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PRINT.IT
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www.binfo.co.uk
Printers
HP had a difficult 2012, but with the unveiling of new inkjet and
laser devices and a cloud-based document management system,
it is starting 2013 with a bang.
The OfficeJet Pro X is a long overdue
expansion of HP’s inkjet range into small
workgroup printing.
A fresh start
New business inkjets have the X factor
Due to be launched in Spring
2013, the HP Officejet Pro X
Series is a new range of inkjet
printers and MFPs targeted at
workgroups of 5 to 15 people.
It offers the same value
proposition as the company’s
OfficeJet Pro devices for
workteams of up to 5 people
(i.e. colour printing at up to
half the cost of equivalent
colour laser devices) with the
added bonus of colour print
speeds of up to 70 pages
per minute in ‘general office’
mode.
Not to be confused with
vastly inferior draft printing
options, general office mode is
designed for the 70% of print
jobs that will only ever be used
in-house. The print samples seen
by
PrintIT
– a flow diagram and
report with bar chart – were
impressive with clear black text
and strong colours and would
have been more than adequate
for most people’s needs.
But even in normal printing
mode, the X series is really
quick: up to 42ppm or 33ppm
when printing on both sides of
the page.
Throw in low energy
consumption, high capacity
cartridges, water-resistant
pigment-based ink, a low cost per
page, 500-sheet paper capacity
(with the option of a second tray),
automatic two-sided printing,
a 10.9cm colour touchscreen
and all the connectivity and
management features you would
find on an equivalent LaserJet
Pro device and this looks a
compelling proposition.
Unprecedented excitement
Mercè Barcons, HP’s Vice
President for the Inkjet Hardware
Category in EMEA, says that
HP’s channel is very excited by
the new products. “The level of
excitement and enthusiasm is
unprecedented. They are excited
about the value proposition itself.
They are excited about winning
new business. They see this as
an addition that will allow
them to access
some
opportunities they couldn’t
access in the past,” she said.
But what about HP’s business
customers? Are they ready to
take a gamble on inkjet printing
or will they play safe and stick
with laser?
HP and competitors like
Epson have already had some
success marketing inkjet devices
as a viable alternative to laser
technology for micro-businesses
and home-based professionals
– HP alone has sold more than
10 million OfficeJet Pro devices
globally since 2005 at a CAGR of
30%. But persuading businesses
that inkjet is robust, reliable
and productive enough for busy
workgroups is a different matter.
HP’s previous attempt to
market inkjet technology to
business customers – the ill-
fated HP Edgeline MFPs on which
the X Series PageWide printhead
technology is based – shows how
hard this can be. According to
Hatem Mostafa, vice president
of Inkjet Business and Platforms,
HP has learnt lessons from that
failure, which he says was more
to do with the route to market
than the products themselves.
“We had multiple issues
launching Edgeline technology.
We had inkjet for desktop
printing and skipped several
levels and went into high end
departmental printing. It was
a big leap to get customers to
accept this technology at the
high end; the product was only
sold contractually; and it needed
a different go-to-market approach
and a level of support that HP
was only just developing at the
time. These new products fit into
a traditional reseller channel,”
he said.
Fulvio Ferrari, Vice-president
and General Manager of HP’s
Inkjet and Web Solutions
Business, added: “We had always
said ‘inkjet is for consumers
and laser is for business’, then
suddenly we brought out a
product and said ‘inkjet is for
business’. We took too much of
a leap. We went from 1, 2, 3 to
10. We are now going from 1, 2,
3 to 4 and then to 5 and then
to 6. Ultimately we will get to
10 but it won’t be in a big leap.
This launch is based on our
experience with Edgeline. We are
confident it will be successful.”
Much to like
It certainly deserves to be, for
there is much to like about these
devices and HP has clearly
gone to great lengths to avoid
frightening business users.
As well as offering all the
connectivity and management
features of comparable laser
devices (e.g. PCL 5/6, PS-
support, a Universal Printer
Driver and Webjet Admin),
the printers look solid and
dependable – more like laser
printers than inkjet models; they
have a recommended workload
of up to 4,000 pages per month;
and come with a generous
500-sheet paper capacity that
can be doubled with the addition
of an extra paper tray.
High yield ink cartridges
(9,200 pages for black ink
and 6,600 pages for C, M, Y
cartridges, compared to standard
capacities of 3,000 and 2,500)
minimise the need for user
intervention and maximise cost
savings (precise details not
available at the time of going to
press). The new pigment inks are
water-resistant and highlighter
proof and, according to HP,
won’t clog up the nozzles even
if a printer is not used for four
weeks.
In addition, X Series devices
consume at least 50% less
energy than laser printers and
generate less waste as the only
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