News release

HP Exceeds Digital Publishing Sales Goals by 30 Percent at Drupa

HP today announced record sales of its digital publishing solutions during the world's largest printing and publishing show, Drupa, which ran May 6 - 19 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

According to Bill McGlynn, vice president of the Imaging and Printing Group at HP, the record-breaking results exceeded initial sales projections by 30 percent, dramatically reinforcing HP's theme for the show: "Digital Printing is Happening Now."

HP's complete range of digital printing products and solutions, as well as related software and hardware solutions from more than 40 partner companies, was on display at the show, including new HP Indigo digital color presses for commercial and industrial printers, large-format color printers and high-volume multifunction copier/printers for the graphic arts industry.

"The remarkable response of commercial printing, enterprise and agency representatives to our digital publishing solutions is proof of HP's leadership in providing truly integrated, open-standards-based products and services that enhance customer communications, drive digital print volume and help companies become more profitable," said McGlynn.

Among the best-selling products for commercial printers was the recently introduced and competitively priced HP Indigo press 3050, followed by the HP Indigo press ws4000, an ideal press for the label market. The high-speed HP Indigo press w3200 continued to generate strong interest for specific applications such as creating direct mail pieces and manuals.

HP also added key customers Bosch Druck, which purchased an HP Indigo press w3200, and Bähren-Druck, X-label, Fort Dearborn and Etivoet, all of which purchased the HP Indigo press ws4000. A significant number of orders came from HP's existing customer base, such as Sommer Corporate Media, which purchased its second HP Indigo press w3200. Many orders also came from commercial printers converting to digital in order to expand their service offerings.

Also at the show, HP announced digital publishing alliances with Quark, the world's leading developer of desktop publishing software solutions, and Esko-Graphics, a world leader of packaging pre-production solutions and a global supplier of prepress systems for commercial printers. Quark featured its new QuarkXClusive software, which simplifies the design and creation of variable data material and is optimized for HP graphic arts printers and presses.

Another notable demonstration was given by HP customer, Direct Smile®, which won the Drupa Innovation Prize for its technology that enables the creation of high-impact, personalized materials with ease. Direct Smile demonstrated on-demand production of personalized calendars, postcards, direct mail pieces and posters on HP Indigo presses.

With almost 400,000 visitors at Drupa over the show's two-week run, thousands of people visited the HP booth, making it one of the busiest booths in the 16-hall exposition center. HP's theater presentation, the Volcania Show, ran four to five times daily to "sold out" audiences and, for the first time at Drupa, HP was selected as one of the four companies previewed by representatives of Europe's top international advertising agencies.

"We are very pleased with our success of Drupa, not only with the record sales numbers, but with the number and quality of our leads," said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president, Indigo Division, HP. "With our compelling HP digital publishing and partner solutions – backed by the reliability and trust of the HP name – we intend to continue to transform business communications and grow commercial and industrial printing across the globe."

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 totaled $76.8 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.