With the introduction of its PhotoREt III technology, Hewlett-Packard has added four new printers to its DeskJet home user/SOHO range.
Whereas the PhotoREt II was capable of 16 drops of ink per dot, PhotoREt III can place 29 drops per dot, taking photo-realism a step closer to the man in the street. According to Maurisio Bazan, technical consultant, hard copy products, HP, this technology will allow for 3 500 printable colours.
The 710C has been replaced by the 840C; the 815C by the 930C; the 880C and the 895Cxi by the 950C; and the 1120C by the 1220C.
All of those in the 900 range offer PhotoREt III, whereas the 840C is still using the PhotoREt II technology. All the printers now offer USB connections and Windows 2000 drivers. The 840C and 930C both cater for the home user, and the 950C and up will service the SOHO market.
HP`s new strategy is to sell on total print quality, rather than on dots per inch, which Bazan says is a tool that vendors use to steer the consumer away from a lower text and graphic print quality.
HP also took the opportunity to launch its ScanJet 5300C, an upgrade of the 5200C. With double the resolution and support for Windows 2000, this product is a good choice for SOHO organisations that want an intuitive scanner. In a surprise move, HP dropped its Caere OCR software for Iris software. The scanner now also supports Macintosh.
Bazan also demonstrated the PhotoSmart C500 digital camera, offering a two Megapixel (1600x1200) resolution.
The camera is equipped with IR to allow it to link directly to an IR-enabled HP printer, resulting in printing without the need to channel through a computer first. This camera also supports USB, and can interface with a Macintosh.
Bazan says that HP saw a 400% growth in digital camera sales over December due to a packaging offer with a printer. HP plans to repeat this tactic in the future.
All of the new products will be available from 1 March, after their announcement at CeBit. We can also expect new OfficeJets with Fax capabilities around the beginning of May.
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