The rise of the modern, flexible workplace and the proliferation of mobile devices means that today's office environment is often barely recognizable, even compared to what was common just 15 years ago.
If you haven't bought a new office printer in the last couple of years, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the workplace revolution has left these 'utilitarian' tools behind and that they haven't changed much in decades. However, those taciturn academics who sit in the office and help you organize your work were calmly even-out too – and perhaps none more than the new smart printers found in HP's OfficeJet professional range. They aim to help ease the burden of the epic workload of small business owners by making it inevitable to work with documentation as efficiently as possible, even if those documents are completely digital and not in hard copy, we are dealing with print. This leaves both business owners and their employees more time to focus on what really matters: getting a job. With that in mind, here are five things you probably didn't know modern office printers can do.
With a clean and modern design, the OfficeJet with HP Pro printers can blend in discreetly into any home or office environment.
1. Mobile smart business processes
HP understands that the modern office is mobile, so it makes little sense to restrict connectivity to the local office network. The HP Smart Print App is available on iOS and Android and offers advanced functionality that includes scanning documents by taking photos of them with your smartphone's camera. From here, you can email and/or scan directly to recipients. You can also set up automated workflows called "smart tasks" that greatly streamline activities - for example, giving you a scan of receipts when you're out and about and then printing them out later at your convenience via a touch-screen printer.
2. Space saving design
The new, flagship OfficeJet Professional 9020 is a complete, multifunctional device with an automatic document feeder and a large output bin. But while maintaining the core functionality of its predecessors, it now takes up 39% less space. This is great news for any office, but especially one where every square inch counts. Indeed, its base now measures only 437 x 397mm, allowing for discrete integration into any workspace.
3. Flexible ink options
HP has also made buying OfficeJet ink easier and more flexible. Each refill is prominently marked with the printers it works with, and there is a wide variety of packages to choose from. If you just need to refill urgently, for example, you can save on upfront costs by purchasing standard cartridges individually. However, there are also high yield “XL” versions that will last even longer and provide better quality – for those who print a lot. This is more than double the capacity of standard sizes, and significantly less than double the price. Hence, you don't have to worry about running out of ink too quickly, or spending too much on consumables.
4. Advanced built-in OPC*
At the pointy end of the OfficeJet printer, smart technology complements the optical character recognition (OCR) printer. This allows you to scan a document using your printer or your smartphone app, then turn the image into a text document that you can edit before printing or sharing. There is no need to rewrite everything manually, even if you are on your iPhone or Android phone.
5. More environmentally friendly
In this day and age, it's good to know that some thought has been put into the sustainability of this purchase of tall controls and the new OfficeJet Pros are no exception. The new 8000-series models contain up to 15% recycled parts, while the premium 9000-series devices contain up to 10% recycled parts. In addition, both series are more energy efficient than ever. With intelligent energy management and low power consumption, they are more environmentally friendly and help keep your bills down - something that is always important when running a business.
HP is also a founding member of Planet Ark Cartridges 4, an innovative recycling program that provides Australians with a free and easy way to recycle used cartridges. Over 10 million HP cartridges have been recycled locally from Zero Waste to landfill through this program. By choosing an HP printer and recycling your original HP ink and toner cartridges, you can help reduce your footprint on the planet without sacrificing quality.
The OfficeJet range from HP Pro includes the surprisingly affordable 8020, which carries a PPR of just AU $199.
Level up your whole office
Of course, HP's flagship OfficeJet Professional 9020 offers more than just bells and whistles. With years of printing experience, the device offers HP's legendary reliability for printing and scanning. The 1200 x 1200 pixel printheads and inkjet technology means that creating a brochure is a breeze. And when using HP's specialized photo papers are enhanced at 4,800 x 1200 pixels meaning you can create borderless photos that approach quality in the lab. There's minimal wait around too, with prints efficiently produced at up to 39 pages per minute, with a first page out in as little as 9 seconds. The extra SMARTS mean that for large print jobs, the output bin knows when it's full - and there's no danger of paper flooding back into the entire office.
It's great at scanning and copying too, with the automatic document feeder can scan both sides of a document in one go. These days, not everything needs to be turned into a copy or, in which case documents can easily be sent directly to the cloud and then shared where needed.
What's more, these features don't open your devices to abuse either. All HP OfficeJet Professional New Series printers offer best-in-class security features^, including data, enterprise-class encryption (self-healing) with Wi-Fi security and print reliability, all of which have been certified by characteristic point of exploration.
The new 8000-series printer is available now and starts at just $149. If you need more advanced printing options, the 9000 series is available from all leading retailers, with the flagship OfficeJet 9020 model available for a very nice $299.
So if you need to focus on the work that really matters and don't want to be distracted by a temperamental technician, choose a printer that acts as a partner and not just a tool; a model that is smart but doesn't impose itself on your workplace or get in the way. If this is you, the new pluses from HP OfficeJet are exactly what you've been looking for. Find a model that suits your specific needs, click here.
* OCR not available on 9010 and above models.
^ Compared to most competing in-class consumer color Inkjet desktop all-in-one <US$299. Points of Intelligence - Buyer Lab 2018 Research commissioned by HP based on manufacturer published printer specifications, reports and press releases as of 12/15/2018 and does not support lab testing. Market shares according to IDC for CYQ3 2018 print technology tracker, release 2018Q3. AIO with best-in-class security features based on a review of published embedded security features that are competitive in its class and is defined as a complex business-class, multi-point security including but not limited to: data-level encryption, device, network, document ; enterprise-class Wi-Fi security; and secure printing. For more information, see keypointintelligence.com/HPOfficeJetPro.