FTP Manager

Exceptional flexibility for distributing photos

Third Light's IMS FTP Manager is used by Rex Features

Working with large newspapers and agencies often involves delivering live photographic materials directly to editorial teams using FTP (File Transfer Protocol). The essence of this process is to get up-to-date photography directly into the hands of press teams.

FTP is a system which is used widely to 'upload' information to other computer systems, using the internet to carry the data. Once pictures have been captured on a digital camera, they are first uploaded to the IMS system.

Work directly with press desks

Many press, celebrity and sports photographers are working under intense pressure to be the first to deliver images to the press. Competing with other photographers for the same space on the page requires a technology like IMS, which will deliver more pictures to more FTP servers in a shorter space of time. Fully compatible with the increasing use of wireless networks and 3G phones, IMS is a key technology for picture distribution.

The IMS software indexes, thumbnails and resizes the new images automatically, allowing them to be searched on the web conveniently. Using the FTP Manager the pictures can also be sent onwards to other internet sites, particularly the press desk servers used by almost all major newspapers.

Since the IMS systems are on ultra high-speed networks, there are no bottlenecks to worry about. The technology is also robust when remote servers are busy or temporarily unavailable.