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Print.IT Reseller 0870 903 9500
...52% of
those who
use smart-
phones for
work want
to print
from their
device...
30
Greater use of mobile devices is one
of the defning features of business
life in the twenty-frst century and
an attractive new sales opportunity
for print resellers, not least because
it reminds people how much they
depend on being able to print when
and where they want.
When the iPad was launched, almost
nine out of 10 users complained about
being unable to print; and an IDC survey of
mobile workers published in May, revealed
that 52% of those who use smartphones
for work want to print from their device
but are unable to do so.
Little wonder that 56% of US CIOs are
considering implementing a mobile print
solution, according to the InfoTrends report
Mobile Knowledge Workers: Emerging
Opportunities (February 2011).
In order to meet this demand, there
has been a big increase in mobile printing
solutions for both individual and corporate
use (see panels on pages 31 and 32). But
what are the options and how easy are
they to implement? To fnd out PrintIT
Reseller had a closer look at the driverless
printing options in HP printers and the
new version of Canon’s uniFLOW device
management software.
Printing by email
HP was one of the frst to spot the need for
driverless printing from mobile devices. Just
under two years ago, it launched its HP
ePrint service, which it has embedded in all
standalone and network printers costing
£60 or more. Since then it has continued to
enhance its printers with a wider choice of
printing methods. So what are the options?
ePrint
This ground-breaking service lets you
use an HP printer’s unique email address
(supplied with the printer) and embedded
web connectivity to output a document
regardless of whether the printer is beside
you or on the other side of the world.
All you have to do is email a print
job to the printer’s email address via the
HP cloud where it is converted into a
printable format and output on the
designated printer. The process
takes 20-30 seconds and is
device and platform agnostic: all
you need is the ability to email
and the address of the printer
you want to print to.
This technology is now
embedded in more than 12
million HP printers and MFPs
and has recently been enhanced
with a number of improvements,
including the ability to change the
supplied printer email address
to something less cumbersome
and more memorable, such as
yourname@hpeprint.com.
The HP ePrint centre website
allows printer owners to make other
changes including setting up a white
list of email addresses from which
they will accept emails/prints; and
setting default print settings for ePrint jobs,
such as mono-only printing. Because these
new options are in the cloud, they can be
enjoyed by all 12 million printer users.
ePrint still has its limitations: you
can’t specify duplex, for example, so it’s
more about convenience printing than
professional printing. However, HP is
continuing to invest in the service and it is
not beyond the realms of possibility that
in the future you could add a prefx to
an email to indicate to the printer that it
should print in duplex.
AirPrint
Apple has sold more than 150 million
iPhones, 40 million iPads and 70 million
iPod Touches all running iOS 4.2. Last
November, it introduced AirPrint, co-
developed with HP, to enable users of
these devices to print wirelessly to AirPrint-
compatible printers, of which HP currently
has around 30 models (all HP ePrint
printers are also AirPrint compatible).
In order to print, the user has to be
connected to the local network via a
wireless access point. But that is all: no
driver or other software installation is
required and AirPrint will automatically
present a list of available printers.
Wi-Fi Direct
A handful of HP consumer devices include
an additional wireless printing option,
Wi-Fi Direct. This brand new technology
creates a direct, peer-to-peer connection
between a Wi-Fi-enabled mobile device
and a printer, enabling users to print
without a network or internet connection.
The HP Laserjet Pro 100 color MFP
M175nw and HP LaserJet Pro CP1025nw
colour lasers are primarily designed for
small teams or personal use, but Wi-Fi
Direct means they are also suitable for
guest printing in corporate reception areas.
HP ePrint Service
In addition to wireless printing
technologies, HP has introduced a new
ePrint Service app that enables business
people who require more professional
output to locate and submit jobs to print
service providers. The app lists providers in
mobile printing
Printing without
boundaries
The need to print from mobile devices in the offce and
at other locations is driving demand for driverless print
solutions, bringing new sales opportunities to resellers