HP unveils multifunction printers

Hewlett Packard (HP) has launched two new document management products capable of performing a range of office tasks.

The devices, which function as photocopiers, scanners, faxes and printers, and which can email or transfer data direct to PCs, will compete with similar multifunction printers from the likes of Minolta, Hitachi and Xerox, which launched its converged copy devices in the UK two weeks ago.

The HP LaserJet 9000mfp and 4100mfp machines retail at $14,000 and $3,749 respectively.

HP's LaserJet 9000 printer has been on the market for some time, leading resellers to question why it was taking so long for the company to release a multifunction version.

"This enables HP to compete with low end photocopier vendors," said Peter Dixon, managing director of HP reseller Tie Data. "The [printer and photocopier manufacturers] have attacked this market differently and, at the moment, it's the IT managers we need to sell to."

It is believed that the printers will be in stock at distributors by April this year.

Phil Murphy, general manager of Kyocera Mita, said that he did not see the new offerings having an impact on the market.

"If I know HP, they will be playing at this," he said. "Convergence is a fact, and big resellers have been saying to me that they think HP has missed the boat. But if HP were to put its marketing muscle behind these products, we'd have cause for concern."

"However, if you look at where HP is going with its marketing, I'm not convinced that it actually will spend time and effort selling this to a wide audience," he added.

Murphy conceded that HP had pretty much invented the hard copy convergence market in 1996 with its Digital Office, but maintained that the firm had failed to capitalise on its initial impact.

Converged devices are seen by photocopier vendors and their channel as a way of entering the fiercely competitive printer market.