# HQ 963869

April 17, 2001

**CLA-2 RR:CR:GC** 963869 GOB

**CATEGORY:** Classification

**TARIFF NO.: 9010.50.60**

Mr. Arthur Shufelt

President

Durst-Dice America, LLC

16 Sterling Lake Road

Tuxedo, NY 10987

**RE:** Lambda 130 Large Format Digital Laser Imager

Dear Mr. Shufelt:

This letter is with respect to your letter of February 17, 2000, to the
National Commodity Specialist Division, New York, with respect to the
classification, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States ("HTSUS"), of the Lambda 130 large format digital laser imager
("Lambda 130"). Your letter was referred to this office for reply. We
regret the delay.

**FACTS:**

Information which you have submitted provides, in pertinent part, as
follows: "The Durst Lambda 130 large-format digital imager: the new
standard for digital large-format reflective or backlit displays
directly from file \... The Durst Lambda is the answer for efficient and
fast large-format print production with uncompromising quality for:
exhibitions, fair stands, illuminated displays." Its key features
include the fact that it generates "\[l\]arge-format prints directly
from file." It "\[e\]xposes digital images and text files direct and
without the detour of a negative or transparency onto photographic
silver halide materials \..."

In your letter of February 17, 2000, you state:

> The silver halide materials used in the Lambda 130 \[are\] normal RA 4
> or Kodak Dura Clear materials. The Lambda 130 is a raster printer.
> Hence it exposes one digital line of information at a time. It can be
> used to produce digital files from a business card size up to very
> large panels exceeding 100 feet x 8 feet. The system does not use
> sheet materials. When we refer to the media we are referring to the
> paper. The Lambda 130 does not set an image onto a printing plate. The
> Lambda does not replace the processor. Once the media is exposed it is
> removed from the Lambda and placed in an external processor. The uses
> of the Lambda are for producing display exhibits for trade shows,
> museums, corporations, government agencies, etc. It also is widely
> used to produce point of purchase displays as found in retail stores,
> airports, and the gaming industry \... After the lasers expose the
> paper it must be sent to a separate paper processor to be finished
> \... There are three lasers in the Lambda 130. Digital information is
> converted so that the lasers will expose the paper in a raster mode.
> The three lasers in the Lambda are one helium neon and two argon ion
> lasers \..."

**ISSUE:**

What is the tariff classification of the Lambda 130 large format digital
laser imager?

**LAW AND ANALYSIS:**

Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General
Rules of Interpretation ("GRI's"). GRI 1 provides that the
classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of
the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter
Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the
basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise
require, the remaining GRI's may then be applied.

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes
("EN's") constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System
at the international level. While neither legally binding nor
dispositive, the EN's provide a commentary on the scope of each heading
of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation
of these headings. See T.D. 89-80.

The HTSUS headings under consideration are, in pertinent part, as
follows:

> 8443 Printing machinery, including ink-jet printing machines, other
> than those of heading 8471; machines for uses ancillary to printing;
> parts thereof:
>
> 8471 Automatic data processing machines and units thereof \... :
>
> 9006 Photographic (other than cinematographic) cameras; \... parts and
> accessories thereof:
>
> 9010 Apparatus and equipment for photographic (including
> cinematographic) laboratories (including apparatus for the projection
> or drawing of circuit patterns on sensitized semiconductor materials),
> not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; \... parts and
> accessories thereof:

Note 1(m) to Section XVI, HTSUS, provides that: "This section does not
cover: \... Articles of Chapter 90\[.\]" Accordingly, if the Lambda 130
is described in heading 9006 or 9010, classification in headings 8443
and 8471 is precluded.

Because heading 9010, HTSUS, contains the language "not specified or
included elsewhere in this chapter," the Lambda 130 cannot be classified
in heading 9010, HTSUS, if it is described in heading 9006, HTSUS. The
key determination with respect to heading 9006 is whether or not the
Lambda 130 is a photographic camera.

EN 90.06 provides in pertinent part: "This group covers all kinds of
photographic cameras (**other than** cinematographic cameras), whether
for professional or amateur use, and whether or not presented with their
optical elements (objective lenses, viewfinders, etc.). There are many
different types of **cameras**, but the conventional types consist
essentially of a light-tight chamber, a lens, a shutter, a diaphragm, a
holder for a photographic plate or film, and a viewfinder." \[All
emphasis in original.\]

The [McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology]{.underline}
(1992) defines "camera" as follows: "A device for forming and recording
images; the basic tool of photography. In its simplest form, a camera is
a light-tight box in which an image is formed by a pinhole or lens at
one end on a light-sensitive material at the opposite end \..." [The New
Encyclopedia Britannica]{.underline} (1993) defines "camera" as follows:
"in photography, device for recording an image of an object on a
light-sensitive surface; it is essentially a light-tight box with an
aperture to admit light focused onto a sensitized film or plate \...
Though there are many types of cameras, all include five indispensable
components: (1) the camera box, which holds and protects the sensitive
film from all light except that entering through the lens; (2) film, on
which the image is recorded, a light-sensitive strip usually wound on a
spool, either manually or automatically, as successive pictures are
taken; (3) the light control, consisting of an aperture or diaphragm and
a shutter, both often adjustable; (4) the lens, which focuses the light
rays from the subject onto the film, creating the image \... and (5) the
viewing system, which may be separate from the lens system (usually
above it) or may operate through it by means of a mirror."

For the following reasons, we find that the Lambda 130 is not a
photographic camera. It is not a conventional camera as described in EN
90.06, above. It does not use film which is stated as an indispensable
component of a camera in [The New Encyclopedia Britannica]{.underline}
definition, above. It prints onto paper. Further, the image does not
originate in the Lambda 130, but originates in another device such as a
digital camera, or with a scanned photograph taken by a photographic
camera, or with the photographic output of a photo-CD, or a CD-ROM. The
Lambda 130 does not form or capture the image, but sets or records the
image onto paper.

Accordingly, we determine that the Lambda 130 is not a photographic
camera of heading 9006, HTSUS.

We then turn to the question of whether the Lambda 130 is described in
heading 9010, HTSUS, as apparatus and equipment for photographic
laboratories. We believe that the work performed by the Lambda 130 is
equivalent to photographic laboratory work. The Lambda 130 uses
photosensitive silver halide material. The latent image requires
processing by a paper processor. Although the device is operated in full
daylight, the paper processor used to finish the print is used in a dark
room environment. The process involves the creation of a digital file,
the imaging or printing of the file on the Lambda 130, the sending of
the image to a paper processor, and the production of a final print.

Thus, we determine that the Lambda 130 is described in heading 9010,
HTSUS. Therefore, the Lambda is not classified in heading 8443 or
heading 8471, HTSUS. See Note 1(m) to Section XVI, HTSUS, excerpted
above.

We find that the Lambda 130 is classified in subheading 9010.50.60,
HTSUS, as: "Apparatus and equipment for photographic (including
cinematographic) laboratories \... not specified or included elsewhere
in this chapter \... : \... Other apparatus and equipment for
photographic (including cinematographic) laboratories: \... Other."

**HOLDING:**

The Lambda 130 is classified in subheading 9010.50.60, HTSUS, as:
"Apparatus and equipment for photographic (including cinematographic)
laboratories \... not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter
\... : \... Other apparatus and equipment for photographic (including
cinematographic) laboratories: \... Other."

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Commercial Rulings Division