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™.
"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.
Both new systems efficiently integrate into existing retail photo environments by using the HP Photo Center technology platform - which combines the full-integration capabilities provided by Silverwire, which HP acquired in June 2006, with the innovations of HP's retail solutions. The systems join the company's self-serve retail photo solution, the HP Photosmart Express station, and collectively are in trials with more than 50 retailers across three continents. More information on HP's retail photo solutions is available at http://www.hp.com/go/rps.
HP also is expanding its print-to-retail options for retailers and consumers. In the second half of the year, Snapfish members, along with users of its more than three dozen co-branded sites, are expected to have the ability to order photo books and posters online, then pick these orders up at any retail location with an HP Photosmart Studio solution. Snapfish also expects to add photo cards and calendars as in-store pick up options in coming months.
HP also will begin offering two new products for its HP Indigo press 5000 in the second half of the year that help deliver true silver-halide photo quality in greeting cards, calendars and photo albums. Designed for high-end photo finishers and labs, the HP Indigo Photo Enhancement Server is a multi-processing, high-quality, fully automated photo solution. HP Indigo Light Cyan and Light Magenta (LC/LM) inks provide an improved color range and smoother tone transitions on photo-specialty products.
New digital camera features two industry firsts
HP debuted the industry's first digital camera to feature in-camera pet-eye fix, the HP Photosmart R837 Digital Camera. This innovative feature allows people to easily adjust images with glowing pet eyes, which often appear when photographing pets - the second most photographed subject among consumers.
In another industry first, this camera enables the quick tagging of photos for easy sharing with an in-camera image organization feature, compatible with Windows Vista.
In addition, the R837 features the latest generation of HP's Real Life technologies including the new HP touch-up technology for the removal of blemishes. All of these features are easy to see on a three-inch display with 170-degree viewing angle and "auto bright" display that automatically adjusts to the environment's ambient light.
HP further expanded its digital photography portfolio with two new M-Series digital cameras that start as low as $109.(3)
All of these new digital cameras are Windows Vista ready and offer consumers HP's Real Life technologies, including industry-leading in-camera red-eye removal,(4) HP Design Gallery and HP steady photo anti-shake to reduce blurring in photos.
Lab-quality photo printing for consumers who are at home or on the go
Joining HP's popular line of photo printers, HP announced the HP Photosmart A440 Series Camera and Printer Docks - a complete photo system that brings lab-quality photo printing to consumers at home or on the go.
In addition to automatically reducing red-eye and enhancing photos with the HP Red Eye button, this compact photo printer delivers long-lasting photos that resist fading for generations using HP Advanced Photo Paper and HP Vivera inks.(5) HP printing systems provide customers an unrivaled combination of quality, reliability, speed and ease of use at competitive prices, including the ability to print photos for as low as 24 cents per 4 x 6-inch photo.(6)
HP Photosmart Essential 2.0 software brings photos to life with new user interface
With the latest HP Photosmart Essential 2.0 software, users can more quickly and easily find, organize and edit photos, get lab quality prints and album pages, and securely share photos online with friends and family. The personalized home page showcases recent photos while simple web-like navigation and on-screen help ensure success.
The software is currently available for free download in 21 languages at http://www.hp.com/go/pse. Additionally, HP Photosmart Essential 2.0 is featured on new consumer PCs and notebooks and is expected to ship with fall 2007 hardware products.
Virtual house calls with HP SmartFriend for Digital Photography
Through a new service called HP SmartFriend for Digital Photography, HP is using the Internet to connect technical support agents or "SmartFriends" with customers' computers to better help them with their digital photography needs. Now, when customers have questions about cropping photos or changing printer settings to enhance their photos, they can watch their computer screens as a senior agent shows how them step by step. HP SmartFriend for Digital Photography is available in 45- or 75-minute virtual house call plans for help with digital photography "how to" questions.
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