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HP Innovation
Printer companies like to
talk about the evolution
from hardware to software
solutions, but HP still knows
the importance of product.
Speaking at the unveiling of
10 new LaserJets and two new
solutions at the company’s
EMEA HQ in Barcelona, Vincent
Vanderpoel, vice president of
IPG Laserjet and Enterprise
Solutions EMEA, said: “We
are still very much a product
company. We need innovation
at this level.”
Recent examples include
Smart Install, which removes
the need for installation CDs;
built-in wireless connectivity
including WiFi Direct; HP ePrint
driverless printing; auto on/off,
which HP claims “can reduce
energy consumption by 60-70%
compared to some competitors”;
and large colour touchscreens
that give users of web-enabled
printers one-touch access to
time-saving apps.
All these features are evident
in the first 10 printers launched
in what Robert Dinkelacker,
Product Marketing Manager for
IPG EMEA, said would be HP’s
“biggest year of introductions
for many years” (see panel for
product details).
Another recent example is
HP’s TopShot scanner introduced
last year to meet the needs of
people who sell small items
online. The camera head that
rises above the scanning platform
captures high quality images of
3D objects and automatically
removes the background. It
can do this separately for three
different objects placed on the
platen at the same time.
There is nothing as eye-
catching as TopShot in the latest
tranche of HP printers – with
the possible exception of the
HP Officejet 150 Mobile All-in-
One, the world’s first portable
MFP – but the accumulation of
recent improvements brings real
benefits to customers.
Essential viewing
HP underlines the importance of innovation as it refreshes its
LaserJet portfolio with larger touchscreens that make it easier
for users to interact with time-saving printer apps
Print Solutions
So, too, do the company’s new
print solutions – HP Imaging and
Printing Security Centre and HP
Access Control (AC).
HP Imaging and Printing
Security Centre addresses
the complexity of maintaining
consistent security settings
across fleets of hundreds,
thousands or tens of thousands
of devices by defining optimum
settings relating to network and
data security and automatically
checking that all printers on the
network are compliant. If any
settings have been changed,
the HP Security Centre can be
programmed to over-ride them
and revert to the original settings.
The software covers every
aspect of the process (defining
security settings, adding
devices, assessing compliance,
remediation and reporting)
and is designed to be easy to
use. It comes with the HP Best
Practice policy built-in and will
advise administrators of the
impact of any changes on other
security settings, grading the
effectiveness of adjustments with
colour-coded smiley faces.
HP’s other new solution, HP
Access Control, addresses the
security of printed documents by
requiring users to authenticate
themselves by PIN code,
Windows log-in or card/badge
at a device to release a print
job. The server-based solution
includes HP Mobile Release
software that lets users view
and release print jobs via their
smartphone by scanning a
barcode or QR code displayed on
the device they want to print to.
HP Access Control Express
for SMEs provides PIN release
and HP Mobile Release; HP AC
Professional adds card release,
usage controls and print rules
so that web pages are always
printed in mono, for example.
There is no doubt that printer
solutions are becoming ever
more important, as businesses
seek to gain control over print
costs and streamline business
processes. However, the need to
integrate apps and solutions into
existing workflows and provide
office-based and mobile workers
with an easy way to interact with
them means that innovation
at the hardware level remains
essential.
M401 &
M575 (right)
New for 2012
HP Officejet 150 Mobile All-
in-One.
The ideal companion for
mobile salespeople who might
need to print, copy and scan on
the go. Key features include built-
in Bluetooth and a lithium-ion
battery that can print up to 500
pages on a single charge.
HP LaserJet 400 Series.
This series includes HP’s
first web-connected mono
laser printer and MFP to have
touchscreens for easy access to
apps and functions, the 33ppm
HP LaserJet Pro 400 M401
(printer) and HP LaserJet Pro
400 MFP M425 (MFP). The MFP
also has a time-saving dual-head
scanner that can scan both
sides of a page in a single pass
and an energy-saving EcoSmart
Console that can be set-up so
that the scanner goes into ready
mode only when paper is put
on the platen or in the ADF. The
400 series also includes the HP
LaserJet Pro 400 Colour MFP
M475dn and HP LaserJet Pro
400 Colour MFP M475dw.
HP LaserJet 500 Series.
This series of enterprise MFPs
includes the HP LaserJet
Enterprise 500 colour MFP
M575 and the mono HP
LaserJet Enterprise 500 MFP
M525. The 40ppm devices
have large 20.32cm full colour
touchscreens and the ability to
scroll through scan previews,
reorder or delete scans, add
pages or change the format
(portrait or landscape). The
touchscreen also gives access
to HP Quick Sets, a series of
automated workflows that can
be activated with just two clicks.
Another first on these devices
are encrypted hard drives as
standard.