Issue #0431/2 - In the inkjet arena, multifunction machines dominate, compounding the emphasis on multifunctionality in both home and small office environments. Five of the seven new machines are multifunction and only one product is a traditional single function, general purpose printer. The final machine can be put to general use but is classified as a photo printer.
PhotoSmart 2610 AiOInk cartridges for these inkjet products have already been discussed (for Cost Per Page figures, see TCPglobal Issue #0430 - "New inkjet cartridges from Hewlett-Packard increase performance and reduce cost"), with their speed advantage, so it is worth simply indicating which products are new to market for October and the Christmas season and to make mention of their major characteristics.
PhotoSmart 2710 AiOIn this new generation, Hewlett-Packard has worked hard to ensure standalone operation is possible with all but the most basic of general printers, including LCD displays with most models. On the same basis, built-in networking is also becoming a standard feature in most models.
Network-ready out of the box, the PhotoSmart 2610 and 2710 also have built-in wired 802.3 network interface and the PhotoSmart 2710 has both 802.3 wired and 802.11g wireless networking.
| Functions |
Expected Street Price (Euro) |
Availability | Target Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| InkJet All-in-One | ||||
| OfficeJet 7310 |
Print, Copy, Scan, Fax |
€499 | December 2004 |
Busy office Professional |
| OfficeJet 7410 | €599 | December 2004 | ||
| PhotoSmart 2610 |
Print, Copy, Scan, Fax |
€349 | November 2004 |
Creative home and home office users |
| PhotoSmart 2710 | €499 | December 2004 | ||
| PSC 2355 |
Print, Copy, Scan |
€199 | November 2004 | Family / home |
| Photo Printers | ||||
| PhotoSmart 8450 |
Digital dark- room printing |
€349 | November 2004 |
Serious amateur / pro- fessional photographers |
| Inkjet printer | ||||
| DeskJet 3845 |
General pur- pose printing |
€79 | November 2004 | Family / students |
PSC 2355 AiO
Not as fast as the machines targeted at the business environment, the PSC 2355, at 23ppm, is a Print/Copy/Scan machine that still matches the speeds of other inkjet printers currently on the market.
PhotoSmart 8450All the multifunction devices allow standalone editing and printing of photographs – i.e. without use of a computer. This is largely achieved through use of the PictBridge multi-vendor communications standard that allows print commands and formatting to be handled directly at the connected digital camera. All machines also have a built-in LCD screen for additional standalone functionality.
Designed for the serious photographer, the PhotoSmart 8450 is an 8-ink solution – the cost of eight ink printing means that it is not a sensible option for the casual user. Built-in card slots, LCD display and PictBridge facility make these devices as standalone in their capabilities as the new multifunction devices. The PhotoSmart 8450 is also equipped with a network interface.
DeskJet 3845Actually utilising the previous generation ink cartridges, the DeskJet 3845 is a general purpose colour inkjet printer producing 18ppm in mono and 14ppm in colour. This printer is shipped with the No. 27 and 28 cartridges, which are low capacity equivalents to the No. 56 and 57 cartridges (but not interchangeable with the No. 56/57). The machine will also accept the No. 58 cartridge for 6-ink photo printing.
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