HP UK Press Release

LONDON ,UK, April 21, 2005 - HP has announced that it will be offering dedicated colour management solutions with its printer and scanning products for photographers, creative and pre-press professionals. Users will now be able to achieve more consistent and accurate colours with the new, easy-to-use colour management solutions, powered by GretagMacbeth technology.  The colour management solutions will be available with a selection of HP printers and high resolution scanners. Advanced users can also opt for the HP Spectrophotometer, now being offered as a separate accessory.

Colour management benefits
“These new printer and scanner solutions fall in line with HP’s Graphic Arts Initiative, launched in 2003, to provide complete solutions to the creative professional. Our solutions are tailored to specific workflows, and are designed to improve price/performance ratios,” says, Kevin Dobson, Hewlett-Packard, Business Manager. Mac-connect, Imaging and Personal Systems Group, UK and Ireland.

Dobson continued: “With our tailored solutions we are maximising the out-of-the-box experience, especially for those users who are new to colour management. By implementing GretagMacbeth technology we offer even better value for money supporting a seamlessly connected colour workflow for creative and prepress markets. Both companies are committed to providing precise, accurate and dependable devices”.

Mark Geeves, vice president, worldwide Business Development at GretagMacbeth comments: “HP’s customers will benefit from reduced rework and reprints thereby saving time, and money on ink, and paper, so they can achieve greatly improved productivity. For creating and delivering artwork, colour management is an essential component to ensure colour consistency across all types of media.”

Solutions take advantage of HP Colorimeter
The relationship between HP and the colour management leader GretagMacbeth began in 2003. As a result of this partnership, HP launched the HP Colorimeter in May 2004.  HP Colorimeter is a colour measurement device that attaches easily to any CRT or LCD display unit, providing accurate monitor calibration and ICC profiling for all types of monitor, enabling a vastly improved colour match between monitor and output. The HP Colourimeter allows users to create a predictable colour management output rather than depending on guesswork.

HP is currently providing its Graphics Professionals (gp) solutions with the following products:
HP Photosmart 8450gp Studio Quality Photo Printer
HP Designjet 30gp A3+ Professional Photo-Quality Printer
HP Designjet 130gp A1+ Professional Photo-Quality Printer
HP Scanjet 8200gp, a 4800 dpi Pro Scanner

HP has also launched gp versions of its two latest printers, announced in February:
HP Photosmart 8750gp Professional Photo Quality A3+ Photo Printer aimed at photographers
Designjet 90gp A2+ aimed at graphics professionals

Each of these gp models include the HP Colorimeter, a full version of GretagMacbeth’s Eye-One Match 3.1 colour management software customised for HP products (HP Edition) and a set of generic ICC profiles for the HP gp models created with GretagMacbeth ProfileMaker 5.

Integration with high end printers and scanners
As part of the announcement HP is offering the HP Spectrophotometer with the HP Colour Laserjet 9500gp printer aimed at in-house publishing applications. The HP Colour Laserjet 9500gp enables users to quickly and efficiently produce short runs of documents, from booklets to A3 posters, using a variety of print media. The HP Spectrophotometer can be used for calibrating and profiling both input and output devices to ensure an accurate colour output and providing the user with the best colour match between onscreen and the final print version. This model includes software for profiling and calibration of scanners, displays as well as CMYK and RGB printers. As a new feature the HP Spectrophotometer also enables the user to produce profiles for their digital projector to optimise the colour output and accuracy.

As of April 1st 2005 the Spectrophotometer will be available to order as a stand-alone accessory to match with any of the HP printer range. Previously the HP Spectrophotometer could only be purchased with the HP Colour LaserJet 9500gp.

Availability and distribution
The HP Photosmart 8450gp, HP Designjet 30gp, HP Designjet 130gp printers and the HP Scanjet 8200gp are available immediately through the HP and Apple reseller channels.  The Photosmart 8750gp will start shipping on April 18th, and the Designjet 90 will be available as of June 1st . The HP Spectrophotometer is currently available with the HP Colour Laserjet 9500gp and as a stand-alone accessory from April 1st, 2005, throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa via HP and Apple reseller channels. All gp models support Macintosh and Windows and are backed up by HP’s professional support organisation.