HP Printers Produce First Official Postage Originating From a Personal Computer.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 1998--

HP Furthers Leadership in Internet Printing by Testing Print

Quality of First PC-generated Postage

Hewlett-Packard Company today used its world-class HP DeskJet and LaserJet printers to print the nation's first computer-generated postage. The historic printing was part of the United States Postal Service and E-Stamp Corporation's unveiling of the first online postage solution approved for beta testing by the U.S. Postal Service. Aimed specifically at the small- and home-office market, this PC-based postage solution will allow customers to be more productive by providing a convenient alternative for purchasing postage.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based E-Stamp has developed a solution, E-Stamp Internet Postage, that will allow customers to purchase postage online. The postage is downloaded and secured in an electronic vault that connects to a PC's printer port. With E-Stamp's Internet Postage, users can print the digital postage, SmartStamp, directly onto their envelopes. The new technology is slated to be beta tested in selected regions in the coming months.

"We are excited about working with the U.S. Postal Service and E-Stamp Corporation to help push this technology forward," said Carolyn Ticknor, HP vice president and general manager of the LaserJet Solutions Group. "As part of our leadership strategy in the Internet printing arena and our commitment to small-business customers, HP will continue to align itself with innovative technologies that allow customers to use the full-potential of the Web to be more productive from their desktops."

HP officially donated products used in the ceremony to the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. These products, an HP Vectra PC system and an HP LaserJet 6P printer, will be featured in a public exhibit that showcases the first PC postage solution.

HP TESTS PRINT QUALITY FOR USPS

The Postal Service developed the Information-Based Indicia Program (IBIP) to provide more convenient and secure postage to the customer. The Postal Service enlisted HP to test the print quality and scanning reliability of the digital postage -- a two-dimensional bar code that can be read by the Postal Service.

"One day, this new convenience will make postage available, on call, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Marvin Runyon, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service. "This is the future: postage directly from a personal computer."

HP initiated testing with the IBIP using HP DeskJet printers; similar testing followed with HP LaserJet printers. A wide range of tests measuring variables such as image quality and print permanence were performed on a variety of envelopes and flat media. The Postal Service-approved test results are available to the public through HP.

ABOUT HP

HP is the official information-technology hardware and maintenance supplier to the 1998 World Cup soccer tournament.

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global provider of computing, Internet and intranet solutions, services, communications products and measurement solutions, all of which are recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 123,300 employees and had revenue of $42.9 billion in its 1997 fiscal year.

Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com. -0-

NOTE: Web links in this release may take you outside the Hewlett-Packard Company Web site. HP does not control and is not responsible for information outside the HP Web site.

CONTACT: HP

Mary Marks, 208/396-5445

mary_marks@hp.com

or

Copithorne & Bellows for HP

Michelle Hanson, 408/988-2100

michelle.hanson@cbpr.com