HP Links Up with AOL, Flickr for Suite of Printers

HP adds more applications to its line of Web-connected all-in-one printers, including an app that makes printing and sharing photos through Flickr easier.

Technology company Hewlett Packard (HP) announced a series of relationships and solutions designed to open up Web printing to all its customers, small business or home office customers as well as consumers. HP is partnering with AOL to bring embedded print customization tools to AOL sites, expand print services for Flickr members worldwide through Snapfish by HP and more HP App partners rolling out over coming months including Disney, CNET.com, 60 MINUTES, Flickr and Tabbloid.

HP is also bringing web-connected printing to the home with the HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web available on the company's Web site (starting this week) and at Staples, Best Buy, Office Depot and OfficeMax stores nationwide as well as Amazon.com throughout the fall. The company is concurrently working with Internet service provider AOL to embed the Tabbloid publishing service across the AOL network - including its RSS feeds - allowing users and businesses to print customized newsletters tailored to their interests.

The HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web, which retails for $399, joins a new line of black Photosmart printers at a variety of prices. The all-in-one device not only offers print, fax, copy and scan functionalities but also provides one-touch access to printable content from the Web. The printers incorporate a touchscreen technology that HP said makes it easier for users to display, edit and print photos as well as copy and scan documents.

HP is also introducing a selection of Print App partners over the next few months, including CBS News for text versions of 60 Minutes, Flickr, to allow members to access and print their photos directly from the printer and Tabbloid for creating and printing customized newsletters by selecting any combination of RSS feeds from blogs and websites. These apps will join a host of partners from the world of entertainment and news that the company announced in June and will be preloaded onto the printer. The apps are from companies including USA Today, Google (maps and calendar applications), Coupons.com, Fandango, DreamWorks Animation, Nickelodeon, Web Sudoku, Weathernews Inc., Snapfish.com and HP Creative Studio.

"With the explosion of digital content on the web, our goal is to enable consumers to print anywhere, anytime," said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of HP's imaging and printing group. "Today's announcement is a major step forward in our Print 2.0 strategy, we knew the web would be the future of the printed page and now, with 50 percent of everything that is printed coming from the web, we are embarking on a new era of consumer printing."

HP is also taking the time to burnish its green credentials, offering paper-saving features on its printers such as automatic two-sided printingand HP Smart Web Printing. Reducing paper usage by up to 45 percent, HP Smart Web Printing allows users to select, store and organize text and graphics from multiple web pages, and then edit and print exactly what they see on the screen. HP is also launching the HP Deskjet D2600 Printer Series, an affordable, energy-efficient solution made from 50 percent recycled plastic and starting at $49. Additionally, as an integral component of its solutions, HP has tested and confirmed the recyclability of HP Everyday Photo Paper. Through extensive testing, the paper has been confirmed by the Forest Stewardship Council as chain-of-custody certified, indicating that the source materials for the paper have come from well-managed forests.