Just when one thought that inkjets would soon fade into oblivion and that lasers were the future, Hewlett-Packard has scaled up inkjets and has unveiled a series of printers running on a new technology.
The company claims that this breakthrough ink-based printing platform called Scalable Printing Technology (SPT), offers ground-breaking print speeds coupled with better quality, and would lead to a new era in digital printing for home users, medium-sized businesses and high-volume printers.
The technology is a result of a five-year US $1.4 billion strategic investment, and, according to the company, it marks a milestone in its 21-year printing history in terms of printing speeds, price and operational costs.
HP expects the new range of printers would be available at all its global outlets, including those in India by October 2005.
The first printers built using this new technological platform, which include the world's fastest home printing device and fastest desktop color printer, were showcased to the media at a company event in Singapore.
The two-day event also enabled reporters to carry out a series of real-time tests to check out HP's claims. SPT technology-based HP Photosmart 8230 Photo Printer and the HP Photosmart 3000 All-in-One series, carry the tag of "the world's fastest photo printers" "" both can print a snapshot-sized photo in 14 seconds.
This translates into 24 photographs in seven minutes. This printer responds equally fast to Word documents too with an admirable performance of about 31 color pages and 32 black test pages per minute.
I checked other printers as well. Canon's iP5000 comes second at 34 seconds, followed by the company's iP6000D at 56 seconds, Kodak Desk Plus at 60 seconds, Lexmark P915 at 129 seconds and Epson R320 at 108 seconds.
In fact, our hands-on test of the HP Photosmart 8230 showed print speeds of 11 seconds with instant dry finishing (with HP advanced photo paper).
The 8230 tries to be everything that a discerning photo enthusiast needs, including a 2.5 inch color graphic display, multi-slot memory card reader, slot-in-media cassette and more.
It is also suited for high volume printing with its individual ink cartridge system. We also tested out wireless printing from camera phones, PDAs and digital cameras with the Bluetooth adapter, which is optional.
You will not need to change your existing memory stick "" the 8230 supports CompactFlash, IBM Microdrive, memory stick duo, mini SD, secure digital / multimedia card and the xD picture card.
This apart, features that caught my eye include "page completion", which ensures that printing does not stop mid-way through a page or photo, and "auto sense", which warns the user when the media has been wrongly loaded with its printable side down.
The Photosmart 3000 All-in-One series while matching the 8230 in performance and versatility, also offers a slew of additional features such as flexible scanning and copying and powerful fax capabilities.
For instance, the HP Photosmart 3310 offers an offers a special built-in transparent material adapter which allows you to scan and convert 35 mm slides and negatives into digital images.
Additionally, its 3.6 inch color graphic display allows you to select, preview and edit photographs before printing. You can also remove red-eye, or apply special effects without a PC.
On the pricing front, HP's fast home printers are expected to be cost $199, equivalent to similar offerings from Kodak and Epson, while Cannon's iP5000 is priced at $149 and the iP6000D at $179.
For medium-sized businesses with high-volume printing needs, HP would soon launch the Officejet Pro K 500 colour printer series. This single-funtion printer aims to incorporate the speed and colour quality of the 8230 and the 3000 series in addition to "laser-like text quality".
Technically, the K550 has 4200 nozzles in the print-head and they each fire 36,000 drops per second. This implies that there are 150 million droplets on the page per second. HP is banking on this series setting new standards in total cost of ownership, with substantially lower cost-per-page costs than laser printers.
If you were looking for an ultra compact printer, which can be taken to the office, parties and holiday trips, the company's new Photosmart 475, is amongst the best solutions on offer. The 475 is only as big as a mini stereo, complete with handle and comes with a built-in 1.5GB memory for storing photos.
Coupled with its optional battery pack, it provides instant photo printing. This printer offers a 2.5 inch color graphic display, wireless printing options and photograph sizes of 5x7 inch and 4x6 inch. This can also be connected to a TV to display a slide show and you can print photos and video frames using the included remote.
HP's compact offerings will have to compete with Cannon's super-small Selphy CP 600 Kodak's EasyShare Printer Docking line, which lets consumers plug compatible Kodak cameras and view the prints in about 60 seconds, all at the push of a button. Because the new platform is scalable, HP is confident that this technology address the diverse needs of the printing market.
Company executives said this cold be made possible in three technical ways. First, HP can increase the size of the swath "" the area the printhead covers with each pass over a page. With larger swathes, the printhead needs to make fewer passes over a page, thus leading to increased speeds.
Second, HP can increase the number of nozzles on the printhead to allow for higher quality and larger prints. And third, it can increase the number of inks per printhead, providing a richer color gamut.
