New Desktop Color LaserJets from HP with Touchscreens, Web Connectivity

Hewlett-Packard rolled out two new color LaserJets for small and mid-size business at the Macworld show being held in San Francisco. The new LaserJet Pro 400 color M451 and LaserJet Pro 300 color MFP M375 are “four-in-ones” with color for all functions – print, copy, scan, and fax - and include a 3.5″ color touchscreen. Also new is a standalone-printer version, the LaserJet Pro 400 color M451.

The LaserJet Pro 400 color MFP M475 is the same as the LaserJet Pro 300 configuration (right), but features faster print speeds (21 [black]/21 [color] ppm),  and standard automatic duplex printing. When Web-connected, the MFPs support HP’e ePrint mobile printing, Apple AirPrint mobile printing, as well as HP Wireless Direct mobile printing. They also support HP Business Apps for downloading and printing Web content from the touch screen, including an eStorage app for printing files stored in online Google Docs and box.net accounts, as well as scanning to Google Docs and box.net accounts.

An artist’s conception of printing from and scanning to cloud-based online sites such as Google Docs with HP’s eStorage Business App. Below: accessing Business Apps at a LaserJet’s touchscreen.

SmartInstall for easy installation in just a few minutes without CD is also provided.

Two configurations of the LaserJet Pro 400 are available: the LaserJet Pro 400 color M745dn provides wired Ethernet connectivity only (does not support Wireless Direct mobile printing), while the LaserJet Pro 400 color M745dw adds Wireless 802.11 b/g/n connectivity.

Other specifications for both MFPs include:

• PCL 6 and PCL 5c print drivers, PostScript 3 emulation print driver.
• 600 MHz CPU; 448 MB of memory; support Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac, and Linux; compatible with WebJet Admin, HP’s fleet-management solution.
• 21/21 ppm rated print speed for the LaserJet Pro 400; 19/19 ppm for the LaserJet Pro 300; 17 seconds First Page Out Time for black and color for both units.
• Maximum monthly volume is up to 40,000 pages for the LaserJet Pro 400; recommended monthly volume is from 1,000 to 2,500 pages.
• Maximum monthly volume is up to 30,000 pages for the LaserJet Pro 300; recommended monthly volume is up to 500 to 1,500 pages.
• Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port, host USB port on the front-panel for print from/scan to USB memory drives, Fast Ethernet 10/100Base-TX interface; as noted, the LaserJet Pro 400 M475dw adds WiFi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, as does the LaserJet Pro 300.
• Black and color print resolution up to 600 dpi, enhanced with HP’s ImageREt 3600 image-enhancement technology.
• Color scan to e-mail addresses, network folders, and USB memory drives;  TWAIN and WIA pull scanning; convert files into PDFs, as well as into searchable PDFs, and RTF, TXT text formats, and into several image formats. Optical scan resolution is up to 1,200 dpi (black)/600 dpi color.
• Super Group 3 walkup color fax and PC fax driver; receive faxes to Windows PCs.
• Print and scan on up to 8.5″x14″; 50-sheet automatic document feeder; 50-sheet multi-purpose tray; 250-sheet paper drawer; optional 250-sheet paper drawer. Automatic duplex printing for the LaserJet Pro 400.
• Use four (black, cyan, magenta, yellow) all-in-one toner cartridges. The black high-yield 305X toner cartridge yields 4,000 pages; high-yield 305A cyan, magenta cartridges yield 2,600 pages each.

Both the LaserJet Pro 400 and 300 MFPs which will ship in February in the United States; pricing is not yet available.

The LaserJet Pro 400 color M451 is essentially a standalone printer configuration of the LaserJet Pro 400 (no copy, scan, fax, touchscreen, or Business Apps), and is rated at 21/21 ppm. Three configurations are available:

• M451dn:  Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port, Fast Ethernet 10/100Base-TX network interface.
• M451nw and M451dw: Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port, Fast Ethernet 10/100Base-TX network interface, and WiFi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity. Note that “d” configurations provide automatic duplex printing.

The printers support HP’s ePrint and Apple AirPrint, as well as Wireless Direct mobile printing (except for the configuration without wireless connectivity). As with the MFPs, pricing is not yet available.