HP announces new printers, scanners, services

Hewlett Packard has beefed up its line of LaserJet printers with Rendezvous-compatible models, introduced new scanners and cut prices on some of its imaging and printing products. The company has also launched new services and programs, including HP’s first interactive online support center for business customers and expanded toll-free technical support.

New printers

Expanding the HP laser printer line are the LaserJet 1300 and 2300 series. With prices starting at US$399, the LaserJet 1300 series (which replaces the 1200 models) offers output at up to 20 pages per minute (ppm) and 1200 dots per inch (dpi) resolution. The 1300 printers have a first-page-out in less than eight seconds thanks to HP’s patented Instant-on Fuser, which provides for “zero warmup,” AnnEliese Olson, HP’s shared printing category manager, told MacCentral. The series is available in two models; one has networking built in while the other is intended for direct-connect use.

The LaserJet 1300 series offers PCL6, PostScript 2 emulation, and Bluetooth and 802.11 wireless options. The printers have expandable memory (they come with 16MB), an optional 250-page sheet paper tray, and connectivity options that include USB. Either a 2,500 or 4,000 page smart print cartridge can be used with them. (Smart cartridges allow the toner cartridge to “communicate” with the printer and alert you if toner is running low.) The 1300 series — which has a monthly duty cycle of 10,000 pages — is designed for personal use, front desk applications, managed environments, and small to medium-sized offices.

Priced from an estimated $549, the HP LaserJet 2300 printer series (which replaces the 2200 line) comes in six models. They boast a print speed of up to 25 ppm, a first-page-out in less than 10 seconds, and 1,200 dpi resolution. The line comes with a backlit control panel, 6,000-page smart print cartridge, and up to 50,000 pages-per-month duty cycle.

LaserJet 2300s have a 350-sheet standard input capacity that can be expanded to 850 sheets. They have two open DIMM slots for adding memory, fonts, and third-party solutions. Connectivity options include USB. The 2300 line is built for high-volume personal users, small work teams, managed environments, and medium to large offices.

Both the LaserJet 1300 and 2300 printer series offer advanced toner formulations and user-friendly cartridge designs and are designed to print on a variety of HP papers, Olson said. All have embedded Web servers for easy management, she added. And they’re all compatible with Mac OS X and Mac OS 8.6-9.x.

“The new printers beef up the performance capabilities of their predecessors without any tradeoffs in print quality,” Olson said.

What’s more, HP is Rendezvous compatible with the networked version of the LaserJet 1300 and LaserJet 2300. The Rendezvous code resides in the JetDirect print servers. Rendezvous is Apple’s zero configuration technology that brings together Internet IP standards and LAN networks. Using Rendezvous, devices such as printers can be seen on a network with no setup from the end user.

New scanners

The new Scanjet 8200 series of legal-size flatbed scanners are built for commercial users with broad image and document-centric needs, such as those involved in records management, finance, mortgage and banking, insurance, legal, health care, and government, Olson said.

The $499 Scanjet 8200 offers 4800 dpi, an integrated XPA flip-up design in the lid, and comes with Photoshop Elements. The $899 Scanjet 8250 sports the features of the 8200, as well as a 15 ppm duplex automatic document feeder (ADF), a 50-page stack, and more. The $1,499 Scanjet 8290 builds on the features of the 8250 with a 25 ppm duplex ADF, extra drivers, and a SCSI in-box solution. All are compatible with Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.x.

Price cuts

In addition to expanding their laser printer line, HP has cut the price on several of their printing and imaging devices. The Business Inkjet 2230 printer has been reduced from $299 to $199, while the LaserJet 1000 printer has been sliced from $249 to $199. The LaserJet 4200 series printer line has seen price cuts of $100 on all models. And the cost of the HP Digital Projector xb31 has been reduced from $3,499 to $2,299.

Printing and Expertise Center

HP has also launched a new Printing and Imaging Expertise Center that’s designed to help small businesses by providing a centralized resource for ideas on how to build and maintain printing infrastructures. The center offers features to assist customers in choosing and optimizing the best imaging and printing products for their needs, according to Rob Wait, US commercial marketing manager for HP’s Imaging and Printing Group.

Visitors to the Printing and Imaging Expertise Center are guided through a series of menus to help them track down the support and advice they need. They can get the info via the Internet or through live Web chat with an HP representative. The center offers content areas that cover production selection tools, small business training courses, support resource alerts, and more.

New service and support options

Also, HP customers now have a choice for 24/7 support — either online or through a toll-free number (1-800-HPINVENT). The new phone support is toll-free and has a bilingual speech-recognition system that functions in English and Spanish. What’s more, Web-based driver downloads and diagnostics are now available on HP’s support site.

“HP wants to make sure we’re a trusted advisor to the small business market,” Wait told MacCentral. “We want to help them grow through the use of their printing and imaging assets. We believe as we come out of the recession, the next big companies are going to evolve from the small to medium sized businesses.”