HP Prints Out High-Speed Inkjets
New technology is designed to improve the speed and performance of printers.China Martens, IDG News Service
Five years of development and $1.4 billion of investment later, Hewlett-Packard unveiled scalable inkjet technology on Monday. It claims the technology will substantially improve the speed and performance of home and small and midsize office printers. The company also plans to take the technology to the commercial market, HP says.
The new technology centers on the assembly of a new inkjet printhead. Instead of the printhead components being welded together in postproduction, the components in the new inkjet are created as a single unit via a photolithographic process resulting in more accurate, faster, and cheaper printing, HP says in a press release.
"This technology is the next step in our business transformation--the master key that unlocks new market opportunities and further growth in our printer business," Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president for HP's Imaging and Printing Group, says in the release. HP's imaging and print business built up over 21 years has yielded a $24 billion business. "Our intention is to double that in the next 10 years," Joshi said during an analyst conference call.
Products Coming Soon
HP announced a number of printers based on the new technology, including consumer models--the HP Photosmart 8250 Photo Printer and the HP Photosmart 3000 All-In-One series. Both printers can deliver 4x6-inch prints in as little as 14 seconds for a minimum cost of $0.24 a print, HP says.
The printer will also provide a high-quality mode, printing photos as fast as 21 seconds per print, Joshi says. The Photosmart 8250, priced at $199, will ship this month, while the Photosmart 3000, costing between $299 and $399, is due to appear later in the year.
For the small and midsize business market, HP plans to release the HP Officejet Pro K550 Color Printer series in the fall, which the company claims will double print speeds of existing sub-$500 color laser printers at a 30 percent lower cost per page.
"It's a significant step in moving inkjet into the color laser market," Joshi says.
Joshi says that HP plans to use its new inkjet technology in its specialty printing business where the company has OEM (original equipment manufacturer) agreements with its partners in markets including the mail and POS (point of sale) printing sectors. Ultimately, the company intends to deploy the technology across the entire range of its printing operations through to industrial printing, he adds. Joshi says he expects HP to make further announcements about new printers based on the inkjet technology over "the next few months."
HP also announced half a dozen new portable photo printers including the HP Photosmart 475 GoGo Photo Printer, costing $279, with the ability to print 5x7-inch photos and store over 1000 images. The HP Photosmart 420 series GoGo Photo Studio is a bundled camera, printer, and dock, priced from $299, and can be battery operated, meaning users can use it whenever they like and don't need access to a PC, Joshi says.
The company also beefed up its digital camera line, with the HP Photosmart R818, R817, and M517 devices, ranging from $149 to $399. Both the R818 and the R817 allow users to create panoramic images within the device, HP says.
Through a tie-up with U.S. pharmacy chain Walgreens, come September, customers will be able to upload their digital images to HP's Snapfish Web site and then pick up prints of the photos at the Walgreens of their choice or receive them by mail, HP announced.
HP is set to expand on its announcements at a press conference Monday morning.