PALO ALTO, Calif., April 24 -- HP is changing the way it delivers inkjet cartridges to customers to offer them more choice, greater value and a simplified shopping experience, both in-store and online.

Beginning this year, most new HP consumer printers worldwide will be introduced with multiple inkjet cartridge offerings that are designed to provide customers with options that better meet their printing needs. In addition, the new cartridge options will deliver value by offering low purchase prices to customers who print a little and lower cost-per-page to customers who print a lot.

In conjunction with these new cartridge offerings, HP is rolling out a new color-coded packaging system across its entire inkjet cartridge portfolio. Three color-coded categories -- standard (blue), value (green) and specialty (red) -- will allow customers to walk into a retail store or log on to hp.com and quickly and easily scan their options to find the right cartridge that offers the best value for their printing needs.

All three categories deliver the superior reliability and print quality customers expect from HP. For the majority of new HP printers, the inkjet cartridge options will be:

• "Standard" cartridges (blue packaging), which have a lower purchase price, are designed for customers who print a small number of pages on a weekly or monthly basis. Beginning in 2007, HP will introduce an increasing number of standard cartridge offerings in the $14.99 price range for those customers who still want access to high-quality printing, but don't want to pay a lot at the point of purchase.

• "Value" cartridges (green packaging), which are designed for customers with higher volume printing needs, offer a lower cost per page compared to standard cartridges. This line will include new high-yield "XL" cartridges that provide customers approximately 30-45 percent savings on a cost-per-page basis, print up to three times more pages and require fewer cartridge replacements compared to standard cartridges. Customers can easily identify the new value option by looking for the green packaging and the letters "XL" next to their cartridge number.

• "Specialty" cartridges (red packaging), which offer additional performance features compared to HP's standard ink formulations, are ideal for customers with special applications and printing jobs, such as professional-quality photographs.

"For more than 25 years, many HP printers offered customers only one cartridge choice. Now, the majority of our printers will offer customers multiple options," said Pradeep Jotwani, senior vice president, Supplies, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. "Delivering customer choice and value is critical for driving continued growth and the unprecedented level of innovation HP is applying toward the customer experience is as important as the innovation behind the technology that goes into our high-performance ink and paper products."

Improved shopping experience

To improve the customer purchasing experience, HP has extended its color-coded system to point-of-sale materials, such as updated ink selection guides. The changes will attract shoppers' attention in retail aisles and direct them to the appropriate supplies -- helping to educate people about their choices and increasing overall customer satisfaction.

Similar point-of-sale tools and the new look and feel will be employed online at http://www.hpshopping.com to quickly guide customers to the right supplies for their printer and printing requirements.

Downloadable photos of HP's new inkjet cartridge offerings, as well as a video showcasing HP's retail and online makeover, are available online at http://www.hp.com/go/supplieschoice.