21st Century Printers Oct 19, 2010 11:44 by Matt Bird
The Lexmark Genesis Printer
See that piece of hardware to the side. That is a printer. A 21st Century printer giving a nice sneak peak at the printing future.
Competition in the printing market has always been rife, but the new batch of machines introducing new functionality adds an interesting twist on the everday my print-speed/resoltuion-is-bigger-than-yours tedium.
And what makes it better? …. they all look so so good!
Brand new printers and what they offer
Manufacturers are really going head-to-head with new functionality.The Lexmark genesis pictured here, instead of the standard scanner which we are all used to, contains a digital camera that can scan documents in under 3 seconds. Incredibly fast!
Other manufacturers are responding, with the latest ranges including App functionality very similar to the apps you are familiar with from the Apple App store.
The new HP Envy printer
Whether it is an app directly linked to Google docs to print all your collaborative documents or one which can put musical and graphical lines onto plain paper, the potential is limitless.
Sneaking ahead are the latest range of HP printers, web-enabled machines allowing you to email any document to its unique address to get printed. Not only does this add the ability to print documents where ever you are, but it means the latest smart-gadgets (such as the iPad) are instantly able to send print requests remarkably easily, a very strong feature in the race to be accessible to all devices.
The HP Photosmart estation
With security features such as white-lists to guard against individuals spamming your printers unique email address, varying footprint sizes and the aformentioned app support, printers really are moving into the 21st Century.
And the best bits?
The pointless add ons you just know are a touch of genius, such as my new favorite the HP Photosmart e-station, which has a removable LCD screen you can use as a web browser. Pointlessly awesome!
