New HP e-All-in-One printers make it easy to print from anywhere

HP recently announced two new wireless, Web-connected All-in-One printers that provide features that are sure to make Apple owners happy. The printers, the HP Officejet Pro 8500A e-All-in-One series (above at left, starting at US$299, currently available with a rebate for just $229) and Officejet 7500A Wide-Format e-All-in-One (above at right, starting at $299, not currently shown on the US HP website) feature connectivity to the Web, which allows them to print from various services without needing to fire up a computer to do the printing. Here's a quick look at some of the unique (and some not-so-unique) features:

• HP ePrint -- sometime this fall, you'll be able to download the HP ePrint iOS app and print documents on your device directly to your HP Officejet Pro 8500A or Officejet 7500A from literally anywhere you have an internet connection. Until then, or when you're on any internet-connected device, you can attach your document to an email and send it to your printer. ePrint supports PDF, Word, PowerPoint, text, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PNG, and GIF files, and you'll receive feedback from the printer if the print job is successful or if there's an issue.

• Borderless printing -- If you want to print anything from a 3" x 5" card up to a 13" x 19" brochure, you can do it on the 7500A Wide-Format printer, and you can print to the edge of the paper. That's useful for doing printing of business documents on-demand, rather than sending them to a printer.

• Wireless and Wired networking -- Both printers have built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi and 10/100Base-T Ethernet networking capabilities. The LCD display on the printers makes setup easy with on-screen instructions. (Correction: Wi-Fi is an option available at additional cost on the 8500A.)

• Print from touchscreen -- There's a 4.3" touchscreen on the 8500A and a 2.36" touchscreen on the 7500A. From those screens, you can print business documents that you've created with Marketsplash.com (an HP service), Google Docs, Box.net, Porfolio.com and other online services, without needing to open the docs on your Mac. You can get more info about other print apps that are available on HP's website.

• Scan to folder -- The 8500A provides scan to folder capabilities, although the HP spokesperson I talked to did note that this required that SMB sharing be set up on the Mac, which is easily done in System Preferences.

• Support for ColorLok papers -- Many paper distributors worldwide are supporting ColorLok, which provides faster dry times, fewer smears, and more vibrant printing.

• Support for AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express, and Time Capsule -- The Officejet Pro 8500A lists compatibility with these Apple wireless devices, so plugging the printer directly into one via USB 2.0 will allow it to be easily shared on your network.

Both printers are compatible with Mac OS X 10.5.8 and newer, and we're going to be giving one away soon to a TUAW reader. Be sure to check back often for details and a full review of one of the HP e-All-in-One printers.