Basic HTML Version
www.printit
reseller
.co.uk
Print.IT Reseller 13
business inkjets
Due to be launched in Spring 2013,
the HP Officejet Pro X Series is an
impressive new range of inkjet printers
and MFPs targeted at workgroups
of 5 to 15 people. It offers the same
value proposition as the company’s
OfficeJet Pro devices for workteams of
2 to 5 people (i.e. colour printing at up
to half the cost of equivalent colour
laser devices) with the added bonus of
colour print speeds of up to 70 pages
per minute in ‘general office’ mode.
Not to be confused with vastly inferior
draft printing options, general office mode
is designed for the 70% of print jobs that
are destined for internal use only. The print
samples seen by
Print.IT Reseller
– a flow
diagram and report with bar chart – were
impressive with clear black text and strong
colours that would have been more than
adequate for most people’s needs. But even
in normal printing mode, the X series is
really quick: up to 42ppm or 33ppm when
printing on both sides of the page.
Throw in low energy consumption,
high capacity cartridges, water-resistant
pigment-based ink, a low cost per page,
generous 500-sheet paper capacity (with
the option of a second tray), 10.9cm colour
touchscreen and all the connectivity and
management features you would find on
an equivalent LaserJet Pro device (e.g. PCL
5/6, PS-support, a Universal Printer Driver
and Webjet Admin) and it is easy to see why
the channel might be excited by HP’s new
generation of printers and MFPs.
Mercè Barcons, HP Vice President for
the Inkjet Hardware Category in EMEA,
said: “The channel is extremely excited
and we are working with a select group of
New business
inkjets have the
X factor
partners to ensure we get our go-to-market
strategy right. The level of excitement
and enthusiasm is unprecedented. They
are excited about the value proposition
itself. They are excited about winning new
business. They see this as an addition
that will allow them to access some
opportunities they couldn’t access in
the past.”
HP has had success with its Officejet
Pro printers – 10 million sold worldwide
since 2005 – but they are only suitable for
small work teams of five people at most.
The X series is a much more compelling
proposition for SMEs because of a new
page-wide printhead with 42,240 nozzles
firing one billion ink droplets per second.
This robust technology – the printhead
is stationary and only the paper moves –
enables fast print speeds, supports high duty
cycles of 4,000 pages per month and lasts
for the lifetime of the machine.
According to HP’s Jordi Monne, the
appeal of these printers goes beyond the
target market: “Small businesses are the
sweet spot. But channel partners have
identified opportunities with very large
customers who have environments similar to
HP claims that the unveiling
of the new HP Officejet Pro
X Series has been greeted
with unprecedented levels
of excitement by channel
partners looking for new
business opportunities.
James Goulding reports
those in the small business space.
For example, a company like Royal Mail –
a large company that has lots of small
offices,” he said.
Live and learn
This is not the first time HP has tried
to market inkjet technology to larger
businesses. Many readers will remember
HP Edgeline MFPs on which the X Series
printhead technology is based. However, HP
has learnt lessons from that debacle and is
now adopting a more evolutionary approach,
as Hatem Mostafa, VP of HP’s Inkjet Business
and Platforms (IBP) global business
unit, explained.
“We had multiple
issues launching Edgeline
technology,” he said.
“We had inkjet for
desktop printing and
skipped several levels
and went into high-end
departmental printing.
And it was a big leap to
get customers to accept
this technology at the high
end. The product was only
sold contractually and it
needed a different go-to-
market approach and level
of support that HP was
only just developing at the
time. These new products
fit into a traditional reseller
channel.”
Fulvio Ferrari, Vice-president and
General Manager for HP’s Inkjet and Web
Solutions Business, Imaging and Printing
Group (IPG) EMEA, added: “We had always
said ‘inkjet is for consumers and laser is for
business’, then suddenly we brought out a
product and said ‘inkjet is for business’.
We took too much of a leap. We went from
1, 2, 3 to 10. We are now going from 1, 2, 3
to 4 and then to 5 and then to 6. Ultimately
we will get to 10 but it won’t be in a big
leap. This launch is based on our experience
with Edgeline. We are confident it will be
successful.”
HP is not the only supplier operating in
this area. New entrants like Memjet and
Brother, which earlier in the year announced
plans to launch a 100ppm mono inkjet,
are also eyeing up the market. But Mercè
Barcons is confident that HP and its resellers
will prosper: “The history, tradition and
knowledge HP has in printing technology
and the relationship we have with the
channel based on many years of history gives
us an advantage and will lead to success,”
she said.
HP has delivered the platform and the
first of a new generation of products. Now
it is up to resellers to persuade their laser-
loving customers why inkjet is the future.
www.hp.com
...it’s easy
to see why
the channel
might be
excited by
HP’s new
generation
of printers
and MFPs.