HP Press Release 27/08/04

HP FULFILS THE NEED…THE NEED FOR SPEED

HP Releases Next Generation Inkjet Print Cartridges Giving Fastest Printing Ever and Longer Life Prints

London, UK, 27 August 2004; HP today announced it had achieved the UK’s fastest ever printing speeds with its new breakthrough technology increasing printing speeds by up to 40%. The groundbreaking range of inkjet cartridges also incorporates a new ink formulation that extends lightfastness to record lengths of more than 100 years(1) and delivers unsurpassed print quality.

“This is a major breakthrough in the quest for faster, more vibrant, longer lasting printing. Whether you’re printing photos or business documents, the new range means time waiting by the printer is dramatically reduced, print-quality is at never-before seen levels, and prints will last significantly longer. This breakthrough makes photo and office printing more efficient than ever.” explained Kerry Hogarth, HP UK Supplies Product Manager. “These advances strengthen HP’s leadership position in the printing market - both hardware and supplies - and illustrate HP’s commitment to research and development for the benefit of HP’s customers.”

Gen II cartridge Overview:

The next generation cartridges feature breakthrough inkjet technology:

- new cartridge design
- prints heads that sit closer to the page
- more nozzles
- greater firing frequency
- new ink formulation
- further increase in fade resistance to more than 100 years (final Wilhelm Institute figures expected shortly)
- up top 40% faster print speeds

The new range comprises six new cartridges: One photo cartridge, two tri-colour, two black and one grey cartridge. It is released in conjunction with a series of new hardware options, including eight printers and five all in ones.

New Cartridge Design
In order to achieve these best-ever speeds HP has increased the size of the print head and number of nozzles so the number of passes over the page required is reduced, and increasing firing frequency. The new print cartridge shape allows the print cartridge to be positioned closer to the paper, improving paper transfer and increasing control and accuracy of the ink placement.  This also enables true borderless printing with no need for tear-off tabs on any size of photo paper. The new cartridges also incorporate advanced smart-chip technology with ink level indicators, re-order reference sheets and other features that for the first time are incorporated into inkjet cartridges.

New Inks
HP has also developed new ink formulations that enable more vivid colours and sharper blacks. The tri-colour inkjet print cartridges include new dye-based cyan, yellow and magenta inks that not only improve image quality but ink efficiency and yield. The black inkjet print cartridges contain a new pigment-based black ink that delivers laser quality crisp text and graphics, and prevents bleed between black and colour inks in printed graphics.

Longer fade resistance
The next generation cartridges builds on HP’s strong legacy in the arena of fade resistance to offer significantly improved fade resistance for 3 and 4-ink printing - up to 82 years for 3-ink, more than four times previous best resistance periods - and extended fade resistance for the
already impressive 6 and 8-ink printing systems.(2)

Environmentally Aware
The life of a HP inkjet print cartridge doesn’t end when the ink runs out - HP is committed to helping all users dispose of their used print cartridges responsibly through recycling programmes. HP has made this easy for users through the HP Planet Partners programme - consumers simply return empty inkjet print cartridges in the pre-addressed postage paid return kit and HP will recycle it.

Product Overview
HP No. 343 Tri-Colour Inkjet Print Cartridge, 7ml, (C8766EE), approximate yield: 260 A4 pages at 15% coverage. Estimated street price ?18.99 (actual prices may vary)

HP No. 344 Tri-Colour Inkjet Print Cartridge, 14ml, (C9363EE), approximate yield: 450 A4 pages at 15% coverage. Estimated street price ?24.99 (actual prices may vary)

HP No. 100 Grey Photo Inkjet Print Cartridge, 15ml, (C9368AE), approximate yield: 80 black and white 10 x 15 cm photos or 110 10 x 15 cm colour
photos in 6-ink mode. Estimated street price ?19.99 (actual prices may vary)

HP No. 348 Photo Inkjet Print Cartridge, 13 ml, (C9369EE), approximate yield: 135 10 x 15 cm photos.(3) Estimated street price ?18.99 (actual prices may vary)

HP No. 338 Black Inkjet Print Cartridge, 11 ml, (C8765EE), approximate yield: 450 A4 pages at 5% coverage. Estimated street price ?15.99 (actual prices may vary)

HP No. 339 Black Inkjet Print Cartridge, 21 ml, (C8767EE), approximate yield: 800 A4 pages at 5% coverage. Estimated street price ?22.99 (actual prices may vary)

The six different print cartridges allow real flexibility.  Depending on their printer model, consumers can swap the cartridges in and out of their HP printers to create the images they desire.  In addition, the tri-colour and black inkjet print cartridges are available in two sizes, allowing consumers who produce greater quantities of documents to benefit from these new technologies.

About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2004, HP revenue
totalled $76.8 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com/uk.

? 2004 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

***printer compatibility chart available on request

(1) Awaiting confirmation from Wilhelm Institute

(2) Tests conducted by Wilhelm Imaging Research, with HP Premium Plus Photo Paper on a HP Photosmart 7960 Photo Printer delivered fade resistance of up to 73 years with colour printing (using the HP No. 57 and No. 58 Inkjet Print Cartridges) and 115 years for black and white images (using the HP No. 59 Grey Photo Inkjet Print Cartridge).

Results of early internal HP testing indicate that the new HP inkjet print cartridges for 3 and 4-ink colour photos printed on HP Premium Plus Photo Paper should resist fading longer than with previously introduced HP 6 and 8-ink printing systems.  Fade resistance tests with the new HP inkjet print cartridges for 6 and 8-ink colour photo printing are in progress with Wilhelm Imaging Research.  Based on internal HP test results, HP is confident that colour photos printed on HP Premium Plus Photo Paper will resist fading longer than with previously introduced 6 and 8-ink printing systems.

Internal HP testing show that black and white photos printed with the new HP No. 100 Grey Photo Inkjet Print Cartridge will yield the same excellent fade resistance as the HP No. 59 Grey Photo Inkjet Print Cartridge (introduced in 2003).

Internal HP testing show that black and white photos printed with the new HP No. 100 Grey Photo Inkjet Print Cartridge will yield the same excellent fade resistance as the HP No. 59 Grey Photo Inkjet Print Cartridge (introduced in 2003).

(3) The HP No. 348 can only be used in conjunction with another tri-colour inkjet print cartridge. When used in conjunction with the HP No. 344, the HP No. 344 will yield approximately 240 10 x 15 cm photos and when used in conjunction with the HP No. 343, the HP No. 343 will yield approximately 120 10 x 15 cm photos.  Due to different fill levels in these cartridges, they will not need to be replaced simultaneously.