HP MOVES INTO THE WORLD OF MAKE-UP

[Anonymous]

HP moves into the world of make-up
Printer manufacturer builds on “good foundations”
Jul 2007 HP has created an imaging system it claims will help women find the foundation shade that suits them the best.
The
printer manufacturer’s colour match technology is claimed to be able to
analyse the skin tones of someone’s face no matter how good the quality
of the image that it works from. HP said it could end the struggle to
find the right foundation.To get a match, the user holds a colour chart
of skin tones up to their face; they then take a photograph using a
camera phone and sends this on via MMS to an advisory service managed
by HP. Software at HP’s colour labs is then used to manipulate the
image, adjusting lighting and calibrating the colour.The corrected
image is compared to an existing database of previously analysed images
of real people’s skin tones. The user is then sent a text message
giving recommended colours and shades of foundation.Nina Bhatti,
principal scientist in the digital imaging and printing lab, said:
“HP’s color-matching technology provides retailers and consumer goods
companies with a new, fun way to interact with customers and promote
their products.”Although HP has not signed any deals with cosmetic
companies yet, it has carried out tests on 260 women. It will continue
these for the next few months and hopes to being full trials of the
technology within six months.“HP isn’t associated with cosmetics and we
do not claim to know anything about them. However, we do know about
imaging and the use of mobile phones which are used by everyone so why
not use them for technological advancements,” Bhatti said.

[Author]

July 18, 2007 at 2:01 PM