PARK RIDGE, N.J., Jan 13, 2009 – Sony’s digital passport and ID printing system is increasingly becoming the choice for convenience stores, national retailers, leading drug store chains, government agencies and more. The company has delivered more than 21,000 units of its digital passport and ID photo printing technology including the newest system, model UPX-C300, introduced in 2008.

During the busy 2008-09 holiday travel season, Sony’s digital passport and ID printing system saw heavy use by a range of customers in diverse applications.

For instance, the Sony systems support the standard United States passport photo size requirements and meet the government's print quality and durability standards, so customers can easily comply with passport regulations and requirements. 

In the office supply category, thousands of units of the digital passport system have now been shipped and are in use by FedEx® Office and other office product superstores.

FedEx, one of the nation’s largest delivery and office supply stores (as well as an early adopter of the digital passport systems), now has the Sony technology in all its locations across the United States.

Designed to provide operators with an easy-to-use and nearly error-proof solution for maximizing productivity in the highly profitable instant passport and ID photo printing business, the technology has also gained wide acceptance by well-recognized convenience and national retail and drug store chains including Rite Aid® Pharmacy and Duane Reade. 

            “The digital passport and ID photo printing system has become a favorite of national retailers and convenience stores,” said Belinda LoPresti, marketing manager for digital photofinishing at Sony Electronics. “A minimum investment in the system provides high returns by enabling operators to easily produce high-quality photos that comply with federal requirements for identification and passports use.”

The United States Postal Service (USPS) and the AAA (Automobile Association of America) round out the list of other organizations and agencies that have adopted Sony’s digital passport and ID photo printing systems. The USPS has been using the systems since 2005, which are rapidly replacing the agency’s aging infrastructure of costlier film-based units.

According to LoPresti, these organizations cite the low occurrence of errors and rejected images by the system, as well as increases in customer satisfaction, efficiency, productivity and profit as leading factors that led them to the technology.

The photo size format required by most countries for passport use is pre-installed in the systems’ digital camera. Frame formats can also be easily customized to suit other photo requirements such as a driver’s license, and up to five customized formats can be saved within the system’s digital camera. 

            For more information about Sony’s digital passport and ID photo printing systems, including the latest generation UPX-C300 system, visit www.sony.com/dpf.