di support is presenting several world premières at the 2018 BFI
Cologne, 28.02.2018 – di support is presenting a completely new concept for the printing of images – directly from a smartphone – at the Business Forum Imaging Cologne from 28.02.2018 to 01.03.2018.
Using this revolutionary system, it’s possible to create photo products from virtually anywhere in the world directly on a smartphone, which can then be immediately reproduced in store. Today’s smartphones have long since superseded compact cameras. Ever since the smartphone has become the camera which the consumer uses on an almost daily basis, this disruptive technology has been uppermost in the minds of the entire imaging market.
Think technology and society together. With this newly developed and innovative technology, di support would like to shape the imaging business of today and tomorrow. The PrintCube is a stylish device that has no buttons whatsoever and doesn’t look too technical – with an elegant design and at the same time very user-friendly.
Ralph Naruhn, CEO of di support GmbH, explains: “The game changer that is the smartphone, as well as the resurrection of the instant camera, have shown us that we are dealing today with a completely new imaging market. It is a matter of making products available quickly and easily. And the result should also look trendy at the same time.”
The consumer can simply connect on the spot via Wi-Fi with a PrintCube in a retail store, or else download from Google’s or Apple’s app stores the appropriate app. This allows the consumer to initiate orders on their smartphone outside of the store and, at the conclusion of the order, to simply and comfortably select a corresponding pick-up branch in the store finder. No matter which method you use to order – at the completion of the order, the customer receives an order confirmation on their smartphone, which includes a QR code. With this QR code the customer goes to an available PrintCube instore and touches the touch display, which then immediately and automatically activates the camera on the PrintCube. The customer now holds the QR code in front of the camera and simply scans it. After a successful scan, the PrintCube commences at once with the printing of the ordered photos.
di support has also factored in with this technology that group of customers who don’t yet exclusively use a smartphone. Instead, there is the option of continuing to enter orders at the popular G6 kiosk from memory cards, USB sticks, CD’s and other media. The customer receives a printed receipt including QR code at the conclusion of this ordering process as well. This can be scanned in at any available PrintCube instore, whereupon the printout of the photos then gets underway.
“The PrintCube is ideal for anyone who would like to run a successful omnichannel business. Smartphone users are offered genuine added value: collecting products in the store or printing on-the-spot instead of ordering online for home delivery. Because, as so often in this day and age, it’s all about speed and availability. And for the trade, customer visitors are so valuable to the stores ,“ says Ralph Naruhn, CEO of di support GmbH.
The PrintCube is not just the logical answer today and tomorrow to changed consumer behaviour. It is modular and versatile for use in the retail sector. As many PrintCubes as you like can be installed in a retail business. The concept is thus very scalable, offers more print resources on a smaller amount of retail space than previous solutions, and offers customers even more personal privacy for their photos as well.
In addition, di support has also developed at the same time a new portfolio of “young” instant photo gifts. These items are on sale under the pixolo brand name and are aimed at a – mostly female – lifestyle-oriented target group. They involve cool products which can be configured in the shortest possible time to take home at once. For instance, a very innovative “Build your Frame” programme belongs to the pixolo range. The customer can choose from several FrameCards which are available in various mat cuts and in different colours and materials. Each of these FrameCards has an integrated and invisible magnetic back panel and carries a unique product code on the packaging. If you enter this in the PrintCube app or at the G6 kiosk, then the chosen product appears directly on the display for composition. After completion of the order, the customer receives a print which they can precisely insert into the FrameCard. Thus, the days are over when you didn’t know how to get your photo into the specified cut-outs and forms.
In the next step, the customer can select from various picture frames – so-called FrameBoxes. Since their back panels are made of metal, it’s child’s play to attach the FrameCards in the special frame.
In the third and final step, decorative items such as stickers and so-called statement magnets can then be inserted into the frame.
The pixolo photo product range is, however, far more extensive than this. Via the exact configuration of the products within the software, many other products from the innovative pixolo range – such as Christmas baubles, for instance – are easy to individualise. The subsequent print then includes cutting aids straight away, so that the desired product looks in the flesh just as you created it earlier on the screen. Even the traditional photo bag has had its day and is being replaced in recent times by an attractive printed paper bag in retro style. These can also be used as cool gift packaging (with sayings or slogans as an optional extra). The range shown is just the beginning and is constantly being expanded – also with seasonal products.
di support GmbH
di support is one of the fastest growing software companies in Europe in the field of digital imaging. Founded in 2000 with headquarters in the town of Eschborn in the Frankfurt area of Germany, di support offers a leading product portfolio for product personalisation. di support allows top retailers, e-commerce companies, developers and brands around the world to offer an unlimited variety of personalised photographic and printing products successfully under their name.
Together with its customers, the company has caused an amazing transformation in several markets and today, with more than 55 million orders annually, transforms approx. 1.4 billion files into magical products and moments for consumers all over the world. With the slogan “technologies for magic moments”, di support reflects this aspiration in itself and its products. The company has set itself the goal of developing technologies which make digital records, such as photos and videos, come alive again in a truly impressive way.