Contact: Tim Sexton, VP Marketing / Michelle Cowan, Marketing Coordinator
ZBE, Incorporated, 1035 Cindy Lane, Carpinteria, CA 93013 USA
Phone: (805) 576-1600; fax: (805) 576-1601
Email: info@zbe.com

ZBE and Kodak Join in Sales Venture
ZBE Distributes the Kodak Professional HR Line of Film Scanners

Carpinteria, CA - ZBE, Incorporated - manufacturer of the Chromira family of RA4 Digital LED printers - has been appointed by Kodak Professional to market and distribute their line of HR Film Scanners in the United States. Both the Kodak HR 500 Plus and HR Universal Film Scanners integrate with ZBE's WorkStream Imaging Automation software and are ideally suited for professional imaging labs.

"The combination of ZBE's Chromira printers and WorkStream Software Suite with Kodak Professional's HR scanners delivers a complete solution designed to dramatically streamline and automate film to print digital workflow for pro digital labs," stated Tim Sexton, ZBE's Vice President of Marketing.

Kodak Professional's HR 500 Plus Film Scanner can generate up to 500 high-resolution digital images from color negative, color reversal and black and white film types, digitally capturing images and storing them in TIFF and JPEG files up to 128 MB in size. The HR 500 Plus can scan films 35mm, 46mm, 120/220, and 70mm (including split 70) in size and is capable of variable magnifications from 0.5 to 2.0. Plus, the HR 500 Plus's new DIGITAL ICE technology corrects blemishes and defects on negatives, reducing post-print retouching time. "With the higher number of useful scans per hour that Digital ICE technology enables, labs can save a significant amount of time required for rescans and retouching, so opportunities arise for these labs to take on additional business to increase their productivity and their profitability. And the cleaner images created give the labs a competitive edge," said Chris Van Zandt, Worldwide Manager, Lab Equipment Products, Kodak Professional.

ZBE also offers Kodak Professional's HR Universal Film Scanner, which is very similar to the HR 500 Plus. It can deliver hundreds of high-resolution scans per hour and like the HR 500 Plus, the HR Universal scans films 35mm, 46mm, 120/220, and 70mm (including split 70) in size; however, it also has the added ability of scanning 4" x 5" sheets.

The HR 500 Plus and HR Universal film scanners are compatible with Kodak Professional's Digital Print Production Software (DP2), as well as TWAIN Data Source, which is what allows them to integrate with ZBE's WorkStream IA software.

About ZBE
ZBE, Incorporated is headquartered in Carpinteria, CA, USA, and has been serving professional imaging needs since 1980. The company is a pioneer and manufacturer of commercial photo imaging technology. Its hybrid LED imaging technology resulted in the affordable state-of-the-art Chromira and Chromira5x printers, which produce high-resolution continuous digital photographic prints.

About Eastman Kodak Company
Kodak is the leader in helping people take, share, print and view images for memories, information and entertainment. The company is a major participant in infoimaging, infrastructure and services & media. With sales of $13.3 billion in 2003, the company comprises several businesses: Health, Commercial Printing, Commercial Imaging, Display & Components, and Digital & Film Imaging Systems. For information about Kodak's professional products, customers may call: 1-800-235-6325, or visit the Kodak web site at http://www.kodak.com.