HP recommended media gives the output a light-fastness of 82 years.

The June 11 and 12 open house is the third since the September 2004 signing of the distributorship agreement between Jacky's and SMI, and is part of both companies' endeavour to develop the market for innovative digital imaging and printing. Under the agreement, Jacky's will also provide technical training, sales support and spare parts from the UAE.