HP feeds multifunction printer boom

Hewlett-Packard has announced its biggest-ever launch of multifunction printers (MFP), which it says are becoming increasingly popular.

The four new ranges all have a claimed 10-second warm-up time and a new interface designed to make their features more easily available to users.

For heavy-duty use (200 pages a month) in enterprises there is the Laserjet M5035 series offering scanning, copying, faxing and A3 or A4 printing at up to 35 pages per minute (ppm).

It is the first HP A3 MFP small enough to go on a desk and it will automatically sort and staple up to 30 pages at a time. Prices start at £2,350 ex Vat.

The Laserjet M3035 series is designed for smaller offices with a workload of up to 75,000 pages a month. It can scan or print at up to 33 pages per minute. Prices start at £1,400 a month.

Already in the shops is the Laserjet M1005, which prints and copies at up to 14ppm but does not offer fax. The price is £145 ex Vat, but that this printer comes with only a sample cartridge with only half the normal amount of toner. The list price of a replacement, capable of printing 2,000 standard pages, is £42.09 ex Vat.

Finally there are the Laserjet CM1015 and CM1017 colour MFPs, designed for workloads of up to 35,000 pages a month. The CM1017 differs in having memory card slots, network capability, and a colour rather than a mono LCD display. The models cost £371 and £305 ex Vat respectively.

Also launched were two new mono Laserjet ranges with automatic two-sided printing: the P3005 series that can process at up to 33ppm, and the P2015 series offering up to 26 pages per minute. Ex Vat prices start at £395 and £191 respectively.

New on the colour-printer front is the CP4005 series, printing colur at up to 25ppm and designed for a duty cycle of up to 80,000 pages a month. Prices start at £890 ex Vat.