Sublimation Ink & Printers

HP Introduces Web-Connected Touchscreen Printer

In a bid to inject some spark into stodgy home printers, HP has introduced a new all-in-one touchscreen printer that can directly connect to the web and print coupons, maps, movie tickets, news and weather information without the need for a PC.

HP has also taken the idea of apps, popularized by smartphones such as iPhone and T-Mobile G1, and extended it to its product. That means the company’s latest printer will come preloaded with HP applications that can be accessed via the touchscreen panel. HP will also allow users to create and download apps from their site later this year.

“By giving people access to the content they want at the touch of a finger, the ability to customize their printing experience and create their own apps, we are driving a significant shift in how people will be printing in the future,” says Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, imaging and printing group, HP.

That means picture yourself just turning on this printer going to Fandango and printing movie tickets or accessing Coupons.com for the latest grocery deals, or printing directions right off the device.

The new printer comes with a rather clunky name–the HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web, and a hefty price tag. It will be available starting fall for $400.

The printer will have a 4.3-inch LCD touchscreen and can print, fax, copy and scan. It can also print directly from Wi-Fi-enabled PCs, Bluetooth-enabled devices, iPhone and the iPod touch.

The device’s user interface seems fairly easy to use and it will have the ability to browse the web, though it is not likely to be a complete browser. Among the early HP app partners will be USA Today, Google including mpas and calendar, Fandango, Coupons.com and Web Sudoku. The printer will also connect directly to a user’s Snapfish account to view, print and upload photos.

Bringing maps, news and coupons functionality to a printer makes it more likely that the average user will get more value from their printer. But unless HP can bring that $400 price tag down significantly, this could end up as a niche product.
Via: wired.com

HP Introduces the Future of Printing: Web Connected and Cloud Aware

HP today unveiled a new category of web-enabled printing solutions designed for the cloud that will, for the first time, allow people to:

Print from any email device to any new ePrint-enabled printer from anywhere in the world through the new HP ePrint platform;⁽¹⁾
Store documents or files in the cloud and print direct when needed;
Transform their printers into publishing platforms from which they can customize print apps and schedule timed delivery of content – such as news from msnbc.com and Yahoo! and creative after-school activities from Disney – directly to their home or business printers;⁽²⁾
Manage and customize their full printing experience through the new HP ePrintCenter to enjoy relevant, fun and interesting content that is formatted for efficient printing.

To showcase these new solutions, HP announced a full suite of web-empowered e-All-in-One printers for home and business that start at $99.⁽³⁾ These will be the first printers able to “talk” to the “Google Cloud” without requiring a local proxy PC or web appliance, which means people will be able to access Google Docs, Photos and Calendar directly from their printers. A selection of new print apps from partners such as Yahoo!, msnbc.com, Facebook®, Live Nation, Crayola, Reuters, DocStoc and Picasa Web Albums™ also will be available.

“We are once again revolutionizing printing to make web-empowered, cloud-enabled printing the new industry standard,” said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “We know that our customers want an easy way to print their content, anywhere, anytime. We’re making that a reality today by giving people the power to print from any web-connected device – smartphones, iPads, netbooks and more – to any printer in our portfolio above $99. The world has changed.”

HP web-connected products and services are supported by a digital print advertising platform that can be leveraged by print app partners. Customers can get premium content at no additional cost and brands can add value to their audience by populating select print content with customized messages, promotions and information like coupons or local services.

Via: hp.com

Capturing the Perfect Moment From Video

It’s not often that new printer software steals the show from printer hardware, but Canon has just released a new series of inkjet printers with software that enables you to easily print still images from video.

That means you can worry less about capturing that perfect moment. The catch? You have to use a Canon digital camera to use this feature.

Still, the Full HD Movie Print software is impressive.

All new Pixma printers come with the software. You shoot video and then import the footage to your PC or Mac to easily isolate the split-second image you want.

The software allows you to view video frame by frame, or more easily, set it to capture a specific number of frames, which you can then review for the best shot. When you find one you like, simply press the camera icon and the software will save the image as a jpeg file. The images are resized at a comparatively small resolution of 2 megapixels, however.

The software is intuitive and cool. The new printers are comparatively prosaic, by comparison, even though they have been redesigned and are clad in a glossy black chassis. They are all designed to deliver quality photo prints as well as traditional documents.

Two new all-in-one (AIO) models have built-in Wi-Fi for wireless printing, and all four new AIOs print, scan, and copy documents.

The $150 Pixma MG5220 Wireless Photo AIO Printer pumps out 4-by-6-inch prints in a speedy 20 seconds. It has a 2.4-inch LCD for viewing photos and also features auto-duplexing and a two-way paper feed can help reduce paper usage.

The $80 Pixma MP495 Wireless Photo AIO printer represents a bargain Wi-Fi-enabled printer. Its print speeds are slower, however, requiring 41 seconds for a 4-by-6-inch photo, and it lacks a flip-up LCD for photo review.

The $130 Pixma MG5120 has auto-duplex printing, which saves paper for regular text print jobs. You can review images on its 2.4-inch LCD, and it prints very handsome 4-by-6 photo prints in approximately 39 seconds. It lacks built-in wireless, however.

The Pixma MP280 Photo AIO is a bargain at $70. It’s very compact, but doesn’t include built-in Wi-Fi, and its print speeds are slower.

And for those who don’t require scanning or copying, the $100 Pixma iP4820 pumps out 4-by-6-inch photos at 20 seconds and has auto-duplexing and two-way paper feeds.

Canon also announced new support for smartphone print apps. In addition to existing apps for the iTroika – the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch — Canon has added a printing app for Android phones. They all enable you to wirelessly print images from phones that have the apps loaded.

Via: gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com

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HP Introduces Web-Connected Touchscreen Printer

HP Introduces the Future of Printing: Web Connected and Cloud Aware

Capturing the Perfect Moment From Video

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