Kodak, Fuji, HP to Set Standard for Printing Digital Images

In an effort to fend off further incursions by Microsoft Corp., Eastman Kodak Co . has joined with its rivals to create a network with uniform standards that will make it easier for consumers to print images taken with their digital cameras, Wednesday's Wall Street Journal reported.

The growth of digital photography has been frustrated by the lack of standards that would make it as easy to send images via the Internet to be printed at local retailers, as it would, say, to withdraw cash from an automated-teller machine. Today, fewer than 10% of all digital camera owners print through such photo finishers, including the major discount retailers and drug-store chains.

The initiative, announced this week, is being led by Kodak, its rival Fuji Photo Film Co . and Hewlett-Packard Co., which all hope to turn their low-margin digital-camera businesses into big profit centers, counting on consumers to start actively converting their digital images into prints.

Known as the Common Picture Exchange Environment, the initiative marks the biggest photo-industry collaboration since 1996 when the industry introduced the advanced photo system film format, which gave consumers multiple-size print formats and was designed largely to make loading film easier than conventional film. The initiative will create a network that will include a directory, open for any company to join, and provide a list of businesses that offer printing services.