Hewlett-Packard Co has launched a new family of color inkjet printers designed for small and home-office consumers ( CI 2888). The HP DeskJet 820C Professional Series printers are the first color inkjet printers custom- engineered exclusively for Microsoft Corp’s Windows95, Windows 3.1 and 3.11 users. The new printers are expected to sell for about $400 and offer improved print quality and speed for customers who run Windows on their personal computers. The DeskJet 820C printer comes boxed with the company’s quick-start tool, a compact disk that includes Microsoft’s MS Publisher to create newsletters, logos, brochures and letterheads. The 820C incorporates a Windows version of the Printing Performance Architecture, a comprehensive new printing technology that creates efficiencies between the host personal computer and printer resources to improve performance. It works by offloading printer formatting tasks to the host personal computer, and a single integrated circuit handles the printer mechanics and input-output. Data flows directly to the printhead from the host personal computer to improve print speed performance. DeskJet 820C printers can print up to 6.5 pages per minute in black text and four pages per minute in color. The printer series use Hewlett’s RealLife Imaging System, a set of technologies that includes the company’s ColorSmart software, designed to adjust and optimise colour settings automatically, while Color Resolution Enhancement technology blends and layers colour hues for clear, vivid output. A companion version of the new printer, the DeskJet 820Cxi will be available through computer resellers for about $390. Upgrades for the DeskJet 855C, which was first released in August 1995, have also been announced. The two new models, the DeskJet 855Cse and DeskJet 855Cxi, will retail at about $500. Both printers offer enhancements over the original DeskJet 855C printer, including improved print quality, Hewlett-Packard’s Toolbox for easy on-screen instruction and problem-solving, plus network support through JetDirect EX, and native mode support for improved PowerMac performance. As part of a joint Eastman Kodak Co and Hewlett-Packard venture, the 855Cse and 855Cxi printers come bundled with a Kodak Photo CD offer, to run from April 1996 for as long as stocks last. Customers will be able use the software to add photographs to materials such as sales brochures and flyers.
