thorsted / kqp2jpg

Small, rough Python script to convert KQP files to JPG

kqp2jpg

Small, rough Python script to convert KQP files to JPG.

This script is heavily indebted to several 1996 Usenet posters, especially Ed Hamrick. See https://web.archive.org/web/20240611193131/https://groups.google.com/g/rec.photo.digital/c/lkz_8p8S2U0 for the analysis on which it is based.

Background

.KQP is a raster graphics format associated with Konica Picture Show, and related software (PC PictureShow).

— justsolve.archiveteam.org

Just before the turn of the century, Konica partnered with photo shops and drugstores to run a scanning service for home photos. After developing your pictures, they would scan your film for a small fee ... and give you a floppy disk with digital photos and a copy of the Konica “PC PictureShow” program. The program automatically loads the images on the disk and lets you view photos on your PC. The scans are only 600 x 400 pixels, but that was plenty large for your average home snapshots back in 1999.

— Parts Not Included

Unfortunately, this is a proprietary file format. The creator, Konica, "merged with Minolta to form Konica Minolta in 2003, and ... then got out of the camera business in 2006 – selling most of its operations to Sony" (Parts Not Included). Despite that, however, the format is more or less a modified JPEG, which has allowed conversion into that format.

Usage

Navigate to the folder containing the KQP files you wish to convert, then invoke the Python script.

Test files

I have included two test files. Both are from the same 3.5" floppy disk, probably from the late 1990s, and depict a high-school track meet.

• 21_18A.KQP shows a person rolling around in grass next to a track while someone holding a pole or javelin stands next to them. A red pole or javelin bisects the image. (Other photos in the series make it clear that this red stripe is a physical object and not an error)

• 25_22A.KQP shows several people on a field. One is practicing javelin or pole vault, one is watching the practicer, and two are holding poles or javelins and talking to each other.