Durst Image Technology U.S., LLC, Rochester, N.Y., introduced the 5-meter Rho 500R UV inkjet printer incorporating the latest in digital imaging, workflow and operational technologies to deliver exceptional superwide images for the most innovative, challenging applications - and do it economically at maximum production speeds, Durst said.

  Durst equipped the Rho 500R with the latest iteration of the Quadro 30D Array print head technology. The number of nozzles per color is doubled to 2,048, ink temperature is accurately regulated at the nozzle and a Point Drop Setting ink regulation system is incorporated - to deliver the highest image quality at the highest speed, Durst said.

High-performance carriage and linear motor drive systems, precision Push Media transport mechanisms, built-in laser media tracking sensors, Durst's intelligent dither technology, a range of user-settable parameters and a variety of other technologies combine to make the Rho 500R one of the most efficient, economical large-format imagers ever made, Durst said. The printer is designed to operate unattended, uses less ink than other comparable superwide platforms, and minimizes operational costs due to its high productivity and efficient workflow, Durst said.

  Durst also introduced a faster version of its Rho 800 Presto Large-Format UV Inkjet Printer with continuous board printing, equipped with the Quadro 30D Array print head technology to offer blazing speed and high efficiency while delivering exceptional image quality, Durst said.

Compared to its previous design, Durst's Quadro 30D Array print head technology doubles the number of nozzles per color to 2,048. In addition, ink temperature is accurately regulated at the nozzle, and a Point Drop Setting ink regulation system is incorporated to deliver the highest image quality at the highest speed, Durst said. Together, these technologies raise print output capabilities by about 80 percent, Durst said.

  Durst also introduced the Rho 1000 UV inkjet printer, also equipped with the Quadro 30D Array print head, as well as offering other workflow enhancements. In addition to stand-alone digital applications, the capabilities of the Rho 1000 make it highly suitable for integration into screen and offset printing workflows, in which its high-speed, full-color printing becomes one step in the process, Durst said.

  Because workflow efficiency also is critical to successful printing, the Rho 1000 features an intuitive user-interface software that makes it easy to set and store job-specific parameters. The printer requires very little set-up time and no masking. And it can operate in a continuous-feed workflow eliminating load/unload delays between sheets - similar to screen or offset printing methods and other systems designed for optimal integration and productivity. The Rho 1000 is capable of printing more than 200 4-by-8-foot sheets or boards per hour, Durst said.

SchoolPictures.com, Ann Arbor, Mich. announced in the four years since its founding, the company has more than $2 million to Michigan schools have used its portrait services. This milestone validates the privately held company's mission to supplement funding for education and improve the academic environment for children while providing parents and students with high-quality, affordable pictures.

  Money contributed by SchoolPictures.com is generated from the sales of student portrait packages. Since launching in the fall of 2005, SchoolPictures.com has accepted a fixed fee for each purchased photo package and given the remainder of the cost of these packages directly to the school. During the past four school years, the company has photographed hundreds of thousands of students and donated an average of $7.50 per student enrolled to each school.

  "We've helped schools purchase tens of thousands of books, new lighting for theaters and gyms and new sound systems. One school installed outdoor playground equipment using in part their SchoolPictures.com payment, and another was able to pay the salary of a part-time media specialist," said Skip Cerier, president of SchoolPictures.com. "When you hear what some of these educators are spending the money on, it gives you goose bumps knowing that our company is really making a difference in these children's lives. That's been our goal from the beginning, and clearly we're succeeding."

  In addition to student portraits, the company offers school IDs and customized photo yearbooks.

San Francisco, Calif.-based music photographer Jim Marshall has captured dozens of iconic images and shot more than 500 album covers in his 50-year career. Now, working with Groovy Collectibles LLC, Jim Marshall has launched MarshallPhoto.com, the official site for the sale of his prints, memorabilia, and related rarities and collectibles.

  MarshallPhoto.com currently offers 160 fine art images for sale, ranging from beautifully printed silver gelatin black-and white-images like Jimi Hendrix at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, Jerry Garcia at Woodstock, or Johnny Cash flipping the bird; a stunning selection of black-and-white limited-edition platinum prints, such as Thelonious Monk at his kitchen piano; and highly prized limited-edition dye transfer color prints like The Who rocking the San Francisco Civic Auditorium in 1971, according to a press release.

  By early 2010, MarshallPhoto.com plans to feature more than 300 of Jim's images - some iconic, others relatively unknown but equally striking. His wide-ranging portfolio also includes remarkable shots of poor families in Appalachia, the 1960s civil rights movement in Mississippi, farm workers' advocate César Chávez, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and TV stars such as Michael Douglas and Karl Malden.

Agfa Graphics, Mortsel, Belgium, launched the :Anapurna Mw printer, featuring single-pass pre-white and multi-pass post-white to the :Anapurna M series. This creates new possibilities for printing on transparent material and backlit applications or printing white as a spotcolor. What makes the :Anapurna Mw standout in the market is the combination of photographic reproduction quality with white functionality, the company claims.

  "The :Anapurna Mw is the answer to what the industry has been requesting for years," says Willy Van Dromme, Business Line Manager for Wide Format at Agfa Graphics. "To print white, combined with photographic 1440dpi full gamut color printing on wide format machines, requires a special separated management of the ink feeding system, due to the different characteristics of white ink. With :Anapurna Mw our customers have access to a whole series of industrial applications, made possible with the ability to print opaque white. I am sure that our creative users will even come up with innovative ideas and special designs, printing white on translucent

material or even on dark and coloured substrates. Just like varnish on the :Anapurna Mv, this adds value to the printed result. This will be a new profit opportunity for our customers."

  The :Anapurna Mw comes with the same automation features as the :Anapurna M2. The unique vacuum strength-control system guarantees smooth substrate transport at high speeds, the shuttle safety sensors protect the print heads and media loading is made easy with media registration bars and automated head height adjustment. The optional ionizer bar prevents electro-static loads on the substrate, which ensures optimum ink droplet positioning for the highest print quality. The :Anapurna Mw uses Agfa-made UV-curable white and six colour :Anapurna ink, to deliver the same great photo-quality, users have come to expect from the :Anapurna M and Mv.

According to Reuters, Nokia, Helsinki, Finland, will halt investment in its first major internet service, a media sharing site called Ovi Share.

  "Ovi Share ... is planned to be maintained in its current state," a spokesman for the company said, adding Nokia would keep the service up and running.

Nokia built the service -- seen as one of the cornerstones of its services strategy -- on the acquisition of U.S. firm Twango in 2007, and opened it to the public in February 2008.

  Nokia has not unveiled usage numbers, but analysts say these have remained low due to draw of already established sharing sites such as Facebook or Yahoo Inc's Flickr.

  "We're pleased to report that fiscal year 2010 is off to a very good start," says Mike Duke, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., president and CEO. "These results were achieved in the face of a very challenging global economy. "When economic conditions improve, we believe customers who shop Wal-Mart today will stay with us, because of the business improvements we're making and continue to make."

Ceiva Logic Inc., Burbank, Calif., announced the opening of its first retail kiosk, located at Westfield Topanga Shopping Center in Canoga Park, Calif. Consumers can purchase Cieva internet-connected frames at a kiosk with a one-year PicturePlan at specially priced offer starting at $127.99.

  The Ceiva Digital Photo Frames feature modern and traditional designs, connect via phone line or optional Wi-Fi and display photos without stretching, cropping or squishing. The Ceiva Snap iPhone application lets users snap pictures with an Apple iPhone and send it directly to the frame. You can even send straight from your Facebook account. Once photos are automatically downloaded to the frame, Ceiva's signature blue light will turn on indicating that new photos have arrived in a full-color slideshow.

Sony Electronics Inc., San Diego, Calif., announced its top-of-the-line Walkman Video MP3 player - the X-series Walkman -- is Wi-Fi enabled and features an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) touch screen, Sony's Digital Clear Audio Technologies, as well as embedded content provided by Slacker Radio and YouTube.

  "The new X-series leverages Sony's engineering heritage and integrates the latest advances in OLED and other innovative technologies," said Andrew Sivori, director of the audio products business at Sony Electronics. "We focused on enhancing audio and video playback to develop a device that allows consumers a deeper, more interactive way to enjoy content, as well as discover new content, for a truly unique entertainment experience."

  With a 180-degree viewing angle, the display's photo and video images can be adjusted based on the user's preference, while navigation has been simplified via a feature called scene scroll. Utilizing the scene scroll feature, users select their preferred time increment and simply swipe across the screen to scroll forward and backward through scenes.

  The device will come in black in two different storage capacities, the NWZ-X1051 with 16GB of internal storage and the NWZ-X1061 with 32GB, and cost $299 and $399 respectively.