News release

HP Extends LaserJet Printing Portfolio to Reach Emerging Markets, In-house Marketers

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HP has extended its LaserJet portfolio to address business customers in fast-growing emerging markets as well as those looking to print marketing collateral in-house.

Many of the products announced today meet the need for reliable, efficient printing, which is universal among small businesses. These products are especially appealing to customers in countries like China, India, Russia and Brazil as well as customers in North America.

“Whether working from a home office in Alaska or a small business in Shanghai, customers can find an HP printing solution that meets their needs,” said George Mulhern, senior vice president, LaserJet Business, HP. “Unlike our competitors, HP understands that customers are not looking for a one-size-fits-all product line to help them increase their marketing effectiveness.” 

Products available in North America include:

• The HP LaserJet 1018, an affordable monochrome printer that offers the world’s smallest footprint for a laser printer. Priced starting at $129⁽¹⁾ and expected to be available May 1.
• The HP LaserJet 3050 all-in-one, a compact printer, scanner, copier and fax solution with fast printing speeds of up to 19 pages per minute. Priced at $299⁽¹⁾ and currently available.
• The HP LaserJet 5200 series, a wide-format, A3 printer series with HP Instant-On Technology, which reduces warm-up time so the first page comes out quickly, regardless of when the printer was last used. The series is supported by the HP Easy Printer Care 1.5 printer management tool,⁽²⁾ priced starting at $1,439⁽¹⁾ and expected to be available May 1.

Expanding infrastructure in emerging geographies

To better understand how challenging environmental conditions common in emerging geographies can affect a customer’s printing experience, HP recently opened a product test center in Shanghai, China. Airborne particulate pollution, frequent power surges and outages, and extreme ranges in temperature and humidity are among the factors being studied.

HP also has expanded distribution to areas of China outside of the major cities to reach small business owners who currently have limited access to HP products.

“HP is skilled at identifying end users’ specific printing needs and delivering products to meet them – a critical factor to the company’s success within emerging geographies,” said Robert Palmer, director, InfoTrends. “Instead of sending ‘cast offs’ to these regions, HP is primed to continue to show leadership worldwide by creating localized versions of their latest LaserJet introductions. This product rollout strengthens HP’s LaserJet lineup considerably, providing strong capabilities at very attractive price points.”

Improving in-house marketing effectiveness

With HP LaserJet offerings, businesses can make their marketing efforts more flexible and timely by creating and printing materials such as brochures, flyers and mailers in-house. HP also provides for high-quality color output with the following in-house marketing solutions:

• A new relationship with iStockphoto, a community-powered marketplace for stock photography. HP customers can access iStockphoto’s 700,000-plus image library directly from the HP in-house marketing portal at www.hp.com/go/inhouse.
• The HP Color LaserJet 2605 series adds brilliant color to business output. The HP Color LaserJet 2605dtn is the world’s first single-function color laser printer to have photo memory card slots.⁽³⁾ Designed for HP ColorSphere toner, which provides stunningly high-quality prints, the series is priced starting at $499⁽¹⁾ and expected to be available June 1.
• The HP Color LaserJet 1600, an entry-level, personal desktop color laser printer designed for HP ColorSphere toner. Priced at $299⁽¹⁾ and expected to be available May 1.
• New HP Glossy Laser Presentation Paper for customers who want to print impressive presentations, proposals and marketing collateral on two sides. Priced at $12.99⁽¹⁾ for 300 sheets and currently available.

Expanded portfolio of all-in-ones and monochrome printers

HP also introduced high-performance, versatile all-in-ones and monochrome printers. All are currently available in North America and include:

• HP LaserJet 3052/3055 all-in-one – A flatbed all-in-one with full office functionality for small work teams with moderate volumes. Priced at $399/$499.⁽¹⁾
• HP LaserJet 3390 all-in-one – A high-performance, desktop all-in-one with fast print speeds and versatile features for small work teams. Priced at $699.⁽¹⁾
• HP LaserJet 9040 series – A versatile office printer that offers high-performance, high-volume, 11-inch by 17-inch, A3 printing and is designed for departments or large workgroups. Priced starting at $2,299.⁽¹⁾

In addition, HP is offering three print cartridge dual-packs for the HP LaserJet 4100, 4000, 4050 and 3800 series printers. Prices vary depending on the model.

Business printing software and services

HP continues to enhance its Universal Print Driver Series for Windows^®, an industry first. The Universal Print Driver, a single driver replacement for all of HP’s PCL5 and Postscript printers, dramatically simplifies driver management and end-user printing. The product has been updated with new features, including support for Postscript Level 3; user, printer and job status; supplies notification; and a wider variety of supported printers.⁽⁴⁾

HP also unveiled a new service program called HP One-Time Replacement Care Pack. A low-cost alternative to the existing HP Care Pack, the service provides a convenient one-time replacement of a printer if it fails, plus unlimited remote diagnosis and support during the coverage period.

More information on the latest additions to the HP LaserJet portfolio is available in an online press kit at www.hp.com/go/laserleadership.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended Jan. 31, 2006, HP revenue totaled $87.9 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

⁽¹⁾ U.S. estimated street prices. Actual prices may vary.

⁽²⁾ HP Easy Printer Care 1.5 software is designed to help small businesses or large business groups manage up to 15 printers, reduce support costs and maximize productivity by making printer configuration, monitoring, supplies ordering, troubleshooting, and updating as simple and efficient as possible.

⁽³⁾ The HP Color LaserJet 2605dtn, priced at $699, has Compact Flash (Type I & II), Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro, MultiMedia, SmartMedia, Secure Digital and xD-Picture Card slots and an additional paper tray.

⁽⁴⁾ New HP LaserJet printers supported by Universal Print Driver include the LaserJet 5200 series, LaserJet 9040 series, LaserJet 3050 all-in-one, LaserJet 3052/3055 all-in-one, LaserJet 3390 all-in-one and the LaserJet 2605 series.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to anticipated operational and financial results; statements of expectation or belief; and any statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the achievement of expected results and other risks that are described from time to time in HP’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the risks described in HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, 2006, and other reports filed after HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2005. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.