1999: Change and Opportunity

1999 was to be a year of significant change for HP, for my team and for me. By early 1999, my Writing Systems Research team had met most major objectives for the single-pass image printing prototype. We had created a completely new set of printer and printbar electronics. We developed a recirculating ink delivery system that delivered high fluidic speed while keeping the printbar cool. We were working on several novel printbar assembly techniques and processes. The Singapore government was funding one of my engineers, Tim Beers, to work on an interesting stepped-die through-silicon interconnect program. Overall Advanced Research Lab management of the FIT4 and Match (formerly Gutenberg) programs transferred to Rich Duncombe as the program matured. My team demonstrated (nearly) no-banding single pass printing on plain paper, and developed algorithms to compensate for isolated missing nozzles, line feed errors, and bi-directional hue shift. We were working on writing system methods to solve a new problem in high speed drop-on-demand printing that we called dynamic swath height error. This (and a similar effect known as "flood banding") were more significant than traditional line feed error as contributors to visible banding in single pass printing. We were seeing early success as we characterized and adapted to this artifact. In short, things had moved beyond initial invention and were migrating toward development that would be handled better by HP's mainstream R&D labs.

During this same period of time, there was a growing realization that the core technology competencies at the Corvallis HP site might be useful in new markets. Antonio's inkjet business was now called Inkjet Imaging Solutions. At the corporate level, there was a growing drive for growth. Several growth-oriented investigations were launched in the various Corvallis labs, and my team quickly transformed to become a primary part of the search for new opportunities. We changed our name to CART (Competitive Advantage Research Team), modified the team membership a bit, and added these elements:

New Applications will prospect for new inkjet applications, demonstrate enabling technologies, and evaluate opportunities for new inkjet business ventures.

·         Action Plan: Identify and prioritize new inkjet opportunities. Learn printing requirements and industry needs by attending trade shows and conferences, visiting customers, and seeking out expert sources of information. Understand competitive products, develop demonstrations of enabling inkjet technologies, and assess development requirements.

Customer Applications Engineering will provide technical support for novel applications of current technology in key printing segments such as Vertical Markets, the new Internet Consumer Expressions product group, and strategic alliances with business partners.

·         Action Plan: Identify compelling new applications for the installed base of HP printers, develop printing techniques, identify and test novel media, and provide technical support to the Vertical Marketing  and ICE efforts.  Deliver technical expertise directly to the customer through participation in vertical market outreach efforts, non-traditional trade shows, consumer magazine articles, infomercials, internet sites, and other technical PR opportunities to support the growth of existing products.

We had an interesting time investigating new ideas and business opportunities ranging from using TIJ for deep lung drug delivery to printing on textiles. The fabric printing idea generated a lot of HP interest, and I'll say more about it later.

At the HP company level, Lew Platt made a significant move prior to his retirement by naming the four highest ranking HP executives, Ann Livermore, Duane Zitzner, Carolyn Ticknor, and Antonio Perez, presidents and CEOs of their respective businesses. Click for the InfoWorld story. "They have the full authority to adapt their business models to their own competitive landscapes," Platt said in a statement. Livermore would run Enterprise Computing Solutions. Zitzner would run the PC business. Antonio and Carolyn would run inkjet and laser printing. The goal was to boost sales growth while giving these executives the power to run their own buinesses. One outcome was that Carolyn and Antonio became even more competitive and antagonistic with each other. The gap between the laser and inkjet business became worse.

As everyone knows, HP announced that Carly Fiorina was the new CEO on July 19, 1999. Much has been written about Carly's HP tenure and the resulting changes and turbulence at HP. Carly's changes and ambitions and initiatives ended up providing interesting opportunities for me to evolve my HP career in new directions.

Carly didn't waste any time putting her mark on HP by implementing organizational changes that would eventually result in undoing the decentralization of HP by pulling more and more power into the senior executive circle. In October, she rearranged the responsibilities of the four president/CEOs that had just been put in place by Lew Platt in April. Among the changes, Carolyn Ticknor became in charge of the entire HP printing business. Antonio Perez would end up leaving HP within very few months.

Through all of this change, my own work on technology evangelism continued. In 1999, I flew more than 127,000 miles for HP. I visited Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, New York, Barcelona, and then a return to Singapore, Seoul and Hong Kong on PR trips.

As we became more involved with new business development, I was pulled into discussions with Kimberly-Clark about a potential joint deal for fabric printing. That required multiple trips to Atlanta and Barcelona. It also resulted in an interesting idea that I patented along with Makarand Gore from my team. One of the problems with fabric printing was the difficulty that drop-on-demand technologies had in printing the many types of required inks and colorants at ultra-high speeds. My idea was to pre-treat the fabric with chemicals that would change to the desired colors when hit by light from a laser. This would replace the need to jet liquid with the ability to mass treat fabric then hit it with a high speed modulated laser. Makarand was an ink chemist and generated the chemistry. As far as I know, that patent has never been used by anyone.

I also flew to Dallas, Minneapolis, Memphis, and Charlotte on new business deals. Another executive, Al Miksch, had returned to HP and was forming a group to work at Carolyn Ticknor's level on business expansion via external investments and new HP businesses. My team became attached to Al's work but remained for awhile in the renamed Advanced & Applied Research Lab. We became known as the Strategic Technology function in New Business Development. Here's a snapshot of our goals:

• Articulate technology requirements for business success

• Prospect, identify, and prioritize technology opportunities

• Evaluate strategic and technological fitness

• Demonstrate enabling technologies

Things were evolving quickly. On December 8, 1999, HP's internal Newsgram included this:

IPS UPDATE. Carolyn Ticknor, president of HP Imaging and Printing Systems (IPS), has taken the next steps in restructuring her organization, including integrating the product platform and supplies activities for inkjet and LaserJet printers. Vyomesh Joshi has been named to head the new Inkjet Platform, Supplies and Capture business. His organization includes three business units -- Inkjet Supplies, Personal Imaging and Printing Systems and Inkjet Graphic Solutions -- and the Greeley Hardcopy Division.

Neal Martini will head LaserJet Platforms and Supplies. His organization comprises Personal LaserJet, Imaging Solutions for Workgroups, Network Peripheral Solutions, Department LaserJet Printing, Systems Architecture, and the LaserJet Imaging Supplies Division, including the eliptica program.

Doug Johnson will manage IPS Marketing, which consists of regional commercial marketing centers, IPS Marketing Communication and IPS Planning. IPS Customer Support will be led by Bill McGlynn, with Commercial Hardcopy Support, e-Business, and Cables and Accessories reporting to him.

Rich Raimondi will head IPS Services and Solutions. The organization comprises Digital Workplace Services, Dazel Corporation and Books-on-Demand.

In addition, Lee Caldwell has been named IPS chief technology officer.

Vyomesh Joshi ("VJ") and Lee Caldwell would be quite important to me. I had known VJ for a few years, had worked with him on photo printing, and had traveled with him to tell the TIJ technology story. VJ's promotion to run inkjet under Carolyn turned out to be a great move by HP. Lee would become my next manager. He would last at HP for just over two years, but I'm glad for that time reporting to him.

Next: 2000-a: From Inkjet to Chief Technology Office