CAMPBELL, Calif., June 7, 1999 (PRIMEZONE) -- PhotoLoft.com (OTC BB: LOFT) announced that it has entered into a bundling agreement with UMAX Technologies that gives purchasers of the Astra Series scanners free premium memberships in PhotoLoft.com (a $29.95 value).
Under terms of the agreement, copies of the PhotoLoft.com client software will begin shipping with all UMAX Astra Series scanners beginning June 1.
PhotoLoft.com is a premier photo sharing and e-commerce Web site. Users can take advantage of the community aspects of the site -- such as sharing images with friends, commenting on images through the Guest Books feature, and browsing over 90 categories of photos -- in addition to utilizing the company's advanced viewing and proprietary printing technology.
Without plug-ins or special downloads, users of PhotoLoft.com can zoom in and out of photos and pan the image to enjoy the full panorama. This feature makes the site especially popular with users of online auction sites. In addition, it makes PhotoLoft.com an extremely sticky site, as users typically manipulate images up to three times at each viewing.
In addition, PhotoLoft.com users can print photo-finish quality prints in standard photographic sizes, ranging from 8"x10" to wallet directly from the browser. No other photo-sharing Web site has this technology.
"This agreement gives people purchasing UMAX scanners another reason to scan their photos," said Jack Marshall, PhotoLoft.com CEO. "Scanner purchasers are already interested in digital imaging -- this agreement gives them instant access to a PhotoLoft.com premium account at no cost so they can immediately begin to enjoy all features of our site."
About PhotoLoft.com
PhotoLoft.com went public March 1, 1999. Also that month, its Web site became the first photo sharing community to offer advanced viewing and photo-finish quality printing of images from the Web. It recently has announced numerous partnerships, including a co-hosting agreement with AboveNet, an advertising representation agreement with Adsmart and a co-brand agreementwith Tribal Voice.
The PhotoLoft.com site is the only photo sharing Web site to offer advanced viewing capabilities, which allow users to zoom in on and pan images. This feature makes the site particularly popular with bidders at online auction sites and makes photoLoft.com a very "sticky" site, since users tend to manipulate each photo viewed an average of three times. In addition, the company's proprietary technology allows users to print to the highest resolution of their printers directly from the browser.
Based in Campbell, PhotoLoft.com also offers users an e-commerce solution that includes photo-personalized gift items. The company plans to launch online greeting cards during the second quarter and will expand its e-commerce program to consumables (paper, ink and digital imaging equipment) during the third quarter of the year. PhotoLoft.com was founded in 1994 as AltaVista Technology, Inc. by Jack Marshall and Chris McConn.