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15
Printers
NFC printing is not the only way in which Samsung
is aiming to shake-up consumer printing. Three of its
designers – Min-chul Kim, Sang-in Lee and Seung-
wook Jeong – have come up with some interesting
new design concepts, each of which has been
awarded a Gold International Design Excellence
Award (IDEA) 2013 by the Industrial Designers
Society of America (IDSA).
Products were judged on their
innovation; benefit to the user;
benefit to society; benefit to the
client; aesthetics; usability and
emotional factors; and strategic
value.
Origami
is a 100% recyclable
personal mono laser printer for eco-
conscious consumers. Its exterior is
made from 100% recycled printer
paper challenging the idea that
printers have to have a complex
hinged cover that adds to a product’s cost, manufacturing
process and environmental impact. An origami-based
assembly method is said to give the paper cover a high
level of rigidity and durability.
Clip
shortens the manufacturing process by putting
assembly in the hands of consumers. The printer features
a new design that allows a user to construct a printer
without any special knowledge and without having to
fasten a large number of screws. The shell of the Clip
printer is produced as one planar form, with clips along
the edges that when folded snap together to create a
shell.
Mate
lets users customise their printer with various
colour combinations to suit different moods or colour
schemes. The printer housing is made from different-sized
modular panels available in a variety of colours. The side
panels and paper input and output panels slide in and
out of place making it easy for users to change the colour
scheme and create a new look.
www.idsa.org/idea-2013-gallery
Pure gold
This month’s
Business Info
Innovations
pages feature several products that use
Near Field Communications (NFC)
to provide simple pairing of devices
with just a tap. They don’t offer any
extra functionality, just an easier way
to link an NFC-enabled smartphone to
accessories and peripherals including
printers.
Samsung has just launched the first
NFC- andWiFi-enabled colour laser
devices – the C410W printer and C460
MFP – and Brother is soon to launch
the NFC-enabled MFC-J870DW/MFC-
J875DW. Earlier in the year, LG launched
the NFC-enabled Pocket Photo Smart
photo printer.
This is new territory for printer
manufacturers – Samsung is introducing
NFC on a 4ppm colour/18ppm B&W
printer first and may or may not extend
it to other models when the technology
becomes more widely used – but it is
easy to see why they might be excited
by it.
For end users, NFC-enabled printers
provide a new and easier way to print
from and scan to mobile devices. In the
case of Samsung’s printers, they
enable someone who already
has Samsung’s MobilePrint App on an
NFC-enabled device to print simply by
selecting the document to be output and
tapping their phone lightly on the printer.
The chosen document is then sent over
WiFi and printed.
Alternatively, they can tap phone
on printer to open the mobile printing
app on their device and then choose a
document and select print. If they haven’t
already installed the app, tapping will
automatically take them to Google Play
where it can be downloaded.
Owners of Samsung’s wireless
print devices are already able to print
from any Android, iOS andWindows
smartphone over WiFi or WiFi Direct
using the Samsung MobilePrint App, so
the NFC capability doesn’t offer anything
new – except speed. And that is all that
might be required to encourage users of
NFC-enabled devices to print all those
photos that remain trapped inside their
smartphones and tablets.
In this respect, Samsung will be hoping
that its Print on Tap slogan is more than
merely descriptive and presages a new
age of unbridled printing.
In the meantime, the technology
gives Samsung an opportunity to
Samsung’s new NFC-enabled printers are just one example of how it is
simplifying printing for consumers.
Innovation on tap
position itself as an innovator in mobile
communications, wireless networks and
printing – a reputation that will have been
enhanced further by a trio of IDEAS Gold
awards for three entry-level mono printer
concepts (see box).
In the business market, Samsung will
continue to meet the needs of customers
with an expanded range of A3 and A4
devices and new print solutions, many
designed to reduce the total cost of
printing. A recent example is the Samsung
Xpress M2875/2675 and M2825 series.
To lower the total cost of ownership
(TCO), the 28ppm mono devices have
separate toner and drum units instead of
all-in-one cartridges. Until now, Samsung
only offered economical two-piece toner
systems on Segment 3 and 4 devices.
www.samsung.co.uk