HP introduces 25 printing solutions at one go

In its largest ever commercial product launch in the printing and imaging
business division, HP rolled out 25 new printing solutions, including 10
printers, at a media briefing in Shanghai. The products are aimed at the SMB
business segment, a vertical that the vendor is focusing on very strongly in
APAC.

The new additions include color printers and multifunction devices, which the
company claimed, “was optimized for producing professional-quality marketing
materials, business collaterals and everyday documents, quickly and affordably,
in house.”

Said Herbert Koeck, VP-Commercial Printing, Imaging and Printing Group, HP
APAC, “The launch builds upon our Print 2.0 strategy, which will allow our SMB
customers to print when and how they want-in-house, at retail or through a print
service provider.” One of the introductions is the Color Laserjet CP1215 printer
series, priced at $249, which is HP's lowest priced desktop color laser printer
till date.

HP also introduced a new system rebrand for its ink-based Officejet line-up
with printers and cartridges to offer low-cost per page business printing.
Besides these, it announced new online tools and solutions like Easy Printer
Care software 2.5i which helps SMB customers who do not have a dedicated IT
support team, to set-up, maintain and view the status of up to 15 printers on a
network.

The Jetdirect 690n wireless network-printing server was also rolled out to
offer upcoming enterprise customers to share several printers to be shared on a
single network using an 802.11g wireless connection.

The company is keen to dissociate the printer as a standalone device used
merely for printing in the SMB segment. Instead it is positioning these machines
as a complete suite of solution, which includes hardware, supplies and services,
which the vendor is valuing at $103 billion globally by 2010. The company is
also betting its money on the in-house marketing opportunity, especially for the
SMB, which it is estimating will be around $40 billion by 2010.

To ensure that it has the highest recall in the SMB business segment, the
company will invest $300 million into a global marketing campaign, which will
target SMB and large customers. It has also enhanced its 'Office Printing
Channel Program' and 'Solutions Business Partner Program' with an accreditation,
certification and test program for its 64,000 worldwide channel network.

Cruce Dahlgren, Senior VP-Global Enterprise Business, Imaging and Printing
Group, HP said, “We have quadrupled the total contract value of HP managed print
services, bolstered our Print 2.0 strategy with the recent acquisition of
Exstream software and expanded our focus on imaging and printing solutions that
help customers to optimize their infrastructure, manage their enterprise and
improve workflows.”

Worldwide, HP's IPG business in 2007 grew to $28.5 million in revenue terms,
which was a six percent growth YoY. Globally, it shipped one million Laserjet
devices in 2008 while its Indian single function market grew from three lakh
units in 2005 to over six lakh units last fiscal.

(The author was hosted in Shanghai by HP)