HP is building on the expansion of its printing solutions line-up this week with the African introduction of inkjet models capable of printing in high quality directly from a digital camera or a personal computer.
The printers - which include the high-end HP Photosmart 7550 and entry-level HP Photosmart 230 - enable home or business users to produce photos quickly and easily with or without a computer. The camera`s memory card can simply be removed and inserted it into the appropriate slot on the printer*; the printer`s control panel and LCD screen can then be used to edit and print the photos.
"We have seen remarkable developments in printing technology in the past two years - and these new Photosmart offerings are testament to that," says Lorna Hardie, HP`s business development manager for the Imaging and Printing Group in English-speaking Africa.
"The printers are compact in design - they meet the needs of small-to-medium businesses looking for high-quality, fast printing of documents; and they provide photography enthusiasts with a means of previewing, editing, printing and sharing traditional-looking borderless photos."
The HP Photosmart 7550 output quality is driven by technology that combines up to seven inks. It simultaneously uses three print cartridges depending on the setting - one cartridge for pigmented black ink, one for traditional colour inks (cyan, magenta, yellow) and one for photo inks (light cyan, light magenta, dye-based black).
The printer leverages HP Photoret IV precision technology. This enables it to produce up to 289 levels of colour and up to 1.2 million colours for the most dramatic improvement to date in HP photo resolution enhancement technology. It is also capable of printing up 4800x1200 optimised dpi when printing on premium photo papers.
"The 7550 can print borderless 10x15 cm photos in approximately two minutes in best mode. Thanks to developments in fade-resistant media and inks, photos resist fading for two or three times longer than most traditional prints. When printing everyday documents on plain paper, it can produce up to 17 pages per minute in black and 13 pages per minute in colour," says Hardie.
In addition, the printer includes a colour LCD that allows users to preview the images stored on the memory card, and to apply several photo effects such as zoom, crop, rotate, and black and white conversion, among other things.
The HP Photosmart 230 is designed as an ultra-compact printer for digital photography enthusiasts. With a 4.5cm colour screen for easy viewing, it offers a simple way to preview, edit, print and share traditional-looking borderless prints in minutes.
"This is ideal for family gatherings, parties, weddings and social occasions, among many other things," points out Hardie. "Users simply preview images on the screen and use the intuitive icon-based control panel to select photo size, colour and brightness. Photos can be printed directly from any digital camera without the use of a PC or Mac computer."
Compact and stylish in design, the printer measures just 22cm in width and weighs 1.31kg, small enough to be transported anywhere. Its convenient paper tray folds up neatly for safe and easy transportation. Both the HP Photosmart 7550 and 230 printers are available through the company`s network of authorised resellers across Africa now.
"Once again, we encourage all customers to deal solely with resellers that are officially `HP authorised` - they`re the only companies that can offer the service, support and up-to-date product spectrum that the market has come to expect from HP," adds Hardie.
For more information on HP`s solutions and activities in Africa, surf to www.hp.com/africa.
*Most popular memory cards are supported.
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