HP Enhances SMB Focus With New Printing Solutions

HP has unveiled its latest range of LaserJet printing solutions for the SMB
and enterprise segments in APAC. Enhancing its focus on 'green', the vendor has
also announced the availability of the energy-efficient HP LaserJet Pro P1100
Printer series. Apart from this, HP has also introduced a series of MFDs and a
mobile scanner. Most products are armed with new technologies such as HP Smart
Install and the Auto-On/Auto-Off. “Today's SMBs need to use their resources
wisely, working smarter and faster to maintain their competitive edge as the
economy recovers,” said John Solomon, Senior VP-Imaging and Printing Group, HP
Asia Pacific & Japan. “HP offers SMBs an unrivaled opportunity to accelerate
growth through innovative technologies and products for the APAC market,” he
added.

Talking at the launch, Ravi Aggarwal, President-Imaging and Printing Group,
HP India, said, “The PC to printer connectivity in India stands at about 25
percent, which means that almost 75 percent of Indian customers are yet to buy a
printer. Of the 35 percent, we see that the trend in India is towards MFDs. I
think LaserJet and MFD printers are value for money and our SMB and enterprise
customers will definitely benefit from buying them.“

The Smart Install technology addresses the difficulties faced by customers
while installing a device on their computers. It eliminates the need for CD
drivers and allows users to connect to the printer with a USB cable. “From the
moment one plugs the computer to the printer using the USB, it takes less than
two minutes to take a print,” said Wai Koon Chow, Mono LaserJet Product
Manager-Imaging and Printing Group, HP APAC. New monochrome printers featuring
HP Smart Install include the HP LaserJet Pro P1100 series, LaserJet Pro
M1130/M1210 Multifunction Printer (MFP) series and LaserJet Pro P1566/P1606dn
series.

(L-R: Ivy Liang, VP-Marketing, HP Imaging and Printing Group, Asia Pacific and Japan; John Solomon, Senior VP-HP Imaging and Printing Group, Asia Pacific and Japan; Leong Han Kong, VP-LaserJet and Enterprise Solutions, HP Imaging and Printing Group, Asia Pacific and Japan)

The vendor has also introduced an authentication solution to help SMBs secure
printed documents. EzStampGuard uses patented Optical Watermark technology to
create an authentication watermark stamp, which can only be viewed with unique
film keys. Once installed, the software will insert the secure watermark onto
selected pages unless disabled through the control panel.

HP has also embedded a host of environment-friendly technolo­gies along with
the print solutions. The Auto-On/Auto-Off technology uses up to three times less
energy than a device's normal sleep mode. It senses activity such as when a
print job is sent to the printer it awakens the device automatically from 'off'
mode. “With this inno­vative technology, SMBs can configure their device to
automa­tically turn off either when it senses there is no activity after a set
of interval or at a predetermined time each day to help save energy, using less
than one watt of power consumption in Auto-Off mode. SMBs can save energy
without sacrificing speed with the first page printed out in 8.5 seconds, even
coming out of Auto-Off mode,” said Cecie Lim, Product Manager-Colour Laserjet,
Imaging and Printing Group, HP APAC.

EzPrintSaver is a cost management solution based on printer and user-based
rules such as forced duplex printing. Business owners and IT managers are free
to enable or disable functions based on business needs, and can set restrictions
on printing of office documents and unwanted documents. Users are also able to
set toner-saving printing mode for specific file types, which saves up to 25
percent on toner usage. The solution has been developed in collaboration with
EPSoft International and is embedded on a USB memory stick or hard disk
respectively for single function printers or multifunction printers.

Madhura Mukherjee

madhurak@cybermedia.co.in

(The author was hosted in Beijing by HP)