April 29 - 11:00pm EDT   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. [full story]

March 5 - 11:25am EST   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. [full story]

January 30 - 4:25pm EST   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. [full story]

January 15 - 4:10pm EST   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. [full story]

January 10 - 3:00pm EST   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. [full story]

December 7 - 11:50am EST   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. [full story]