December 18, 2009

The Yuletide season has always been about finding the right gifts for the special people in your lives, so why not make gift-hunting extra special by adding another “nice” person on your list - YOU. After all, you deserve a reward for the year that has been. So indulge yourself with the gift of technology and choose from the vast array of the coolest computing gadgets to this year’s most impressive printers. Fortunately, HP offers a wide range of budget-friendly gifts of technology that are bound to please the demands of your everyday life.

Reward yourself this Christmas through high quality HP printing technologies, the most practical and valuable gifts anyone can enjoy. This year’s printers from HP offer excellent solutions that perform according to the needs of schoolwork, business, or everyday printing at home.

HP Photosmart Premium All-in-One
P10,490

Give yourself the gift of touch this Christmas with the HP Photosmart Premium All-in-One, the flagship model of the HP Photosmart printer lineup. The HP Photosmart Premium All-in-One is an easy-to-use print, scan, and copy solution that offers the convenience of HP TouchSmart and wireless connectivity for users who want to print from virtually anywhere in the home. Featuring a TouchSmart control panel with a large 3.45-inch touchscreen, the HP Photosmart Premium All-in-One allows users to view, edit and print lab-quality photos without a PC. Complete with built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Ethernet capabilities, this device is perfect for your daily needs - from everyday documents to photos.

HP Photosmart C4680
P4,990

If you’re looking for the perfect gift that’s within the holiday budget, go for the HP Photosmart C4680 All-in-One, HP’s most affordable Photosmart printer that boasts touch-enabled interface. The HP Photosmart C4680 All-in-One is a versatile, intuitive printing system that makes at-home scanning, copying and printing simple and convenient. It also allows users to easily view and print photos, web pages and everyday documents with the HP TouchSmart frame, the printer’s stunning color display.

HP Deskjet D5560 Printer
P4,490

For a more flexible printing power, the HP Deskjet D5560 Printer will be ideal. HP’s most affordable wireless printer, the HP Deskjet D5560 Printer has integrated Wi-Fi capabilities, an easy wireless setup, and a one-touch operation button that allows several users print laser-quality text and vivid color images virtually anywhere in the home or office. Putting a premium on hassle-free printing, it comes with handy ink level gauges that alert users when the printer is running low on ink. Packed with big features and wireless connectivity, this affordable machine ups the ante when it comes to ease-of-use that’s ideal for the student or the home and office user.

September 18, 2009

In these trying times when we often hear about hybrid cars, renewable energy sources, saving resources, lowering cost, and the recession, it’s very easy to overlook simple ways that can help us with some of those issues. One such simple thing would be on office copying and printing. So much is spent on running costs with paper, toners, drums and waste products that it doesn’t help our planet and our budgets.

Here lies the great solution for copiers, printers and MFPs that is Kyocera Ecosys technology. Kyocera pioneered the ECOSYS technology, which uses long-life components and only one consumable - toner. This reduces waste and costs. Users are protecting the environment while they reap the benefits of superior equipment with a very low cost per page.

The protection of the environment is integral to Kyocera’s products. Research has been focused not only on developing the most advanced document management devices, but also on working in harmony with the environment. The key innovation is its ECOSYS technology which uses a patented amorphous silicon print drum developed from Kyocera’s expertise in the ceramics industry and has an extremely hard surface. Producing copiers and printers with super long drum life drums that last up to as much as 500,000 pages. As a result of using this print drum and other long-life components, Kyocera products require only toner to be replaced therefore significantly reducing waste. Even their toners are designed with high capacities so you don’t have to change them too often. This further reduces waste and cost and is even helpful to the users as there are fewer occurrences of empty toners.

In addition to protecting the environment, users of Kyocera Mita products benefit from the quality and reliability in combination with a very low TCO that ECOSYS devices offer. They have a complete range from desktop models to high volume full featured machines.

The distributor, Philcopy Corporation, even offers years of free on-site service for maintenance and repairs so you don’t have to worry about spending on upkeep expenses.

So the next time your thinking of getting a new copier or printer for your office, you might as well help the environment and save your budget along as you go.

For inquiries and product demos please contact Philcopy Corporation at 8998421.

HP announces its expanded portfolio of imaging and printing devices, solutions and services to help enterprise customers drive efficiency, cost savings and environmental responsibility.

Designed to help enterprise customers optimize and manage their imaging and printing environments and improve document workflows, the new offerings include a new networked printer, extensibility platform capabilities, fleet management software, information management solutions and five large-format devices.

“With the current economic environment, companies are facing an increasing need to make everything spent count, reduce costs, and increase productivity while promoting eco-saving initiatives. Through HP’s imaging and printing offerings, a growing number of organizations have already been cutting costs and increasing their output efficiency,” said Jenny Sotto-Siquioco, country general manager, Imaging and Printing Group, HP Philippines. “HP’s new and expanded imaging and printing portfolio will enable customers to meet requirements while helping spur long term growth as the economy recovers.”

Secure fleet management of imaging and printing environments

HP DesignJet 4020

HP’s new high-performance workgroup printer with advanced security features, new management solutions and extensibility platform capabilities enable businesses to reliably, efficiently and cost-effectively maintain an optimized imaging and printing environment.

The offerings include:

• Saving up to 50% on energy consumption, with HP Instant-on Technologythe HP LaserJet Enterprise P3010 Printer seriesis a high-performance networked printer for businesses needing to print high volumes with added protection for confidential documents on a variety of media types. The printer features advanced security features, including IPsec and hardware security features such as PIN authentication and a hardware integration pocket which allows users to connect and house security card swipe and authentication devices. As part of the HP Eco Solutions program, the new laser printer is ENERGY STAR qualified and uses significantly less energy than competitive laser printersbased on several key environmental attributes listed on the HP Eco Highlights label.

• HP Open Extensibility Platform (OXP)and solution developer kits (SDKs) dramatically simplify the development and deployment of custom imaging and print solutions across HP’s fleet of multifunction products. An industry first, the HP Solution Installer reduces the time and cost of deploying embedded solutions on a fleet of imaging and printing devices - in some cases from days to hours. In addition, OXP adds new management interfaces (OXP-Management) such that IT managers, system integrators and software solution providers can use web services to interact with HP Web Jetadmin to retrieve device information and status alerts.

• HP Web Jetadmin 10.2helps administrators optimize device utilization, control color costs, set default PIN authentication, secure devices and streamline supplies management for HP and non-HP network peripherals. New features of HP Web Jetadmin 10.2 include enhanced remote management capabilities, improved device discovery and configuration and advanced supplies management that reduces maintenance time and overall device deployment costs. In addition, users can remotely schedule sleep and wake-up modes to conserve power and reduce energy consumption. This year, the earlier HP Web Jetadmin 10 had received the Outstanding Network Device Management Solution award from Buyers Laboratory Inc.

• HP Universal Print Driver 5.0, feature-rich driver that now includes HP EasyColor, which optimizes color printing and improves print performance for image-intensive documents. In addition, users can set printing devices to automatic two-sided printing to reduce paper waste. Features in HP Web Jetadmin and Universal Print Driver software can set an organization’s printers to duplex in a few simple keystrokes,saving up to 25% in paper costs.

Optimize imaging and printing infrastructure with new large-format printing choices

HP DesignJet T1120

HP introduced an expanded large-format printer portfolio that includes a range of new workgroup and multifunction printers and software solutions to improve connectivity, security and fleet management for office users, IT managers and production operators.

New devices include the HP Designjet T1120 SD-MFP, HP Designjet T1120 HD-MFP, HP Designjet 4520 HD-MFP and 4520 Scanner, HP Designjet T1120 Printer series and HP Designjet 4020 / 4520 Printer series. These offerings can save enterprises up to 15 to 30% off total large-format printing costs and provide up to 10 times faster response from click-to-print and improved overall print quality with crisper lines and smoother renders.

For the first time, the HP Web Jetadmin seamlessly integrates the expanded HP Designjet portfolio within existing networks and allows large-format printing devices to be remotely managed as part of a diverse printing fleet. The new large-format printers, MFPs and software are integrated into the HP Managed Print Services (MPS) offerings, enabling customers to reduce printing infrastructure costs, increase uptime and achieve predictable, consistent service delivery across multiple locations.

After subjecting a wide range of color printers and printer MFPs to a battery of rigorous lab tests, BLI has announced the winners of its Spring 2009 “Pick” awards in the color printer category, with nine products from seven vendors taking top honors for their outstanding performance in BLI testing. The tests evaluate products for a variety of important performance aspects, including reliability, image quality, productivity, print drivers, feedback to workstations, administrative utilities, ease of use, network setup, toner yield and more.

One of the companies that won awards for their high-quality products was HP, the world’s largest technology company. Two if its products, the HP Officejet Pro 8000 Printer Series and HP Officejet Pro 8500 AiO Series, were deemed exceptional performers and chosen as BLI “Pick” winners.

Economy And Ease Of Use Lead To HP’s “Picks” For Inkjet Products
Based on the same engine, the HP Officejet Pro 8000 and Officejet Pro 8500 All-In-One Series earned BLI “Pick” awards in the business inkjet printer and inkjet multifunction printer categories, respectively.

HP Officejet Pro 8500

“Both the Officejet Pro 8000 and Officejet Pro 8500 are easy to set up and use, with highly automated installation, easy-to-use print drivers and very good feedback regarding errors, thanks to HP’s outstanding utilities,” said Tony Maceri, BLI senior test technician. “The touch-screen interface on the Officejet Pro 8500 is also a very nice feature we don’t usually see on low-priced units like this one.”

“The Officejet Pro 8000 printer and Officejet Pro 8500 All-In-One breezed through our reliability test with no misfeeds or malfunctions,” added BLI Senior Printer Analyst Marlene Orr. “And both provide good business color output and offer a low cost per page, making them good value for small workgroup environments.”

“HP is very pleased to receive these awards for the HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One series and HP Officejet Pro 8000 Printer,” said Jenny Sotto-Siquioco, Country General Manager, Imaging and Printing Group, HP Philippines. In today’s challenging business environment, HP wants to do our part in helping SMB customers manage their imaging and printing costs with our innovative portfolio of print solutions that in delivering printing cost savings and energy use savings of up to 50%”.

BLI regularly acknowledges the very best performers with its semi-annual “Pick” awards. The awards are given to products that perform best in BLI’s unique tests, which evaluate a wide range of the most important performance factors for buyers, including reliability, ease of use, productivity and value, among others.

SAN FRANCISCO  - Reliability and Service: Printers

Printers in 2008 were slightly more reliable than desktops or laptops, according to our survey participants. About 3 in 10 respondents reported having one or more significant hardware or software problems with their printers during the preceding year. That figure correlates neatly with customer satisfaction: Two-thirds of users said that they were either very satisfied or extremely satisfied with their printers.

Canon is to printers what Apple is to desktops and laptops: Simply put, our readers love their products. Like last year, the vendor garnered high marks in eight of nine categories, missing only on the “Problem was never resolved” measure.

Meanwhile Hewlett-Packard, which earned five below-average scores, stays on the schneid. Indeed HP’s printer grades in 2008 are worse than they were last year, when it collected subpar marks in just two areas (”Any significant problem” and “Average phone service”). One semibright spot: Our readers deemed HP printers average–up from below average–in usability this year. In any event, despite its poor showing, HP retains a commanding share of the market: Of the 16,000-plus readers who participated in the printer assessment, half use an HP inkjet or laser printer.

Lexmark didn’t fare much better than HP did, though it did improve on last year’s results. Our readers slapped it with it four subpar grades, down from six last year. Specifically, our readers indicate that Lexmark still needs to upgrade its printers’ usability and reliability; its phone support is improving, however, as is its ability to resolve customer problems.

Kodak dropped a bit this year, too, slipping to a below-average score (for three total) in ease of use.

SAN FRANCISCO - Canon’s Pixma MP620 color inkjet multifunction printer offers connectivity and capacity galore. While its design has a few shortcomings, overall the Pixma MP620 offers a good deal, especially for a busy home or school setting.

A few premium features distinguish the silvery Pixma MP620. The control panel replaces a raft of buttons with a scroll wheel that lets you spin through options shown on the adjacent, tiltable, 2.5-inch color LCD. The remaining buttons are clearly labeled and easy to use. Standard connectivity covers USB, ethernet, and Wi-Fi; you need a US$50 extra-cost adapter to enable Bluetooth. It has two media slots that take most kinds of cards, but you’ll need to buy a third-party adapter to use the XD Picture Card format. The PictBridge port accepts only Canon-compatible devices.

The 150-sheet output tray automatically unfolds itself from the front panel when you initiate a print job. You get two 150-sheet input trays: one underneath for letter-size plain paper, and a second in the rear for larger or thicker media. Unfortunately, on my test unit, raising the telescoping guides for the rear vertical input involved a lot of tugging and clattering, and I accidentally collapsed them numerous times. Another drawback: The MP620 lacks an automatic document feeder (ADF) and duplexing capabilities; if you need those features, check out the similarly priced Dell 948 All-in-One or Lexmark X6570.

The MP620 performed fairly well in our tests. It posted average speeds, producing 7.6 pages per minute (ppm) with plain text and 2.2 ppm with graphics. The printer’s pigment black ink produced impressively crisp, dark letters.

On color graphics it uses a dye-based second black, plus cyan, magenta, and yellow. We found a bit too much yellow in some of our color graphics samples; flesh tones, in particular, looked orangey on plain paper and a little jaundiced on Canon’s own photo paper. Despite that and a slight graininess, images otherwise looked vivid and natural. Scan and copy tests yielded good results as well.

At the time of this writing, Canon had yet to publish yields for the five separate ink cartridges. Other Canon printers with a similar design have had reasonable costs.

Canon’s usually solid documentation had one notable problem this time: The printed Setup Guide features a confounding flowchart of installation options that stymie rather than advance the process. Aside from that, Canon’s better-than-average rating in our Reliability and Service survey bodes well for your overall experience.

The Pixma MP620 delivers a wide variety of features in a well-designed package. Its connectivity and generous paper handling make it particularly well suited for families or students.

By Jeff Bertolucci
PC World (US)
January 21, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO  - Reliability and Service: Printers

Printers in 2008 were slightly more reliable than desktops or laptops, according to our survey participants. About 3 in 10 respondents reported having one or more significant hardware or software problems with their printers during the preceding year. That figure correlates neatly with customer satisfaction: Two-thirds of users said that they were either very satisfied or extremely satisfied with their printers.

Canon is to printers what Apple is to desktops and laptops: Simply put, our readers love their products. Like last year, the vendor garnered high marks in eight of nine categories, missing only on the “Problem was never resolved” measure.

Meanwhile Hewlett-Packard, which earned five below-average scores, stays on the schneid. Indeed HP’s printer grades in 2008 are worse than they were last year, when it collected subpar marks in just two areas (”Any significant problem” and “Average phone service”). One semibright spot: Our readers deemed HP printers average–up from below average–in usability this year. In any event, despite its poor showing, HP retains a commanding share of the market: Of the 16,000-plus readers who participated in the printer assessment, half use an HP inkjet or laser printer.

Lexmark didn’t fare much better than HP did, though it did improve on last year’s results. Our readers slapped it with it four subpar grades, down from six last year. Specifically, our readers indicate that Lexmark still needs to upgrade its printers’ usability and reliability; its phone support is improving, however, as is its ability to resolve customer problems.

Kodak dropped a bit this year, too, slipping to a below-average score (for three total) in ease of use.