Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd. has announced an entire portfolio of personal printing and imaging products -- including next-generation thermal inkjet printers -- that constitutes its biggest printing/imaging roll-out ever. The new products, which refresh and in most cases supersede the lineup announced in 1998, provide home and small-business customers with a broad array of state-of-the-art printing and imaging products at virtually all price points and across all segments.
The announcement coincides with burgeoning demand for personal printing and imaging products. On average, HP ships more than 2 million inkjet products each month and now has an installed base of more than 90 million units. Industry-wide, Lyra Research projects that digital cameras will reach more than 10.6 million units worldwide by 2000; InfoTrends expects U.S. scanner shipments to grow at a rate of 23 percent annually through 2003.
"The increasing use of digital images is driving growth in personal printing and imaging as more and more people print and e-mail photos or upload them to Web sites," said Vyomesh Joshi, senior vice president of HP's InkJet Imaging Solutions. "This increases the demand for digital cameras and scanners, which affects demand for photo-quality printing solutions. HP will meet this market demand by offering top-of-the-line solutions such as those we're rolling out today."
PC Buyer's Guide had the opportunity to see and test these products first-hand recently and, of the bunch, we think the HP DeskJet 970Cse printer, described in detail below, is the standout. This printer is not only faster than its competition from Epson, Lexmark and Canon, but it has tangibly better image quality. The ink-drop dot-size (five picoliters) is exceptionally small and precise, leading to an image we think is currently unsurpassed in the consumer marketplace. The fact that the printer can, through a fancy paper-flipping mechanism, print on both sides of a sheet of paper, is another bonus. This printer raises the bar for colour inkjets.
HP's fall '99 lineup of personal printing and imaging products includes the following:
New Photo-quality Printers
The HP DeskJet 970Cse printer, with an estimated Canadian selling price of $599, and the HP PhotoSmart P1100 printer, with an estimated Canadian selling price of $749, is designed for professionals who demand the best in state-of-the-art technology. The 970Cse is essentially the same printer as the DeskJet_970Cxi available in the U.S. However, the 970Cxi model, destined for U.S. commercial channels only, lacks a software utility called HP FontSmart found in the retail software packages in Canada and the U.S.
The HP DeskJet 830/832C printer, with an estimated Canadian selling price of $299, is targeted for price-sensitive home users who need fast, photo-quality printing.
PC Photography Products
The HP PhotoSmart C500 digital camera, with an estimated Canadian selling price of $1,149, and the HP PhotoSmart P1000 printer, with an estimated Canadian selling price of $599, allow users to print photos directly from their digital cameras, without using a PC.
The HP PhotoSmart C200 digital camera, with an estimated Canadian selling price of $429, is ideal for first-time digital-camera buyers who want great features and outstanding value.
New All-in-ones
The HP OfficeJet T Series all-in-ones (HP OfficeJet T45 and T65) has an estimated Canadian selling price of $799 and $999 respectively, are integrated all-colour printer, scanner, copier and fax designed for home-office users.
High-quality Scanners
New high-quality ScanJet scanners, including the easy-to-use HP ScanJet 3300C colour scanner, with an estimated Canadian selling price of $229, and the fast HP ScanJet 6300C, 6350C and 6390C Professional Series scanners, with an estimated Canadian selling price of $599, $749 and $1,349, respectively, provide excellent image quality and increased productivity.
Premium Photo Paper
The new line of HP Premium Plus Photo Papers, with the same 9mm thickness as silver-halide photographs, allows consumers to create and print photographs at home with the image-quality of professionally finished photographs.
State-of-the-art Colour Print Cartridge
The new HP No. 78 tri-colour inkjet print cartridge, designed for use with the HP DeskJet 970Cse and the HP PhotoSmart P1100/P1000 printers, contains key technological advancements that deliver incredibly realistic photographic images; brilliant, fade-resistant colour images; and optimal speed and print quality in every print mode.
Internet Solutions
Although the cynical might think that it is just a ploy to get people to print more pages, HP says its "Instant Delivery 2.0" allows users to schedule free delivery of concise editions of popular and special-interest publications and favorite Web pages directly to their printers, when they want them.
Also announced was a new e-imaging service from HP will allow users to upload, store, manage and share photos over the Internet with just one or two mouse clicks.
(HP Press Releases follow)
HP UNVEILS DIGITAL IMAGING STRATEGIC DIRECTION
- New Products and Services to Make Sharing Images Online Easy, Fast and Reliable -
Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd., the worldwide leader in printing and imaging, has unveiled a strategic direction for digital imaging that underscores the company's commitment to the growing Internet-enabled imaging markets.
The goal of HP's digital-imaging strategy is to offer consumers a total solution -- from capture and create to share and print. This solution will enhance the consumer's entire online experience by making posting, viewing, creating, managing and e-mailing photos to friends, family and business associates as easy as "point and shoot."
The strategy is supported by the largest introduction of home imaging products and services in HP's history, including digital cameras; desktop printers, such as the HP DeskJet 970Cse printer, which is based on breakthrough inkjet technology that delivers stunning photos; scanners; all-in-ones; and Web services. The strategy is underscored by the delivery of HP's first digital-imaging appliances, the versatile HP PhotoSmart P1100 printer and two-megapixal HP PhotoSmart C500 digital camera, which enable direct-connect "walk up and print" photo printing.
"During the past several years, HP has created the necessary infrastructure in terms of standards and technologically advanced products and services to enable digital imaging for the mass market," said Antonio Perez, president of HP's Inkjet Imaging Solutions. "Our strategy for digital imaging is backed by new digital appliances that enable customers to print photos directly from their digital cameras without using a PC and by new online solutions that allow consumers to archive, index and enhance photos and photo-based documents and send them to friends and family anywhere in moments." As part of its new strategic direction, HP intends to launch the HP Cartogra photo Web site at www.cartogra.com later this fall, which will give consumers the tools to harness the power of digital imaging. The site will be based on HP's new online imaging technologies. The HP interface will make it easy to upload photos from any PC, digital camera or scanner. The drag-and-drop capability will provide for one-click image posting, eliminating tedious steps to save and post an image. Users will be able to create personalized photo pages and albums with on-screen edit capabilities and to order customized novelty items online.
"HP's Internet imaging technologies will make it easy to share photos within online communities, such as the Cartogra photo Web site," said Dan Gilbert, general manager of HP's Internet Imaging Operation. "However, this service is just the first step. Eventually, we want to make it easy for people to share all kinds of things -- images, music, even video -- just by clicking a button."
Later this year, HP will use high-profile announcements to feature partners' use of HP technology in their own Web communities. HP is seeking strategic alliances with partners interested in using HP's online image-management technologies. Information about such alliances is available by calling HP Internet imaging business development at (858) 655-3352 or by fax at (858) 655-4648.
HP INTRODUCES NEXT-GENERATION VERSATILE THERMAL INKJET PRINTERS
WITH "MOST-LIKE-A-PHOTO" PHOTO-QUALITY OUTPUT
- New Printing Solutions Raise the Bar for Quality and Performance -
MISSISSAUGA, Ont, August 31, 1999... Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd. today announced two versatile, photo-quality printers that signal a new era in thermal inkjet technology. The DeskJet 970Cse Professional Series colour printer and PhotoSmart P1100 printer are based on a new thermal inkjet platform that combines the best everyday printing with the ability to produce breathtaking photos, vivid colour graphics and crisp black text.
The DeskJet 970Cse printer is a no-compromise, photo-quality printer designed for demanding customers who need their printers to produce professional documents with superior graphics and images, quickly and efficiently.
The PhotoSmart P1100 printer offers the same versatile printing as the DeskJet 970Cse printer and also addresses the growing interest in digital photography. This printer is especially suited to those who want easy photo printing directly from a digital camera without having to use a PC. The PhotoSmart P1100 printer also supports wireless printing using HP's infrared JetSend technology.
"These products set new standards for what users should expect from colour printers," said Vyomesh Joshi, general manager for the Home Business Unit for HP's Inkjet Imaging Solutions Group. "Customers looking for 'no-compromise' printing solutions will be pleased with the level of performance and quality these printers provide. Users don't have to sacrifice speed to achieve brilliant photos, crisp black text and stunning colour graphics."
New Platform Highlights
"Most Like a Photo" Print Quality -- a new standard in photo-quality printing is achieved through HP's next generation of colour layering technology delivered by HP's new PhotoREt III. The enhanced colour layering technology uses tiny drop sizes (five picoliters) and precise algorithms to place up to 29 ink drops per dot, thus providing a wider range of colours and finer colour control.
The new printers also offer an alternative photo mode, which prints up
to 2400 dots per inch (dpi) (2400 x 1200 dpi on photo paper).
The new platform's C6578 series colour print cartridge provides 50 per cent faster firing times and twice as many nozzles as the HP C1823 series print cartridges used in the HP DeskJet 800 series printers. The result is the ability to deliver 7.3 million drops per second -- unparalleled performance in this class of inkjet printer.
Unrivaled Everyday Printing, Uncompromising Performance -- both printers offer exceptional everyday printing performance that provides crisp, sharp black text and vivid colour graphics on plain paper at no-compromise speeds. Both products print at speeds up to 12 ppm in black and 10 ppm in colour.
Time and Money-saving Conveniences -- included on both printers are an auto-duplexer providing automatic two-sided printing and a manual print-cancel button to stop print jobs. Other features include a low-ink warning prompt and automatic print-cartridge alignment. The DeskJet 970Cse printer includes a 150-sheet paper tray, and the PhotoSmart P1100 printer includes a 100-sheet paper tray as well as a photo tray for photo media.
The DeskJet 970Cse printer, which is expected to sell for an estimated Canadian selling price of $599, supports both PCs and USB-connect Macintosh computers, and ships with an array of bundled software.
The PhotoSmart P1100 printer, which has an estimated Canadian selling price of $749 and comes with HP's photo imaging software, allows users to print directly from a digital camera -- with or without a PC -- and get their printed photos instantly.
HP also introduced the PhotoSmart P1000 printer and the DeskJet 830/832C printers. The PhotoSmart P1000 printer is based on the same new print engine as the DeskJet 970Cse printer and PhotoSmart P1100 printer. The DeskJet 830/832C printer will offer home users remarkably fast, photo-quality printing on any paper.
Availability
The DeskJet 970Cse printer ship on August 31 to retailers worldwide. The DeskJet 830/832C series printers ship on August 31 to retailers in North America, Latin America and Asia. It is expected to ship to the rest of the world at a later date. The PhotoSmart P1100 and P1000 printers ship in late September to retailers in North America.
Prices are estimated. Actual prices are determined by individual resellers and may vary. Information about this and other HP products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com or by calling 1-800-387-3867 in Canada.
Post new comment