HP has introduced a new family of multifunction printers built around the needs of re-opening workplaces and hybrid workforces.
“It’s not an evolution,” says Carles Farre, global head and general manager of HP print services and solutions, about the new LaserJet Managed E700 and E800 series. “It’s a truly new platform that is going to address the needs of the new office.”
Those needs include giving remote employees a reason to work someplace other than home. “The office is not anymore a place where you are forced or where you are expected to go, but a place where you need to attract people to go,” Farre says. “People need to feel that they’re going to be better off at the office because they can collaborate, they can be productive, they can be creative.”
That imperative, along with the need to contain costs, maintain security, streamline workflows, and reduce waste, all factor into the E700 and E800 family’s design. To enhance employee productivity, for example, the devices come with an up to 10.1-inch color display and optional physical keyboard. “This is the first time we’ve offered that,” notes Matt Schotten, senior director of HP’s enterprise print portfolio.
The printers offer FLOW 2.0 functionality as well, including the ability to highlight, redact, and sign content directly through the control panel, and to create custom shortcuts. Support for HP’s Workpath app catalog provides access to over 100 cloud-native workflow solutions.
A custom-engineered quad core processor further enhances productivity, HP says, by enabling the new systems to print at up to 70 pages per minute and scan at up to 300 images per minute. The devices also come with a new “reverse and retry” feature designed to prevent missed pages in scan jobs, as when two pages in a 50-page document stick together in the feeder.
“The scanner’s going to detect this, and rather than a 50-page document turning into a 49-page PDF, it’s going to back that page out, separate the page, and ensure that every page is scanned,” Schotten says.
To “future proof” the devices against changing requirements, E700 and E800 printers can be customized and upgraded after deployment. “The partner could actually upgrade the speed in the field from 40 pages a minute to 50, 60, or even 70 pages per minute,” Schotten says, noting that six different engines offering 17 different speed choices are available.
Partners can also add a keyboard to a unit initially shipped without one, he adds, or swap out the current display for another one. There are five panels in all.
Built-in “Memory Shield” technology delivered through the HP Wolf Enterprise Security package, blocks, detects, and self-recovers from threats. The printers use hardware-protected runtime intrusion detection functionality to scan memory for anomalies and XGuard Control Flow Integrity software, from Karamba Security, to monitor the firmware’s execution flow for signs of potential zero-day attacks.
E700 and E800 printers also feature a new design scheme designed to help them blend into settings outside of print and mail rooms. Waste reduction features include a 10 to 13 percent cut in energy consumption compared to prior generation products as well as ink cartridges made of 59% recycled content and shipped in 90% less packaging.
All of that, according to HP, arms resellers and solution providers to make differentiated offers to their customers and improve business results. “These products are going to increase profitability, predictability, and scalability for our channel partners,” Schotten says.
Research performed for HP by Morning Consult and published last month underscores how effectively printers and scanners can lure remote employees back to the office. Some 57% of participants in the study, which surveyed workers in the U.S. and Canada, ranked access to a printer above happy hours with colleagues. Another 55% put access to printers above free onsite lunch.
“The message underneath is the importance of technology to make people productive and collaborate at work,” Farre says.
LaserJet Managed E800 series printers are slated to arrive in North America on August 1st, with LaserJet Managed E700 series devices following the next month.