HP technology aims to capture true 'Shrek' green

Hewlett-Packard and DreamWorks Animation unveiled new technology on Thursday that will help professional photographers and designers print the exact colours they see on their monitor.

HP DreamColor, as the technology is called, will be integrated from creation through printing. It will also enable designers to print accurate colour proofs of what they can expect to see in a final product for large-scale commercial projects.

The product was born out of HP's ongoing collaboration with DreamWorks to develop colour calibration technology for, among other things, Shrek, according to HP. The animated film series (Shrek the Third is set for release May 18) is known for its especially vibrant colour palette. DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is expected to join HP at its keynote address to the Photo Marketing Association on Thursday.

Initially, the new colour sync technology will be available in the HP Designjet Z2100 (8-ink) and Z3100 (12-ink) photo printers, which will both feature built-in spectrophotometers.

It will also be available in the form of an HP plug-in for Adobe Photoshop 7.0, CS and CS2 applications for printing directly from the photo-editing application to the HP Photosmart Pro B9180 pigment ink photo printer.

HP's Indigo 5000 and ws4500 presses will also be integrated with the software, which HP says will produce colour prints better than or equal to the colour quality of commercial offset printers. HP IndiChrome software will allow accurate viewing and production of Pantone colours, according to HP.

Colour management for digital imaging has been an issue for professionals and amateurs. Several products already available in the market range in price from the thousands, such as the high-end GretagMacbeth ProfileMaker Photostudio Pro Eye-One Bundle, to lower-end amateur helpers in the US$100 range such as the Pantone HueyPro.

The release of HP DreamColor technology into HP's digital-imaging products will initially be at the professional level. But according to an HP statement, it will eventually carry over into the consumer market, including monitors.