The UK arm of Europe’s leading photo processing company is set to turn its hand to personalised greetings cards.
CeWe Color was founded in Germany 50 years ago and now has 22 centres across Europe with an estimated turnover of 450 million Euros.
CeWe Color UK, based in Warwick, houses 75 staff and produces much of the firm’s online range including prints, home decoration and photobooks.
But following the development of its innovative face recognition technology ‘FaceSwap’ and legal assistance from Midland solicitors Wright Hassall, CeWe Color is launching its own online personalised greeting cards platform called Card Town.
The format has been up and running since before Christmas, in order to allow the developers to refine the exclusive technology before its official launch.
James Morgan, online marketing manager at CeWe Color UK, believes it is an exciting step for the firm.
He said: “CeWe Color has always been involved with all aspects of photo processing from printing to personalising items.
“CeWe Color UK looks after all the photo processing for the likes of Argos and Jessops, among other high-profile clients.
“We will be using our new FaceSwap technology, which was developed with Manchester University, to allow customers to create unique greetings cards from photographs.
“The face recognition software means that when a photo is uploaded it can be placed directly into a picture without having to be cropped or edited, that is done automatically making it much quicker and easier for the user.
“This is something that will just be launched in the UK for now but could be rolled out internationally if it is successful.”
Christine Jackson, a partner in Wright Hassall’s Outsourcing, Technology and Commercial Team, advised on the licensing and legal aspects which helped CeWe to launch the product and she feels there is definitely a market for Card Town’s products.
She said: “We helped negotiate and conclude various technology-related licensing arrangements to ensure the Card Town business has all the appropriate rights in place to be able to trade and fulfil customer orders.
“We have seen the success of other online personalised greetings cards’ companies and with this unique technology I hope to see Card Town being just as, if not more, successful than the rest.
“I received a fantastic Christmas card from Card Town – the concept is fun, the brand is strong and the quality of the product is second to none.”