HP promises move to wireless printing

Printer manufacturer HP has announced three new wireless printers, and committed to adding wireless networking to its entire Photosmart photo printer range by 2010.

The C4500 All in One series prints and copies at up to 30 mono pages per minute or 23 in colour. It has a 1.5in colour display and memory card slots. The C6300 All in One series, which prints and copies at 33 mono or 31 colour pages per minute, has a larger 2.4in display and an Ethernet port for connecting directly to a router.

A third “Limited Edition” printer, designed to match the black design of the company's Pavilion notebook computers, was also announced, and the HP pledged to add wireless networking to every model in its Photosmart home photo printing range by 2010. UK prices for the new models are yet to be confirmed.

Executive vice-president Vyomesh Joshi told the company's annual imaging and printing conference: “Mobility is very important. Ninety-five per cent of networks will be wireless by 2011... we want to make sure that customers can print anywhere, anytime.”

HP also announced a new web service, HP Creative Studio, giving access to various online creative and print services. The UK edition of the site links to HP's own Snapfish printing service as well as Moo.com and Blurb, but tools from Disney and Dreamworks, both displayed prominently on the front page of the US site, appear to be missing.