Apple has posted a new cumulative driver update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard, supporting printers by HP. The v2.2 HP update includes software for both scanning and printing, and ensures compatibility with a broad selection of HP hardware. Numerous product lines are covered, including Business Inkjets, LaserJets, Color LaserJets, DesignJets, DeskJets, OfficeJets, Photosmarts and PSCs.
HP has introduced the App Studio, a new service attached to a recent printer, the Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web. Apps allow the printer to quickly print off sanctioned content, such as movie tickets, art projects from Disney, photos from Flickr or 60 Minutes articles from CBS. The service uses an open API, and HP is hoping to introduce a variety of new print apps in the future, in some cases based on user suggestions.
Brother on Thursday introduced several new printers in its HL-3000 series and MFC-9000 lineup. The HL-3040CN features print speeds of up to 17 ppm in color or monochrome, with 600x2400 dpi resolution. Users can place up to 250 sheets of paper into the feeder and connect the printer via Ethernet or USB 2.0 interfaces.
Lexmark on Tuesday introduced eight new all-in-one inkjet printers geared for small- to medium-size business. The Platinum Pro905 features a 4.3-inch touchscreen and a customizable interface for quicker access to frequent tasks. Users can also view web content from the display, such as news, weather, or photo sharing sites.
Apple has published a series of official support documents for Mac OS X Snow Leopard, which ships today. These cover Finder and the desktop, the printing process, and more crucially a number of incompatible applications. A specific set of programs may be automatically moved to an "Incompatible Software" folder on a Mac, and/or blocked from being opened.
Epson has released the 610 and the 1100 as part of its WorkForce line of printers. Both new models integrate Wi-Fi, wired networking and PC Fax capabilities, while the device construction is designed to be recyclable and meet ENERGY STAR standards. The all-in-one WorkForce 610 has a 2.5-inch LCD tilt screen and an automatic document feeder (ADF) that supports maximum print speeds of up to 38 pages per minute (ppm) in greyscale and color. Laser-quality work can be run at up to 15 ppm for black content or 9.3 ppm for color.
After surfacing earlier this month, DYMO today officially launched three new label printers in its LabelWriter 450 series. The 450 series printers output US Postal Service approved labels, barcodes and name badges, among other uses. The new series can print from 50 to 70 labels per minute, depending on the model, from software like Word, Outlook, QuickBooks and CardScan. USPS labels can be printed for First Class, Express Mail, Flat Rate postage, postcards and more. The label writers connect to Macs and PCs via USB.
Lexmark has announced a new line of inkjet printers, with eight all-in-one devices to be released on September 1. The printers each integrate 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreens for "as needed" navigation. Graphical icons provide quick access to basic print, copy and scan functions. The printers also utilize Lexmark's new Vizix print technology, featuring separate ink tanks to improve printing speed and printing precision. The line boasts Wireless-N connectivity for customers needing a longer range and faster file-transfer rates.
DYMO has introduced the LabelWriter 450 series of label printers. The devices build upon the features of the LabelWriter 400 printers, while providing a revamped exterior with a glossy finish. The company has improved printing speeds across-the-board, with the basic LabelWriter now capable of 51 labels per minute and the Turbo model churning out 71 labels per minute.
Epson has added a new entry-level model to its Artisan line of inkjet and all-in-one printers. The Artisan 50 is equipped with six separate ink cartridges, and is designed for everyday use, including photos, documents and printing on CDs and DVDs. Epson says the printer is capable of 37ppm with black ink, and 28ppm when operating in color. So-called "laser-quality" print speeds are much slower, measured at 5ppm in black, and 4.8ppm in color. Manual two-sided printing is also supported.
Epson has added to its WorkForce line of business inkjet printers with a new model aimed at small businesses. The WorkForce 310 incorporates fax, copy and scanning functions, as well as built-in Ethernet connectivity. The unit is said to print up to twice as fast as competing models, at 16ppm in black and 5.6ppm in color, judging by the new ISO/IEC 24734 standard. The standard is aimed at providing a consistent benchmark for comparing the speed of models from different manufacturers.
Epson has announced that its printers are now supported by EuroSmartz's Print & Share app for the iPhone and iPod touch. With the added compatibility, users can wirelessly print information stored on an Apple handheld; the printer itself must be connected to a computer via networking or USB. Some supported document types include photos, PDF files and general business documents.
Today's deals at DealNN include iPods, MacBooks, printers and more. Apple's online store is offering four unibody MacBook configurations starting at $1099. The 2.0Ghz MacBook with 160GB hard drive ($1099) and the 2.4GHz MacBook with 250GB hard drive ($1399) both have 2GB of RAM. Both models are also available with a 128GB Solid State Drive, in place of the standard hard drive, for $1699 and $1899 respectively.
Sony is experimenting with the concept of a photo printer using technology similar to Microsoft's Surface computer, patent filings suggest. The application depicts a flat-topped inkjet printer, whose main surface would be dominated by a touchscreen. To sync photos with the system owners would simply place a camera on top of the screen, initiating a wireless download; the screen could then be used to select photos for printing, or simply to browse images on a larger display.
Today's DealNN deals include a variety of products from solid state drives and printers to flash drives. First up is the 32GB Cavalry Pelican solid state drive priced at $79.99 at Buy.com. Get VMware Fusion 1.0 with free upgrade to version 2.0 at MacMall.com for $14.99 after mail in rebate. RadioShack.com is offering a buy-one-get-one deal on two different products, the 4GB SanDisk Cruzer micro and the Gigaware VGA PC webcam, both priced at $19.99. The Canon Pixma all in one color printer is priced at $64.99 at Newegg.com. CompUSA.com is offering the 32GB Patriot Xporter XT for $64.99 with a $20 mail in rebate offer that drops the price down to $44.99.
Evolis has released drivers for its line of card printers that are now compatible with Mac OS X. The company offers a range of printers, including monochrome or four-color process devices that are capable of reproducing images, logos, text or barcodes. Certain models are capable of adding lamination with holograms, or data encoding of magnetic stripes or smartcards. The Tattoo2 products are designed for single-sided color badge production for small organizations or clubs.
Brother has launched its next generation of inkjet printers, with printing, copying, scanning and faxing capabilities on all three new models. Its flagship MFC-790CW also includes a 4.2-inch touch screen and wireless networking. The 790 model includes 802.11 b/g wireless network support for printing without wires and supporting multiple PCs at once, direct printing from media cards and through its PictBridge interface and a 15-page automatic document feeder. It also has front-loading inks, a telephone handset with a digital answering machine built in and prints at a 33 page per minute rate.
Apple on Thursday unveiled HP Printer Driver 1.1.1, a set of updated printer drivers for a vast array of HP printers, weighing in at a total of 405MB. While the complete set of drivers is immense in size, when obtained through Software Update, only the printers attached to or used by the system in the past will be downloaded, easing the strain on users' internet connections. The full HP Printer Driver 1.1.1 update is available for download through Apple's support website.
Epson on Tuesday announced the release of three new Stylus all-in-one printers, including the NX300, NX200 and NX100. The three slide in under the existing all-in-one NX400, and are designed to handle printing, scanning, copying and faxing duties in households, though only the NX300 is capable of faxing documents. It is also the only one of the three to include a 30-page Auto Document Feeder (ADF), and is rated to print at speeds up to 31ppm. The fax function has a 100-page memory, and it includes ABBYY FineReader OCR software that can turn printed documents into editable text.
Epson has announced two new color, all-in-one inkjet printers, the Artisan 700 and 800. Both are six-color systems, and have features such as automatic photo correction, USB, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections, and the ability to print directly from CF, SD/SDHC, xD and Memory Stick cards. Another option -- a part of Epson's "PC-free" printing tools -- involves the quick production of ruled or graphing paper.
Continuing its photography-related announcements, Canon has revealed two new PIXMA photo printers, the MP980 and MP620. Both printers continue to feature the company's Auto Photo Fix feature, which can make automatic adjustments for factors like contrast, saturation and red-eye; new is the inclusion of an Auto Scan Mode, which will detect the type of document being scanned, perform cropping, and save images to JPEG or PDF files. Each printer is also Wi-Fi and Ethernet enabled.
Samsung Korea on Tuesday introduced what it claims are the smallest color laser printers ever built. According to the Akihabara News, the CLP-315K is 20 percent smaller than the previous generation the CLP-300; it operates at 45dB and features a resolution of 2,400 x 600 dpi, 32MB of internal memory, speed of 16 pages per minutes (ppm) in black and four ppm in color. In addition to the smaller footprints, Samsung claims that it has "drastically improved" the photo output quality.
Computer giant HP has announced the introduction of several new printers, all aimed at business use. At the forefront is the L7590 All-in-One, which as its name implies is also capable of faxing and flatbed copying or scanning. All operations can be performed in color, and it can print anywhere between 5 and 35 pages per minute, depending primarily on quality mode rather than which color mode is being used.
Sony has uncovered two future additions to its line of portable photo printers, the FP95 and FP75 (not pictured). Both are designed to print 4x6 images in approximately a minute, but the latter is a relatively basic model, with a 3.5-inch screen, and simpler editing functions including enlargement, rotation and color tweaking. Supported memory card formats include SD, xD and Memory Stick, although virtually any modern camera can print directly through a PictBridge port.
One of HP's showcases at the Macworld Expo is the Photosmart Pro B8850, what the company describes as a prosumer-level photo printer. The printer is designed to handle a variety of materials as thick as 0.7mm (0.03 inches), including satin, watercolor and matte papers, as well as more conventional options. Depending on the size, some prints may be completed in as little as 90 seconds.
One of the primary features of the printer is said to be "electrostatic drop detection," which is used to keep it operating smoothly. This monitors the printer for building ink, and is used to only clean the nozzles that need attention, thereby avoiding waste.
Ricoh today introduced the Aficio SP C222DN color laser printer alongside the Aficio SP C222SF series of color laser multifunction products (MFPs, shown at right). The six new models feature a sleek and compact design to provide a more personal look and feel for small offices requiring color documents, according to Ricoh. The SP C220DN, SP C221DN, and SP C222DN are priced at $530, $630 and $760, respectively. The Aficio SP C220S is available for $830, while the SP C221SF is priced at $950 and the SP C222SF sells for $1,050.
Samsung took advantage of the quiet before the end of the year to release the ML-2851. The monochrome laser printer is focused on homes and small shops that want output without the bulk or price of larger printers: though short enough to fit in a small cabinet at 8.5 inches tall, the printer takes just 8.5 seconds from warm-up to printing its first page at a sharp 1,200DPI; a large 160MB of memory lets it finish a total of 30 pages per minute. Cost-conscious users can also auto-duplex their output and use a toner-saving mode to avoid replacing the cartridge prematurely.
