ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 1, 2002 -- HP (NYSE:HPQ) announced that Benny Landa, founder of Indigo and now strategic advisor to HP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina, has been awarded the Edwin H. Land Medal at today’s annual meeting of the Optical Society of America. The Land medal, jointly awarded by the Optical Society of America and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology, honors pioneering and entrepreneurial creativity that has had a major public impact. The medal recognizes Benny Landa’s remarkable invention, development and commercialization of ink-based electro-photography. With its acquisition of Indigo in March, HP has made this technology the cornerstone of its strategy for leading the digital transformation of the $400 billion printing industry. Described as the third leg of HP’s digital printing platform, joining HP LaserJet and inkjet technologies, Indigo digital offset color printing technology combines the power and flexibility of digital imaging with the quality of offset printing. Applications for this technology include commercial printing, industrial printing and photo-finishing. "The Edwin H. Land Medal is the imaging and printing industry’s highest accolade," said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, HP Imaging and Printing Group. "Just as Edwin Land’s inventions changed the world of photography, Benny Landa’s vision and pioneering will change the course of printing for generations to come." As founder and chief executive officer of Indigo, Benny Landa provided vision and strategic direction for the company since its inception 25 years ago. He has been granted more than 140 U.S. patents and hundreds more worldwide. In 2000, Benny Landa was awarded the Institute of Printing’s Gold Medal for his outstanding contributions to the industry, particularly the invention of digital offset color printing, described by the Institute as "one of the most significant technological innovations in our industry since the development of offset printing more than 100 years ago." Landa is a member of HP’s Technology Advisory Board. About HP HP is a leading global provider of products, technologies, solutions and services to consumers and businesses. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. HP completed its merger transaction involving Compaq Computer Corp. on May 3, 2002. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.