Microsoft Introduces Picture It! Publishing Platinum 2001

Consumers can quickly and easily produce scrapbooks from family vacation photos, design party invitations and post personal Web pages with photos, special effects and customized clip art using the latest product from the award-winning line of Microsoft Picture It! products: Picture It! Publishing Platinum 2001. With Picture It!, the leader in the consumer digital imaging space, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) has produced the only product line on the market today that integrates the leading photo-editing technology with award-winning home publishing software. In addition, the Picture It! line has been the overall U.S. retail leader in revenue and units since its launch in 1996 through July 2000, according to PC Data, and has won dozens of awards for its ease of use and innovative tools.

Leading Software Makes It Easier to Touch Up Photos and Personalize Projects
With the integration of photo editing and home publishing, Picture It! Publishing Platinum combines advanced technology with easy-to-use tools to offer consumers the most advanced photo-imaging software available. A new feature this year makes it easier than ever to customize clip art, add and enhance photos and create and post Web projects with animated greetings all in one central workplace, rather than jumping from one program to another. Also, a new, easy-to-use interface simplifies getting started with photos and finding the right tools.

"Digital imaging continues to grow in popularity both on- and offline, offering a new way for friends and family to stay in touch through personalized greetings," said Phil Spencer, general manager of Home Imaging and Publishing for Microsoft. "Picture It! Publishing Platinum 2001 meets the changing needs of consumers by providing both photo-editing and home publishing tools so that consumers can create and edit photo projects on paper and online."

Picture It! offers the first end-to-end cataloging solution. The Gallery is the only resource consumers need to organize all their photos, photo projects, content CDs, sounds and animations. The Gallery also allows consumers to add, change and remove personal categories; sort by date; and catalog by custom or auto-generated keywords. Exclusive to Picture It!, the popular Mini Lab has been improved to make it easier to open photos; adjust brightness, contrast and tint; remove red eye; and save and print multiple photos at the same time.

Once their photo projects have been created, Picture It! Publishing Platinum 2001 walks consumers through the process of sending photos via e-mail or to the Web so friends and family can enjoy what they have created. Consumers can post photos to the Web or create personal sites in just a few clicks without any knowledge of HTML. With Web integration, consumers can simply post their newly created Web page to an existing personal site or use Picture It! to sign up for a free site (connect-time charges may apply).

Thousands of Images and Templates Add Flair to Home Publishing Projects
Finding a beautiful greeting card with the perfect sentiment is often a challenge. Now, with Picture It! Publishing Platinum 2001, consumers can choose from among thousands of images and content to create the perfect card, calendar, newsletter or Web site.

New to Picture It! 2001 is the cutting-edge, sophisticated and traditional content provided by more than 35 top greeting-card companies in partnership with Madison Park Greetings and representing over 200 different artists. Consumers are able to choose from a wide variety of popular card styles, including humorous, animal, multicultural, fine art and botanical images.

In addition, Picture It! Publishing Platinum 2001 includes more than 200,000 images and 150 illusions that turn photos into pieces of art. Picture It! Platinum 2001 contains 20,000 mats and frames and 13,500 templates, providing abundant options for photo and clip art projects. Whether selecting one of the 50,000 different images from top clip-art provider ArtToday -- the leading Internet destination for designs from professionals and Web hobbyists -- or personalizing clip art, the user will find that Picture It! offers endless options when creating projects.

Relationships That Enhance the Picture It! Experience
Picture It! continues to offer consumers the benefits of its relationships with top companies, which enables anyone to achieve professional results from home using the products and services from the many Picture It! content partners.

Picture It! Publishing Platinum 2001 provides users with many ways to print and share photos. They can post photos directly to MSN Communities or to a Web site of their choice, or send digital photos to Kodak PhotoNet online print service or fujifilm.net and receive true photographic prints in the mail. Consumers can also order photo T-shirts, mugs and mouse pads. "The Picture It! technology is the ideal complement to Fujifilm products and services," said Howard Locke, business development manager of Fuji Photo Film USA. "Together, Fuji and Picture It! offer consumers a complete photo experience integrating digital imaging with processing and more."

Consumers can get great-looking results at home with a color inkjet printer and Burlington specialty papers, which range from card stock to silk screen to canvas.

"We have included a starter kit in select Picture It! products to help users get a head start on creating the highest-quality projects possible," said Gerard Toscani, CEO of Paris Business Products, the manufacturer of Burlington specialty papers.

Pricing and Availability
Microsoft Picture It! Publishing Platinum 2001 is available nationwide this month for an estimated retail price of $54.95 (U.S.) with a $15 mail-in rebate. Consumers can visit http://pictureit.msn.com for more information. Picture It! Publishing Platinum 2001 comes with more than $140 in coupons from Fuji as well as an assortment of coupons and paper samples from Burlington. (Certain offer restrictions apply to coupon offers; Burlington coupons are not available in Canada.)

Source: Microsoft Corp.