HP’s ePrint Platform Pushes Cloud-Based Printing 
HP is pushing the envelope on web-enabled printing powered by the cloud. HP’s new ePrint printers talk directly to the Google Cloud to access, share and print docs, PDFs, photos and calendars. HP’s ePrint platform will not require a local proxy PC or web appliance, as some other approaches do.
HP is pushing the envelope on web-enabled printing powered by the cloud.
HP’s new ePrint platform allow printers talk directly to the Google Cloud to access, share and print docs, PDFs, photos and calendars. Notably, unlike some cloud-based printing architectures, HP’s ePrint platform will not require a local proxy PC or web appliance, as some other approaches do.
“We are…revolutionizing printing to make web-empowered, cloud-enabled printing the new industry standard,” said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP, in a statement.
Because each HP ePrint printer comes with a unique email address, users can send a print just like they send email messages today. Users can also forward docs to a printer using an HP ePrint mobile app for their smartphone. The technology works with Microsoft Office, Adobe PDFs, JPEG image files and other popular formats, the company said.
With HP’s ePrint platform, users can:
- Send an email to the printer, which in turn can print the message and any supported attachments.
- Send files for printing from their mobile devices
- Print from any email device to any new ePrint-enabled printer anywhere in the world.
- Store documents or files in the cloud and print direct when needed;
- Transform printers into publishing platforms using customized print applications
- Schedule content delivery directly to home or business printers, including news from msnbc.com or entertainment Disney.com.
'We are…revolutionizing printing to make web-empowered, cloud-enabled printing the new industry standard.'
Vvomesh Joshi
Executive Vice President
Imaging and Printing Group
HP
“We know that our customers want an easy way to print their content, anywhere, anytime. We’re making that a reality today by giving people the power to print from any web-connected device—smartphones, iPads, netbooks and more—to any printer in our portfolio above $99, Joshi added.
The device sports a 2.4-inch HP TouchSmart screen and, like all the other printers in the new package, it has its own exclusive e-mail address.
There are three more e-All-in-One printers, completed by the HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One machine that allows consumers to fax, scan, and copy content utilizing a touchscreen interface. The printer’s price varies from the $99 HP Photosmart e-All-in-One, slated to be available in North America this summer.
For its part, Google also sees the marriage of printers and cloud computing. The company has already released early APIs for a capability that allows applications on Google Chrome OS to send documents via Google Cloud Print to a cloud-connected printer or smartphone device.
