The penetration of mobile devices is driving the demand for mobile printing solutions.
This is according to Yesh Surjoodeen, country category manager at Hewlett-Packard SA, who told the HP SMB Forum that most users would like to print content from their smartphones and tablets. He pointed out, however, that smartphones do not have print buttons.
According to Surjoodeen, HP offers mobile- and cloud-based printing solutions to address this need.
He explains that HP ePrint-enabled printers let users print using any e-mail-capable device. According to him, users can set up an e-mail address for ePrint devices and then print by simply e-mailing documents or photographs to this address. Surjoodeen says this function is available on a variety of mobile devices, including BlackBerry and iPhone, as well as phones running on Windows and Android operating systems.
He added that HP's ePrint solution has also been designed to work with Apple's AirPrint technology. This means iPads, iPhones and iPods enabled with Apple AirPrint will automatically detect HP ePrint-enabled printers on a common wireless network, allowing users to print from these devices.
WiFi hotspots.
He says users will be able to detect the closest printing hotspot using an app on their mobile devices. They will then be able to print from their current locations and then pay and collect their printouts from the hotspot vendor.
Declining niche
Steven Ambrose, MD of Strategy Worx, believes mobile printing is a niche market, adding that it is declining because users are opting to simply e-mail documents directly to recipients, who can then view the documents on whatever device they receive it.
“Printed documents will remain useful in certain instances, but for general exchange of information, electronic documents will dominate, especially as the current penetration of smart devices, which is at 21%, should grow to over 50% within two years,” says Ambrose.
He also suggests that printing hotspots are not likely to take off. “Printing as a service will find a place, but in my opinion, will never become mainstream in the same way as WiFi hotspots have.”
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