HP Brings Efficient, High-quality Color Printing to Large-format Technical Graphics

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 28, 2005, HP today announced that it is making color production a viable and cost-effective choice for the technical graphics market with the introduction of the HP Designjet 4500 Printer series.

This latest addition to the HP Designjet large-format printer family combines high-throughput color printing, copying and scanning with unattended operation and razor-sharp image quality to meet the needs of technical production environments, including AEC, MCAD, GIS and reprographics. The printer is making its debut here at Autodesk University 2005, Nov. 28 - Dec. 1.

Georgia Blue, a large-format printing company based in Georgia and beta site for the HP Designjet 4500 Printer series, has been able to reduce color printing prices and improve turnaround time. “We can save hours of labor time because of the HP Designjet 4500’s exceptional unattended operation capabilities,” said Margaret Miller, large-format sales manager, Georgia Blue. “By running jobs overnight, we can maximize our use of the printer for other jobs during the daytime.”

The HP Designjet 4500 delivers precision color line and image quality while achieving fast print, copy and scan speeds. Available as a printer with two media rolls and optional stacker, as a large format scanner, or as a fully featured print/scan/copy multifunction printer, the series features simultaneous processing and printing to shorten turnaround time and improve the production experience.(1)

“HP is leveraging its leadership in printing technology to drive the adoption of color, giving our customers more opportunities to deliver high-impact communications in a wide range of formats,” said Enrique Lores, vice president and general manager, Inkjet Commercial Division, HP. “There is an increasing demand for color in architectural and engineering communications and the HP Designjet 4500 Printer series offers a whole new experience in color print production at an affordable price.”

Unattended production enhances productivity

The HP Designjet 4500 supports two media rolls up to 500 feet (175 m) each, as well as the ability to automatically switch between dual rolls for unattended output of as many as 200 plots. In addition, the HP Designjet 4500 simplifies the user experience with:

* 0.2-inch (5 mm) margins that eliminate the need for trimming of CAD prints


* new extra-large black ink cartridges that reduce replacement frequency


* an optional stacker capable of flattening and stacking up to 200 plots


* HP Embedded Web Server, which enables remote printer management capabilities that provide current job preview, printer and supplies status reporting and alerts


* enhanced job accounting capabilities including AutoSend for remote usage reporting, facilitating pay-per-use contracts


* integration with third-party applications


“Autodesk, the world’s leading provider of software applications for design content, is very enthusiastic about the new HP Designjet 4500 printer series,” said Amar Hanspal, vice president, Autodesk Collaboration Services. “The quality, productivity and ease of use it affords will go a long way in improving the customer experience for Autodesk users, enabling them to more efficiently print and share information across project lifecycles. As our DWF platform continues to gain acceptance as an emerging standard for sharing design content, close integration between Autodesk and HP technology is essential to improving building, manufacturing and infrastructure workflows.”

Reliably fast, predictably accurate

Equipped with HP Double Swath technology, the HP Designjet 4500 series doubles the number of nozzles by placing the printheads in a staggered formation that allows the printer to extend the actual print path, resulting in much faster print speeds.

Along with an enhanced HP Media portfolio and proven HP Professional Color technologies, the HP Designjet 4500 printer series offers high-quality printouts with predictable colors.

The series also delivers up to 2,400 x 1,200 optimized dpi and plus/minus 0.1 percent line accuracy, which is optimal for users who need precise designs, plans and line drawings.

Price and availability

HP Designjet 4500 series printers are expected to be available in early 2006 at the following estimated U.S. street prices:(2)

* HP Designjet 4500: $10,995
* HP Designjet 4500ps: $13,495
* HP Designjet 4500mfp: $29,995
* HP Designjet 4500 Stacker Option: $1,995
* HP Designjet 4500 Scanner: $18,995

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 Oct. 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $86.7 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

(1) Copying and scanning features are included with HP Designjet 4500mfp model, but are available as options for the HP Designjet 4500 and 4500ps models.

(2) Actual prices may vary.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they ever materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries to 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 the expected development, performance or rankings of products or services; statements of expectation or belief; and any statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the development, performance and market acceptance of products and services and other risks that are described from time to time in HP’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2005, and other reports filed after HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2004. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

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