2005 DIMA Awards

[Photo-John]

The 2005 Digital Imaging Marketing Association (DIMA) awards were chosen during the annual PMA tradeshow, held this year in Orlando, Florida. There were three DIMA Shoot-Outs, for digital cameras, printers, and photo kiosks. A panel of expert judges voted to decide on the winners. Results were posted at the show and prints from each entered product were on display so PMA attendees could view and evaluate the results for themselves.

Results from the printer and camera shootouts are below.

[Photo-John]

DIMA Printer Shoot-Out Winners Named

The winners of the 2005 DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out were announced at the PMA 2005 Annual Conventionand Trade Show in Orlando, Fla. Winners, displayed during PMA 2005, were chosen from 122 prints enteredby 37 companies.

Entries in the DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out were produced from files created by color workflow expertsChromaticity Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich. Participants were asked to provide specification information pertaining tothe equipment used (printer, RIP); the consumables used (output media, ink/toner/dye); and the production timing.

A panel of expert judges voted on the entries, based on the overall quality of the digital print and the accuracy ofcolor as compared to the “target” print. The panel of judges included some well-respected names in the industry,including Roy Bohnen, Richard Lerner, Eric Harsh, Brian Mundy, and Steve Olock.

Below are the winners of the DIMA 2005 Digital Printer Shoot-Out:

RA-4 Digital Printer 50 inches wide or more Durst Lambda 131 Durst Image Technology U.S. LLC, Rochester, N.Y. 30 inches to 49 inches wide (tie) Durst Theta 76 Durst Image Technology U.S. LLC, Rochester, N.Y. 30 inches to 49 inches wide (tie) ZBE Chromira 5x 30 ZBE Inc., Carpinteria, Calif. 13 inches to 29 inches wide Polielettronica Laserlab 50cm World Images Digital Inc., Hillsboro, Ore. Digital Minilab (12 inches maximum) Fuji Frontier 570 Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc., Valhalla, N.Y. Digital Minilab (10 inches maximum) Kodak System 89 DLS Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y. Digital Minilab (8 inches maximum) DKS 1510 Kis, Photo-Me Group, Echirolles, France Industrial High-Speed Photo Printing Europa Printer Express Imaging Systems LLC, Seattle, Wash. Inkjet Over 72 inches wide (Solvent) Mimaki JV3-250SP Mimaki USA Inc., Suwanee, Ga. 50 inches to 72 inches wide (Aqueous) Roland Hi-Fi JET Pro II FJ-540 Roland DGA Corp., Irvine, Calif. 50 inches to 72 inches wide (Solvent) DisplayMaker 72s MacDermid ColorSpan Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn. 36 inches to 49 inches wide Noritsu MYTIS-1 (Uncontested) Noritsu America Corp., Buena Park, Calif. 18 inches to 35 inches wide (tie) Mimaki JV3-75SP11 Mimaki USA Inc., Suwanee, Ga. 18 inches to 35 inches wide (tie) HP Designjet 130 Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. 9 inches to 17 inches wide HP Photosmart 8750 Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. 8.5 inches wide or less – $200 or more HP Photosmart 8450 (Uncontested) Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. 8.5 inches wide or less – $100 to $199 HP Photosmart 8150 (Uncontested) Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. 8.5 inches wide or less – $99 or less HP Photosmart 7450 (Uncontested) Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. 4-by-6-inch HP Photosmart 8450 (Uncontested) Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. Flatbed DisplayMaker 72UVR MacDermid ColorSpan Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn. Media 8.5-by-11-inch OptiJet Perma Pix Ferrania Imaging Technologies, St. Paul, Minn. 11-by-17-inch (12-by-18-inch or 12-inch roll) ICI Imagedata ICI Imagedata, Manningtree, Essex, United Kingdom 24 inches wide or larger HP PremiumPlus Photo & Proofing Gloss Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. Ink – Aqueous Less than 20-inch printer HP 97 Tri-Color Inkjet Print Cartridge (Uncontested) Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. 20 inches wide or larger d’Vinci Hi Fi Ink Yellowhouse, Leesburg, Va. Ink – Solvent Mimaki 552 Solvent Mimaki USA Inc., Suwanee, Ga. RIP Less than 20-inch printer Ergosoft StudioPrint Ergosoft U.S. LLC, Nashua, N.H. 20-inch or larger printer Ergosoft StudioPrint Ergosoft U.S. LLC, Nashua, NH Dye Sublimation 8-by-10-inch or larger – $2,500 or more Sony UPD-70A Sony Electronics Inc., San Diego, Calif. 8-by-10-inch – $2,499 or less Kodak Professional 1400 Digital Photo Print System Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y. 5-by-7-inch Hi-Ti 730PS photo printer Hi-Touch Imaging Technologies (America), Ontario, Calif. 4-by-6-inch or less Hi-Ti 641PS photo printer Hi-Touch Imaging Technologies (America), Ontario, Calif. Creative Application Textile Mimaki GP-604 Mimaki USA Inc., Suwanee, Ga. Paper Chromira 5x 30 ZBE Inc., Carpinteria, Calif. Alternative Substrate Kumoto Silkjet SC4 Yellowhouse, Leesburg, Va. Black and White ColorBurst RIP ColorBurst Systems (CSE Inc.), Sterling, Va.

[Photo-John]

2005 DIMA Digital Camera Shoot-Out Winners Announced

Orlando, Fla. -- Ten digital cameras were named winners in the 2005 DIMA Digital Camera Shoot-Out today at the PMA 2005 Convention and Trade Show in Orlando, FL, USA.

35 digital camera entries and 13 manufacturers participated in the 9th Annual DIMA Digital Camera Shoot-Out, which took place on Saturday, Feb. 19, at the DIMA Annual Conference in Orlando, FL. Participating camera manufacturers captured images in four live-model studios.

Images from the point-and-shoot cameras were printed on three different digital minilab systems including the Agfa D-Lab 2 Plus supplied by Agfa Corporation, the Fuji Frontier 370 supplied by Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., and the Konica Minolta R2 supplied by Konica Minolta Photo Imaging USA, Inc.

Images from the Prosumer/Professional category were output through a G5 Power Mac running Adobe Photoshop CS and printed on an Epson Photo Stylus 9600 inkjet printer, supplied by Epson America, Inc. Color management support for the DIMA Digital Camera Shoot-Out was provided by GretagMacbeth, using Sony Artisan displays donated by Sony Electronics.

Professional photo equipment used at the DIMA Digital Camera Shoot-Out was supplied by Agfa Corporation; Bogen Imaging; Booth Photographic Limited; Epson America, Inc.; Fuji Photo Film USA, Inc.; GretagMacbeth; GTI Graphic Technology; Quality Mounting & Laminating; and Sony Artisan. Professional photographer Shannon Poynter lit the sets and ran the professional/prosumer studio. Other pro shooters including Mike Frost, Art Beaulieu and Richard Rooks shot in the point-and-shoot studios.

A panel of expert judges voted on the entries, based on the overall quality of the the digital print and accuracy of color as compared to samples of fabric worn by studio models. The panel of judges included some of the most well-respected names in the industry including Eddie Tapp, Daniel Grotta and Sally Wiener Grotta.

Below are the winners of the 9th Annual DIMA Digital Camera Shoot-Out.

Point-and-Shoot Categories and Winners

Below $100
Concord Camera 3346Z
Concord Camera Corp., Hollywood, FL

$100 to $199
HP Photosmart M22
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA

$200 to $299
HP Photosmart R707
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA

$300 to $399
HP Photosmart R717
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA

$400 to $499
HP Photosmart 945
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA

$500 to $599
Casio EX-P700
Casio, Inc. Dover, NJ

Digital Vido Camcorder
Casio EX-P505
Casio, Inc. Dover, NJ

Prosumer/Professional Categories and Winners

$600 to $999
Konica Minolta A200
Konica Minolta Photo Imaging USA, Inc., Mahwah, NJ

Digital SLR
Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D
Konica Minolta Photo Imaging USA, Inc., Mahwah, NJ

Advanced Digital SLR
Leica DMR (Uncontested)
Leica Camera AG, Solms, Germany