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LuraTech GmbH
Press Information
28 September 2004
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LuraTech Launches First Color Scan Document Compression Software
Based On JPEG2000 Standard in the US
LuraDocument.jpm First to Use Open Standard and Make Color
Documents Affordable for Businesses
Redwood City, Calif. - LuraTech has launched the first open-standard image
compression software that can compress a scanned color document down to one or
two percent of its original size, keeping near-perfect image quality while
vastly reducing storage and bandwidth costs. The software, LuraDocument.jpm
Version 2.0, is the first image compression software based on the JPEG2000/Part6
ISO open standard to be available on the US market.
"LuraDocument.jpm is able to compress a color document so effectively that
it requires barely more storage space than the same document in black and
white," says Carsten Heiermann, president of LuraTech. Numerous studies
have proven that color can both raise a document's readership and also increase
readers' attention spans and recollection by over 80%. However, as the Web,
digital photography and color printing accelerate the business trend towards
color, storage requirements are increasing dramatically.
Color Made Affordable
LuraDocument.jpm segments scanned color documents into separate layers for text
and images. The software then uses wavelet-based JPEG2000 image compression to
shrink the images to a fraction of their original size, while the text portion
of a document is compressed 'losslessly', remaining totally sharp for reading,
reprinting and searching using optical character recognition. This can shrink a
12 megabyte scanned color page to just 65 kilobytes or so in size, eliminating
the trade-off between color image quality and storage cost.
"The ability to reduce bandwidth and storage costs for color documents to
almost the same level as black and white is key to the expanded adoption of
color." says Robert Buckley, a research fellow in the Xerox Innovation
Group. Buckley chaired the committee that developed the JPEG2000/Part 6
standard. "We clearly see the demand to reduce the cost of color scanning
and to increase the opportunities for color documents on the Web."
Open Standard versus Proprietary Platforms
LuraDocument.jpm is the first solution for compressing color documents to be
based on an international open standard, JPEG2000/Part6, where other products
were - and remain - based on closed, proprietary standards. Customers choosing
the JPEG2000/Part6 ISO standard do not run the risk of sudden price increases
from a single proprietary vendor, nor of tech support disappearing if that
vendor should fail. LuraTech has also launched a PDF Add-On to ensure the
compatibility of LuraDocument.jpm with existing compression investments.
Comments Jim Rile, president of James Rile Associates:
"As a digital document application publisher and PDF expert, I am pleased
to see that LuraTech is now launching an open-standard image compressor that
is just as good as proprietary alternatives. I tested LuraDocument.jpm as well
as the PDF Add-On for my JRAPublish product, and, based on test results,
LuraDocument.jpm was an obvious choice. The ability to output highly-compressed
PDFs from color and grayscale scans was a compelling feature, and licensing was
affordable and realistic. LuraTech's commitment to ongoing software development
and improvement, combined with highly-responsive technical support, was also a
key factor."
"We are excited to see increasing market traction for color image
compression among U.S. businesses," says Carsten Heiermann. "Organizations
are beginning to adopt and see the value of color compression technologies that
allow them to maintain cost-effective imaging projects while benefiting from the
better aesthetics of color. Ultimately, we believe that color imaging will
mirror the color television revolution-there won't be a business without it."
Management Buy-Out and U.S. Expansion
LuraTech, based in Germany, also announced an aggressive U.S. expansion plan,
which will serve to keep pace with the growing demand for color image
compression. This follows a July 2004 management buy-out, conducted by senior
executives in conjunction with select outside investors.
The now employee-owned company is dedicated to delivering business value to
public and private-sector organizations that require high-quality image
compression. Currently, the company is supporting a variety of vertical market
sectors, including medical, geographic information systems, document management,
cultural heritage and public safety organizations.
About LuraTech
LuraTech makes compression in color a reality for public and private sector
organizations by delivering easy-to-implement, open-standard products, coupled
with enterprise-class support. Leveraging JPEG2000, the LuraWave.jp2 and
LuraDocument.jpm products make the compression of color images faster, more
feature-rich and affordable than ever before. Organizations around the world
have adopted LuraTech products, including General Dynamics, Zoran, Kodak
Medical, EADS and the European Space Agency, FujiFilm Color, U.S. Department of
Defense and Corel Corporation. LuraTech, a profitable company founded in 1997,
is headquartered in Germany with offices throughout Europe and the U.S. For more
information, visit www.luratech.com.
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Contact LuraTech
LuraTech GmbH
www.luratech.com
Fon.: +49 (0)30 / 39 40 50-0
Fax: +49 (0)30 / 39 40 50-99
info@luratech.com
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Please get in touch if you have any questions or require more information:
European media contact:
Peter Lindheim / Gunhild Flöter
united communications GmbH
Tel.: +49 (0) 30 / 7890 76 0
eMail: luratech@united.de
North American media contact:
Rurik Bradbury
FitzGerald Communications
Tel.: +1 212 771 3687
eMail: luratech@fitzgerald.com
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