The war for the development of the digital photograph is heating up as Fugi and Walmart are teaming up to provide a kiosk that will allow dropping of traditional film canisters and uploading of digital card so that photos can be developed in the 3,400 WalMart stores in the USA. The prints will be ready in 2 days.

This is an interesting combination of the traditional and new technologies merging to provide a cost effective solution for the customers.

The Washington Post  reports that the pricing pressure on the market will be intense. “Using the machines, customers can copy thousands of digital images from a portable memory card or compact disc, and pick up the 4-inch-by-6-inch pictures two days later for 15 cents a print at Wal-Mart, and 13 cents a print at Sam’s Club shops.”

From Rueters UK:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fuji Photo Co. Ltd.’s U.S. unit on Tuesday unveiled a low-cost film development kiosk in hopes of spurring consumers to print digital snapshots stored on memory cards and home computers.

The kiosks, called the Digital Dropbox, combines a traditional film drop box with a digital order system, and will be introduced in 3,400 Wal-Mart Stores Inc.locations by November.

Using the machines, customers can copy thousands of digital images from a portable memory card or compact disc, and pick up the 4-inch-by-6-inch pictures two days later for 15 cents a print at Wal-Mart, and 13 cents a print at Sam’s Club shops.

Japan’s Fuji Photo makes everything from digital cameras and photo paper to traditional film. Perhaps more importantly, they provides many retail stores with the photo development mini-labs used to process images dropped off by consumers.

Printing is key to companies like Hewlett-Packard Co, Fuji and Eastman Kodak Co.who each make digital cameras, but reap far more profits from supplies and services like processing, paper and ink.

“We have reached a (price point) that is encouraging consumers to make much more digital prints,” John Bond, an executive of Fuji unit Fujicolor Processing, told Reuters. “We already know that they are taking many more times the images than they were shooting on film. This will give them the opportunity to have them printed affordably.”

He added that so far the number of average digital prints per order is about 68, and a few consumers have ordered thousands of prints.

Terms between Fuji and Wal-Mart were not disclosed. Fuji said it is talking to other retail partners about deals for similar kiosks, but had no other announcements to make.