March 22, 2005 – HP signed a deal to acquire online photo service Snapfish, the company announced yesterday. Snapfish has 13 million registered users and continues to grow by about a half million users each month, according to HP’s press release. HP hopes the acquisition will give its users more printing options while allowing Snapfish users to easily access info about their products.
“Bringing Snapfish into HP’s digital photography portfolio is a strategic move for both companies,” said Larry Lesley, senior vice president of the Consumer Imaging and Printing division at HP. “By offering a superior online photo service through Snapfish, we will be able to offer the home photographer greater choice when deciding exactly how, when and where they share, store and print their photos.”
Snapfish will be integrated into HP as a new department; this will take place in April. Once in place, the division will continue to provide free online photo sharing, photo storage, and photo managements, as well as free editing tools and software. Online ordering of prints and photo products such as calendars and mugs will still be available. No information on pricing is available yet, but it is expected that prices will remain the same.
“This combination of HP’s leadership in digital imaging and home printing with Snapfish’s leadership in online photography will provide our customers and partners with an expanded mix of quality, value and choice that we believe no comparable business can provide,” said Ben Nelson, former president of Snapfish who will lead the new division at HP. “Snapfish customers should know that, following the acquisition, the key benefits of our service and their overall digital photography experience will only get better.”
