What is KODAK Writable CD? KODAK Writable CD prducts provide an efficient and economical alternative to pressed CD manufacturing for low-volume distributiuon, custom print-on- demand, reference archiving, data interchange, and general storage for desktop applications. KODAK Writable CD discs provide the same advantages as pressed CDs: - standard information interchange - cross-platform compatability - low-cost playback on standard hardware - compact storage - environmentally sound Using high-speed KODAK CD writers, customers can record digital information onto low-cost, blank KODAK Writable CD Discs (often referred to as Record- able CDs in the industry). These write-once discs, when written using KODAK's formatting software, are compatible with the industry standards for compact discs. They can be authored at the customer's location and played back on standard CD hardware (i.e., readers and players that support CD-ROM, CD-ROM (XA), CD-AUDIO, or CD-I). KODAK Writable CD Discs can hold 550-650 megabytes of data, text, images, sound, etc., depending on the format. To help put that in perspective, 1 megabuyte is equivalent to approximately 400 pages of ASCII text. Viewed another way, 1 KODAK Writable CD Disc can store the equivalent of: ~ 550 floppy discs ~ 3 reels of 9-track magnetic tape ~ 12 5.25" removable hard dik cartridges (45 MB) ~ 240,000 pages of ASCII text Why KODAK Writable CD? For customers like MCI, the answer to this question is fairly straight- forward when one considers the following: - KODAK blank write-once media are cost-effective. Foe less than $25, customers can store between 550-650 megabytes of digital data on a KODAK Writable CD Disc - that's about 4 cents per maga- byte (see table). Writable media are far more economical in low quantities than pressed discs. - KODAK Writable CD Discs are ideal for low-volume, on-demand CD publishing, data distribution, information interchange, and refer- ence archiving because thay are inexpensive and can be authored at the customer's location quickly. - KODAK Writable CD Discs allow random access to information, making them a singularly eficient media for managing and analyzing volumes of data (e.g., large databases). - CD-ROM discs have gained worldwide acceptance as an interchange standard for media and drives. These standardized discs can be read on all popular CD hardware. More and more companies are beginning to employ KODAK Writable CD Discs as they see and understand how cost-effective the media is. The chart below provides a price/megabyte comparison of some storage distribution media. Medium MB Retail Price ($)* Price/MB ($)* 8.5" x 11" paper 0.002 0.01 4.50 5.25" removable 45 70.00 1.56 HD cartridge 5.25" HD floppy disk 1.4 1.50 1.00 5.25" MO disk 650 200.00 0.30 3480 tape cart. 200 11.50 0.06 9-track tape 180 12.00 0.07 KODAK Writable 600 25.00 0.04 CD Disc * All prices are approximate figures. From a market point of view, there are several compelling reasons for exploring KODAK Writable CD Discs. Perhaps the most compelling factors are the consumer's high acceptance level of CD formats and the healthy market growth projections. Widespread consumer acceptance will attract participat- ion from scores of industry vendors eager to claim a share of the market. Some industry experts anticipate explosive growth of CD-ROM drive sales over the next several years. One highly respected industry analyst of Winchester, floppy, and optical disk drive industries foresees the following growth in CD-ROM drive sales: Year Population 1990 1.5 million 1991 2.5 million 1992 4 million 1993 6 million 1994 9 million 1995 13 million We are clearly in the midst of an information era. Those who can manage and distribute information effectively will enjoy a competitive advantage. This need to access information and share it broadly will, in turn, spark greater demand for standard high-capacity writable storage, as the market growth forecasts suggest. How do KODAK Writable CD and KODAK Photo CD Discs relatre? The KODAK Photo CD system is a hybrid application that delivers the consummate quality of 35mm photographic image capture with the speed and flexibility of digital technology. The Photo CD system stores the full bandwidth of the film in easy-to-use digital Image Pacs on a write-once KODAK Photo CD disc in CD-ROM (XA) format. These digital images can then be played back on a TV using KODAK's Poto CD players, or on a personal computer using a CD-ROM (XA) reader and Photo CD imaging software. KODAK Writable CD media are write-once discs for any general digital storage or distribution applications. In essence, any digital information can be written to a KODAK Writable CD disc, including audio, text, graphics, images, motion video clips (digital), etc. The KODAK PCD Writer 200 and formatting software used with appropriate application software/hardware can record CD discs in any of the family of CD formats - CD-ROM, CD-ROM (XA), CD-Digital Audio, and CD-I. KODAK Writable CD discs and the Photo CD system offer the benefits of CD data interchange standards and play back on low-cost standard hardware. KODAK Writable CD discs can provide standard, cost-effective storage and distribution solutions for customer applications requiring custom titles, low-volume publishing, standard cross-platform data interchange, and storage for reference archiving and desktop publishing. Writable CDs vs. Pressed CDs The traditional production method for CD-ROM discs is the most cost-effect- ive method for high-volume (i.e., thousands of discs) distribution of information. It is not practical, however, for custom print-on-demand or low-volume publishing (i.e., 1-100discs). KODAK Writable CD Products, on the other hand, create one-of-a-kind CDs at a fraction of the cost prev- iously associated with pressing CDs in small quantities. MCI corporate spokesman John Houser told Advanced Imaging ("MCI Puts Billing on Photo CD - Without Photos," February '92). "Hundreds of our large customers receive billing data on magnetic tape - or boxes of paper - for analysis. The technology to put this data on disc for one-time use has been there (CD-ROM), but not with this economy of scale for producing the first master," Houser said. What's more the cost to produce and distribute writable CD discs will drop over the next several years, making it even more cost-effective than it is today. MCI uses a reliable, high speed KODAK PCD Writer 200 to record its digital telephone billing information onto low-cost, blank KODAK Writable CD Discs. Traditional CD-ROM production would be far too expensive and time-consuming in this instance because discs can be produced cost-efectively only in large volumes. KODAK Writable CD discs offer some of the same advantages as pressed CDs: - standard information interchange - low-cost playback - compact storage - environmentally conscious (i.e., both help save trees) KODAK envisions a major market opportunit for witable CD discs. "The write- once data CD system that we developed for MCI represents the first comercial extension of our CD imaging technology into data market segments, " says KODAK's Stephen S. Stepnes, general manager and vice-president, CD Imaging. "As the technology expands into other areas, it can be leveraged to solve business problems we haven't even begun to consider," says Stepnes. Some commercial applications of KODAK Writable CD products? Like Photo CD, there are a plethora of commercial applications for KODAK Writable CD products. One might even say that the applications are confined only by the imagination. Among the myriad applications are: - telecommunications - travel - legal - archiving - retailing - software developers - advertising - insurance - education - engineering - medicine - transportation - real estate - architecture - mapping - pharmaceuticals - interior design - entertainment MCI's use of Writable CD products exemplifies how large amounts of data - like monthly billing reports - can be effectively distributed, retrieved, and analyzed by a telecommunications giant. Other industries are also applying the power of Writable CD products. For example, the legal community has begun to employ Writable CD products in the courtroom. Using laptop computers, CD-ROM drives (or compatible), and Writable CD discs, lawyers can retrive key information and records on demand rather than sifting through file cabinets and folders for documentation. In the classroom, textbooks can be writtn to Writable CD discs. Not only does it save paper, it also enables educators and publishers to update and cust- omize information with ease. Real estate agents have found Writable CD discs are a powerful medium for showing listings in a given area to clients. These applications are merely the beginning. Why work with KODAK? For more than a century, KODAK has been the industry leader in silver-halide imaging. KODAK is proud of its heritage and continuing quality leadership role in this field. Building on its imaging history, KODAK is now expanding its product offerings into a family of digital image and data storage products. Specifically, KODAK has made a substantial investment in researching and developing optical recording devices and writable media, as well as hybrid imaging innovations like the Photo CD system. The investment we made in optical recording has helped us to create various image storage options, including our automated disc libraries and 14-inch optical disc systems. Now, we've developed an easy-to-use writable CD production system that makes in-house, low-volume CD-ROM production simple, efficient, and affordable. The system includes a high-speed CD reader/writer with SCSI interface and enabling software for your host computer, as well as blank, KODAK writable CD media. Archiving and distributing information has never been so easy and economical! The same commitment that KODAK made to silver-halide technology over one hundred years ago, we make today to optical technology. In fact, we do not view imaging and optics as distinct opportunities. Rather, we see a great deal of synergy between them. We invite our customers and OEMs to explore the possibilities with us. In short, people around the world have trusted their images to KODAK since the late 1800s. Why not trust your data to us as well?