HP launches Smart Install plug-and-play printers

The LaserJet Pro P1100 shipps with onboard drivers

HP has launched three printers aimed at the business market which use a new feature to work with computers without traditional set-up utilities.

The Smart Install system uses printer drivers stored in the device's memory so that the printer is ready to go after simply connecting a USB cable.

"Our customers demand easy printing and we are giving it to them. No clumsy CD-ROMs to install, no drivers to download," said Ron Coughlin, senior vice president of LaserJet and Enterprise Solutions at HP. "HP Smart Install offers the future of printing, today."

The first devices with the Smart Install system are the HP LaserJet Pro P1100 series, the HP LaserJet Pro M1130/M1210 multifunction series and the HP LaserJet Pro P1566/P1606dn series.

Microsoft has been loading popular drivers onto the Windows operating system for years, but this is believed to be the first time that printers have shipped with their own drivers rather than relying on an internet download or a driver CD-ROM.