Hewlett-Packard yesterday announced a line of speedy computer printers as part of a bid to preserve its most lucrative business.

The new printers can print a 4-by-6-inch photo in 14 seconds, compared with 30 seconds or more for HP's older printers. The secret: The print head, the most important part of a printer, is assembled in one piece.

That's harder than it sounds. Print heads are normally several pieces that are glued or welded together. To build a one-piece unit, HP uses sophisticated manufacturing technologies developed for building computer chips. HP spent five years and $1.4 billion getting it to work.

The one-piece print heads work better because they're more accurate and can cover a larger area of the page with each pass, reducing printing time, HP says. For consumers, that means "instant gratification," says Vyomesh Joshi, the HP executive in charge of imaging and printing. "Fourteen seconds print time will appeal to a lot of people."

HP hopes the new printers, which start at $199, will help the company continue to be profitable during a tough period of transition.

HP gets most of its profit from the printer division, largely from the sale of ink cartridges. But the steady moneymaker has been under attack. Falling component prices have helped Canon and other printer makers gain traction in the inkjet market that HP dominates, says Angele Boyd, printer analyst at researcher IDC. Rival Dell started selling its own line of printers in 2003 and has steadily gained share.

HP has struggled to respond. In January, then-CEO Carly Fiorina tried to shore up both the printer and PC divisions by merging them and putting Joshi in charge. But Fiorina was ousted by HP's board in February. Her replacement, Mark Hurd, quickly separated the divisions again.

The unit is now trying to reinvent itself by lowering costs — 2,000 jobs were recently cut — and focusing on fast-growing markets such as photography and self-publishing, Joshi says.

HP realizes that its printer unit "is losing steam," Boyd says. "HP is saying, 'We're still the leader. What do we do to sustain that?' "

Yesterday's product launch, with its focus on a unique technology, is a good start, she says.

Other tech analysts agree. Independent analyst Rob Enderle says the printer industry has been focused too much on lowering prices and not enough on improving print quality.

HP can do little to compete with Dell's super-low cost structure, he says. (Dell keeps prices down by selling directly via phone or Internet.) But it can "use innovation to create a much broader barrier" between itself and the competition, Enderle says.

HP also announced new digital cameras and an expansion of its online photo-printing service, Snapfish. The company also said it hired Randall Mott, currently the chief information officer at Dell. Mott will take a similar role at HP.