Kodak aims to boost its share of the UK online photo printing market

Kodak is to bring its Ofoto online photo printing and image hosting service to the UK. The service, which was originally developed for the US market, boasts 8 million customers and a number of awards, including the Forbes Favourite (April 2003) and the US edition of Computer Shopper's 'Best Online Photofinisher' (May 2003).

Kodak already operates an online print service here in the UK and I recently tested it, along with a selection of rivals, for a magazine feature that is due out in the next issue of What Digital Camera. To be honest, Kodak's service didn't fare particularly well against the competition in terms of quality, punctuality or print quality.

Ofoto has a reputation for good quality and ease of use. Kodak will be hoping that Ofoto will persuade more UK digital camera owners to get their photos printed online. Estimates suggest that only a tiny minority of digital camera owners get their photos printed commercially, full stop.

The Ofoto service in the UK will be up and running in September.

Ofoto in the US