HP's New Ink Jets to Challenge Laser Printers

Hewlett-Packard has announced three lines of ink jet printers and all-in-ones (AIOs) that HP claims (in the case of its two Officejet Pro lines) will outperform most comparable laser printers in speed and cost-effectiveness while providing high-quality output using HP's Vivera inks. The new lines include the HP Officejet Pro L7000 series of AIOs for small and home businesses, the HP Officejet Pro K5400 series of printers for small and home businesses, and the HP Officejet J5700 line of AIOs for homes and home offices.

The L7000 series consists of three models, the L7500, to sell at an estimated street price of $299; the $399 L7600; and the $499 L7700. HP's stated speed for the L7000 series is up to 35 pages per minute (ppm) black and up to 34 ppm color, and "laser quality" speeds (in default mode rather than draft) are up to 12 ppm black and 10 ppm color, which HP states are faster than most color laser all-in-ones. The company claims printing costs per page as low as 1.5 cents per black-and-white page and 6 cents per color page, which it states is up to a 25 percent savings over comparable color laser AIOs.

The K5400 series is a line of business color ink jet printers based on HP's Scalable Print Technology, with which the company can build printheads with higher nozzle density. HP claims print speeds up to 36 ppm for black and white and 35 ppm for color at draft speed, and Laser Quality speeds of up to 12 ppm for black and white and 10 ppm for color, and a cost per page of as low as 1.5 cents per black-and-white page and 6 cents per color page. The base model, the K5400, will sell at an estimated street price of $149; it includes a 250-sheet paper tray. The K5400tn, which will cost $199, adds networking capabilities to share the printer with up to 5 PCs, and an additional 350-sheet paper tray. The K5400dtn contains all the D5400tn's features plus standard two-sided printing (duplexing). The K5400 series is expected to go on sale March 19.

The J5700 all-in-one series, to sell at an estimated street price of $150, is an AIO that combines printer, scanner, copier, and fax functions for home or micro business users. Its stated print and copy speeds are up to 30 ppm in black and white and 24 ppm in color. It scans at 2,400-by-4,800-dpi optical resolution in 48-bit color.