By
Philip Wong, CNET Asia
16/09/2008
URL:
http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/printers/0,39051182,62046088,00.htm
HONG KONG--Substandard grainy prints may be a thing of the past, and that's exactly what HP is offering with its latest five-ink printing system. In fact, this is just the tip of the iceberg, going by its myriad consumer and enterprise printing solutions showcased at its Engage Excite Experience media summit. The latest 2008 lineup includes standalone and multifunctional inkjet and laser printers with convenient wireless connectivity and value propositions, among others.
During the keynote speeches, its top executives also touched on the company's regional expansion plans to increase its presence as well as a new business strategy. The latter encompasses the theme of the event by engaging its customer through an enhanced shopping experience and an exciting array of products with next-generation capabilities. For example, enabling consumers to print from home, retail and the Web via its online HP Snapfish portal in five Asian countries.
The five-ink printing system available on its D5460, C5380 and C6380 Photosmart inkjets differ from the conventional CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) equivalent in two key areas. Firstly, it introduces a fifth pigment black ink to deliver laser-quality text. Secondly, new long-lasting CMYK printheads with dual-drop-volume and scalable printing technologies help realize finer details, up to 9,600dpi resolution on HP's advanced photo papers.
The new printers also promise to print more for less with their new high-capacity XL cartridges. They can supposedly last up to 2.5 to three times longer and cost less than twice the price of the regular standard cartridges. HP also claims the Vivera ink in these cartridges, when used together with its advanced photo paper will dry faster, with improved water-, smudge- and fade-resistance.
For more information on the dual-drop-volume technology, please refer to our full coverage
here.
Consumer/SOHO models
In terms of versatility, the US$149 C5380 and US$199 C6380 also edge out the D5460 with added copy and scan functions. The above US$50 difference will even earn you extensive connectivity ranging from high-speed USB 2.0 and Ethernet to Wi-Fi and optional Bluetooth. If you need something similar for less, there's the US$139 Photosmart C4580 All-In-One that's capable of going wireless at the expense of slower printing speed.
Furthermore, some of the universal features across the entire Photosmart inkjet series include onboard color screen and memory card reader for direct photo editing and printing. Software-wise, all these models are compatible with Windows XP/Vista as well as Mac OS X and are bundled with a productivity suite. The latter includes Photosmart Essential for easy photo management and Smart Web Printing to merge multiple Web site pages.
| Model name |
In a nutshell |
|
Notable features:
Color inkjet printer
Five-ink printing system
33 pages per minute in black
31 pages per minute in color
Onboard 1.5-inch color display
Onboard memory card reader
USB 2.0 interface
Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X compatible
Availability: October 1 (Asia, except India); February 1, 2009 (India)
Price: US$99
|
|
Notable features:
Color inkjet AIO
Print, copy and scan
Five-ink printing system
31 pages per minute in black
30 pages per minute in color
Scan resolution of 4,800 x 9,600dpi
Onboard 2.4-inch color display
Onboard memory card reader
USB 2.0 and Bluetooth (optional) interfaces
Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X compatible
Availability: October 1 (Asia, except India); February 1, 2009 (India)
Price: US$149
|
|
Notable features:
Color inkjet AIO
Print, copy and scan
Five-ink printing system
33 pages per minute in black
31 pages per minute in color
Scan resolution of 4,800 x 9,600dpi
Onboard 2.4-inch color display
Onboard memory card reader
USB 2.0, Ethernet, Bluetooth (optional) and wireless Wi-Fi
Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X compatible
Availability: October 1 (Asia, except India); February 1, 2009 (India)
Price: US$199
|
|
Notable features:
Color inkjet AIO
Print, copy and scan
30 pages per minute in black
23 pages per minute in color
Scan resolution of 1,200 x 2,400dpi
Onboard 1.5-inch color display
Onboard memory card reader
USB 2.0 interface
Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X compatible
Availability: Now (Asia)
Price: US$99
|
|
Notable features:
Color inkjet AIO
Print, copy and scan
30 pages per minute in black
23 pages per minute in color
Scan resolution of 1,200 x 2,400dpi
Onboard 1.5-inch color display
Onboard memory card reader
USB 2.0 and wireless Wi-Fi
Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X compatible
Availability: October 1 (Asia)
Price: US$139
|
Enterprise models
On the business front, we have three network-capable products from its OfficeJet and LaserJet family. On one end of the spectrum, there's the inexpensive US$129 J4660 5-in-1 which stands out with a 20-page automatic document feeder (ADF), built-in phone and fax function. Then, there are the color CP2020 standalone and CM2320 multifunctional laser printers, both of which boast comparable black-and-white printing costs as their monochrome siblings.
HP is also throwing in its Marketing Resources software with the LaserJets. This collection of tools allows small and medium-sized enterprises to develop in-house professional-quality marketing materials, bypassing external service providers for greater flexibility, time and cost savings. To top it off, other productivity-centric features such as a high-capacity 250-sheet input tray, automatic double-sided printing and 50-page ADF are available, too.
| Model name |
In a nutshell |
|
Notable features:
Color inkjet AIO
Print, copy, scan, fax and telephony (built-in phone)
28 pages per minute in black
22 pages per minute in color
Scan resolution of 1,200 x 2,400dpi
Direct scan to PC, networked folder and document
HP Smart Web printing software
20-page automatic document feeder
Availability: November (selected Asian markets)
Price: US$129
|
|
Notable features:
Color laser printer
21 pages per minute in black and color
250-sheet input tray
Duplex double-sided printing
Network-ready (model dependent)
HP Marketing Resources software
Availability: TBA
Price: from US$499
|
|
Notable features:
Color laser multifunction printer
Print, copy, scan and fax (model dependent)
21 pages per minute in black and color
50-page automatic document feeder
250-sheet input tray
Onboard memory card reader (model dependent)
Network-ready
HP Marketing Resources software
Availability: September (Asia)
Price: from US$699
|
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