HP and Canon are deepening their existing relationship which will see more marketing and distribution for Canon's product list as well as a wider range of kit from HP.

The deal will help Canon get more products in front of resellers and consumers while HP will get a better collection of combined products - printer-photocopiers or fax machine-printers. The main market for these is small and medium businesses and home office users.

The two will also sell more web-enabled boxes as well as using software and support services from EDS. The two firms also get access to each others' software and development products.

The two firms may seem to be rivals in the same market but in fact Canon has been making machines for HP, rebadged as HP kit, since the mid-80s. ®