HP Extends Digital Photography Offering with the Most Connected Experience for Consumers and Pros

Business Wire, March 9, 2007

LAS VEGAS -- HP (NYSE:HPQ) today made a series of announcements designed to make its digital photography offering the most complete and highly connected experience for consumers, professional photographers and graphic artists.

Foremost among the announcements, the company introduced HP DreamColor Technologies, the industry's first highly integrated system that delivers the highest level of digital color consistency across a series of devices.

HP DreamColor will make it easy for graphic artists and professional and advanced amateur photographers to accurately match color to prints or digital sources and automatically deliver predictable color in a wide variety of applications, from photos to marketing collateral to posters.

Also introduced at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) tradeshow, the new HP Designjet Z3100ps GP Photo Printer is one of the first products to implement HP DreamColor. Designed for professional photographers and graphic artists, the 12-ink printer uses HP Vivera pigment inks to produce exquisite prints that can last more than 200 years.(1)

Over the coming year, the company plans to implement support for HP DreamColor across a range of markets and product categories, including PCs and monitors.

HP also launched 12 new digital photography products, technologies and services for home users as well as retailers. Highlighting this lineup, the HP Photosmart R837 Digital Camera is the first digital camera featuring the ability to tag photos inside the camera, which allows for easy searching and organization within Microsoft Windows Vista[TM].

"From our ease-to-use solutions for consumers to back-end infrastructures for retailers, HP is truly the only company with the depth and breadth to create a seamless and scalable photography experience - in the home, online and at retail," said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. "Through our innovation, we are enabling our customers to realize the true power of digital, freeing them from the constraints of analog and enabling them to tell their stories through photos."

Today at PMA, Joshi will deliver a keynote address during which he will be joined on stage by key DreamColor collaborator, Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive officer and director of DreamWorks Animation SKG. The two will discuss details surrounding the conception and user benefits of HP DreamColor.

First products to feature HP DreamColor Technologies

The HP Designjet Z3100ps GP Photo Printer, one of the first products to use DreamColor, is the latest addition to the HP Designjet Z Photo Printer Series, which was recognized yesterday with a 2007 DIMA Innovative Digital Product Award.

Offering the industry's only built-in spectrophotometer for improved color management, the printer also has an embedded Adobe PS3/PDF RIP, which simplifies workflow by allowing for optimum networkability. The HP Advanced Profiling Solution that comes in the box provides rigorous color profiling and includes a monitor calibrator, enabling users to accurately print their creative visions easily.

HP DreamColor also is offered in the HP Designjet Z Photo Printer series, the HP Indigo press 5000, the HP Indigo press ws4500 and the HP Photosmart Pro B9180 Photo Printer.

New photo center solutions offer customization and increased revenue to retailers

HP announced two new scaleable and customizable photo solutions for retailers - the HP Photosmart ps2000 Studio and the HP Photosmart pl1000e Microlab system.

Offering retailers an effective way to drive incremental sales, the HP Photosmart ps2000 Studio can be integrated into existing photo center or mini-lab operations. Easily operated by an attendant, the ps2000 allows retailers to expand beyond traditional 4 x 6-inch prints to create a central point for customers to order prints as well as creative projects, including ready-to-share photo books, calendars, CDs, greeting cards and posters, all of which can be picked up in less than an hour.

For retailers who wish to replace an existing mini-lab or create a new photo center, the HP Photosmart pl1000e Microlab system provides economic photo fulfillment for low- to medium-volume retail locations.

The HP Photosmart pl1000e Microlab system features the Photosmart pm1000 Microlab printer, which delivers high-performance printing in order to produce lab-quality 4 x 6-inch prints quickly - up to 700 prints per hour. Like the HP Photosmart Express station, this printing system is based on HP's Scaleable Printing Technology and creates smudge-, water- and fade-resistant prints that have the best overall image permanence of any consumer 4x6-inch prints in the entire 130-year history of color photography.(2)

Additionally, the Microlab includes the hardware and software needed to readily connect input stations, input scanners and output devices to offer traditional photo center output (4 x 6-inch, 5 x 7-inch and 8 x 10-inch prints) and can expand with options to offer creative output such as photo books, calendars and posters. The system requires minimal maintenance from retailers, resulting in lower operating costs and higher revenue.