X-Rite announces a long-term partnership with Color Confidence to create X-Rite Photo Europe

X-Rite Photo Europe to become the dedicated supplier of X-Rite products to the photo channel

Regensdorf Switzerland, July 1st, 2013 -- X-Rite, Incorporated, the world leader in color management, measurement and communication technologies, announces today that they have entered into a long-term partnership with Color Confidence to form X-Rite Photo Europe.

The creation of X-Rite Photo Europe establishes a dedicated team, solely focussed on the X-Rite range of photo products, which from July 1st will manage the sales, marketing and support to partners and end user customers across EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Russia.

X-Rite Photo Europe’s product portfolio will include:

• ColorMunki range – ColorMunki Smile, ColorMunki Display, ColorMunki Photo
  
  
• i1 range – i1Display Pro, i1Photo Pro 2 and all i1Publish solutions
  
  
• ColorChecker range – ColorChecker Passport and the wide range of X-Rite ColorChecker charts

Existing X-Rite partners, and prospective resellers looking to learn more about X-Rite’s photo portfolio, can begin trading with X-Rite Photo Europe immediately.

Golo Schiffmann, Director for Marketing EMEA, at X-Rite, believes the new partnership demonstrates X-Rite’s ongoing commitment to better serve the photo market.

“X-Rite is committed to developing best in class color management solutions for the photo market. As a large, growing and complex business, X-Rite serves a number of different markets. The newly formed X-Rite Photo Europe will create a dedicated and specialist team for the whole of the EMEA region, ensuring that X-Rite customers and partners get the very best levels of service, product knowledge, responsiveness and understanding of local market conditions.”

Growing the X-Rite brand and improving business for X-Rite partners
X-Rite Photo Europe takes responsibility to build brand recognition in the photo market for X-Rite’s range of photo products across EMEA region.

Benefits for end-user customers and resellers
Geoffrey Clements, Managing Director of Color Confidence, sees the benefits of the partnership for both end user and reseller customers alike.

“X-Rite Photo Europe will be able to leverage Color Confidence’s proven pan-European distribution business model, offering X-Rite partners flexibility, and efficiency, with local European warehousing ensuring greater stock availability and faster delivery times.

“In addition, we will provide X-Rite customers (both end-users and resellers) with high quality customer service and technical support across the entire range of products. A dedicated team of local language specialists will be employed to support customers across EMEA and Russia and we are actively recruiting additional members of the team in business development, marketing, account management and technical roles.”

Golo Schiffmann, continued:

“X-Rite and Color Confidence have worked together successfully for over 15 years and the formation of X-Rite Photo Europe creates a single organisation focussed solely on ensuring that X-Rite products for the photo market are as widely available and as best supported as possible.

“The creation of X-Rite Photo Europe allows X-Rite to simultaneously provide the best in class products and support for all the industries we serve, meaning that our customers, whatever their passion, will receive the highest level of service and support possible.”

About X-Rite Photo Europe
X-Rite Photo Europe is the specialist photo market distributor for X-Rite’s range of products aimed at the photographic market. A partnership between X-Rite and Color Confidence, X-Rite Photo Europe is headquartered at Color Confidence’s head office in Birmingham, UK and also operates out of Karlsruhe, Germany. The aim of X-Rite Photo Europe is to promote and increase awareness of the X-Rite photo product range, providing partners with the best levels of marketing, support and logistics and providing end-user customers with outstanding technical support and guidance in their local language.

About X-Rite
X-Rite, Incorporated with its wholly owned subsidiary Pantone LLC is the global leader in color science and technology. The company develops, manufactures, markets and supports innovative color solutions through measurement systems, software, color standards and services. X-Rite's expertise in inspiring, selecting, measuring, formulating, communicating and matching color helps users get color right the first time and every time, which translates to better quality and reduced costs. X-Rite serves a range of industries, including printing, packaging, photography, graphic design, video, automotive, paints, plastics, textiles, dental and medical. For further information, please visit www.xrite.com or www.xritephoto.com.

About Color Confidence
Color Confidence are Europe's leading ‘value added' distributor of products and services in the digital imaging markets. The company works with the world's leading vendors of digital imaging solutions and offers the latest products and services backed by unrivalled technical know-how and industry expertise. Color Confidence services a diverse customer base, from imaging enthusiasts and creative professionals to multinational enterprises and government departments through its extensive dealer network and direct from www.ColorConfidence.com.

Contacts:
Geoffrey Clements	Javan Bramhall	Paula Rosales
Color Confidence	Digital Glue PR	X-Rite Europe GmbH
+44 121 684 1234	+44 7815 624263	+41 44 842 2088
gclements@xritephoto.eu	javan@digitalglue.eu	prosales@xrite.com

©2013 X-Rite, Inc. All rights reserved. X-Rite is a registered trademark of X-Rite, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  PANTONE® and other Pantone trademarks are the property of Pantone LLC. © 2013.  All rights reserved.