HP: The Future of Printing is in the Cloud
By Marlene Orr, Senior Printer Analyst, June 8,
2010
HP kicked off Internet Week NYC with a news conference
broadcast live via the Web. Appropriately, the theme was harnessing the power
of the Internet to customize and simplify the printing experience. In his
introduction, Vyomesh Joshi (VJ), president of HP’s Imaging and Printing Group,
noted that since the advent of Web 2.0, there has been an explosion in the
amount of available content on the Web. In fact, HP's research shows that by
next year, Internet printing will surpass printing from word processing
programs.
VJ said that while creating the content has become
easier (think of the countless social networking and photo-sharing Web sites),
capturing and printing that content has not always been so easy.
Addressing the shift last year, HP introduced its
first Web-connected printer (the Photosmart Premium All-in-One), which let
users download software to the AiO so they could access and print Web content
from the control panel. Since then, the company has paid close attention to
customer behavior, learning that about 70 percent of users downloaded
applications to allow them to capture and print content without turning on
their PC.
To keep up with what it says is a growing customer
need, HP will Web-connect every new HP printer with a purchase price greater
than $99. But it’s not just about the software applications anymore. Cloud
printing (untethered/wireless printing, whereby data is sent over the Internet
to a selected printer) is nothing new, but HP is taking it to the next level by
allowing users to print from mobile devices with no additional software or
drivers required. As VJ said, “If you can e-mail it, you can print it.” With
ePrint technology, users can print a document by using nothing more than the
resident e-mail program on a device to send it to the printer. So, not only can
users download apps to access and print content without turning on their PCs,
they can now print from mobile devices (like smart phones and tablet PCs) that
have traditionally had inherent limitations to printing.
There’s an App for That…
Because the new Web-connected AiOs will be “cloud
aware,” users can access the Internet and download applications to support
printing of their selected content whenever they need it, without even turning
on their PC. Through the HP ePrintCenter, users can view printer status and add
or remove software apps via a standard Web browser, regardless of the printer’s
location. By downloading the apps, users can find, view and print any number of
activities/games/puzzles, news stories, weather reports, theater tickets and
even coupons right from the touch-screen of the printer without the need for a
PC or other Web-enabled device. By partnering with Google, HP has made it
possible for users to view and print Google Docs, maps, photos and calendars
directly from the printer. Other partnerships include Yahoo!, Nickelodeon, PBS
Kids, Crayola, Snapfish, Disney and DreamWorks.
New Hardware for Home, SOHO and SMBs
The four new inkjet multifunction printers offer
varying levels of features and functionality for home users at the low end and
could conceivably suit the needs of SOHO and SMBs. All models use four
individual ink tanks and include 802.11b/g/n networking standard. Here is a
quick breakdown of features, price and availability:
• HP Photosmart e-All-in-One ($99) – Includes
print, copy and scan functionality, with a 2.4-inch touch-screen; draft print
speeds are rated at 29 ppm in black and 23 ppm in color; USB interface is also
included standard. Expected to be available in North America in June 2010.
• The HP Photosmart Plus e-All-in-One ($149)
– Includes print, copy and scan functionality, with a 3.5-inch touch-screen;
draft print speeds are rated at 32 ppm in black and 30 ppm in color. Expected
to be available worldwide in August 2010.
• The HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One
($199) – Includes print, copy and scan functionality, with a 4.3-inch
touch-screen; draft print speeds are rated at 32 ppm in black and 30 ppm in
color. Expected to be available worldwide in September 2010.
• HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One
($299) – Includes print, copy, scan and fax functions, a 50-page automatic
document feeder and a 2.4-inch touch-screen interface; draft print speeds are
rated at 34 ppm in black and 32 ppm in color; wired network interface is also
included standard. Expected to be available worldwide in September 2010.
What About Security?
According to HP, ePrint provides industry-standard spam
filtering and transforms e-mail and attachments to a print-only format to
reduce the threat of viruses or harmful content. A special HP Web site also
allows users register the printer and create a “protected” mode, limiting
access by creating a “preferred sender” list of addresses that can e-mail print
jobs to the registered device. While this is probably sufficient for home and
small office use, it remains to be seen what additional security measures will
be incorporated into higher-level products and workgroup/enterprise-level
devices.
The Bottom Line…
HP plans to remove some of the traditional limitations
of printing from the Web and mobile devices by placing “the cloud” at the
center of the printing ecosystem. This combination of Web-connected printers,
partnerships and software apps promises users instant access to printing, which
presents almost limitless possibilities for consumer printing.
Giving users the ability to print from smart phones
seems like a logical step for HP, given its recent acquisition of Palm, but the
jury is still out on how relevant printing from phones will be to general
business users because of cost and security concerns. At present, HP has
announced only low-volume inkjet devices, e-mailed documents print
automatically and passwords are not required for HP’s ePrint technology, though
HP claims that the devices can be put in a protected mode, e-mail addresses are
obscure enough to avoid spam, and future security developments are surely in
the works. I, for one, am anxious to see how this technology will fit into the
future additions to the portfolio on the LaserJet side of the house, where
security would be an even greater concern.
Stay tuned for future updates on the cloud printing
revolution and, of course, BLI’s full-scale hands-on review of some of HP’s new
Web-connected printers.
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