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LG outs Pocket Photo mobile picture printer, says it's the smallest of its kind
Hankering for an instant photo solution without the vintage Polaroid look? LG's Pocket Photo, which measures up at approximately 2.8- x 4.7- x 0.9-inches and is touted as the world's smallest mobile picture printer, might fit the bill. Images are slung from smartphones to the Optimus Vu-sized hardware via NFC, Bluetooth or USB with the help of an Android app, which can also be used to apply filters and overlay QR codes and messages. Unfortunately for iPhone-toting photographers, there's no mention of an iOS companion application. Leveraging heat-activated Zink paper, the rig can churn out 2- x 3-inch prints without relying on conventional ink. Pocket Photo is making its way to shelves in South Korea with a roughly $169 price tag dressed in orange, pink and silver accents, but there's no word on a US release. Head past the break to catch a video of the gizmo in action.
Lexmark announces detailed restructuring plan: 1,700 layoffs, inkjet business to be nixed
It's always a sad day when news come in of hard-working folks losing their cherished jobs -- and, unfortunately, today's one of those dismal days. In a detailed press release, Lexmark's let it be known it'll be be undergoing a company-wide restructure, but with the main focus being the exiting of the outfit's inkjet hardware development and manufacturing -- which, in the end, should save the printer maker about $95 million per year once the plan has taken place. Naturally, this doesn't come without any repercussions, as Lexmark's announced these restructuring actions will see around 1,700 worldwide jobs be lost; 1,100 of which are manufacturing positions, and also include the closing of an inkjet supplies manufacturing plant in the Philippines. Needless to say, we can only hope Lexmark sees better days. For now, however, you can peruse over the company's official word in the presser located right past the break.
Brother crams all-in-one functionality into a pint-size package for Business Smart series
Looking for a color inkjet all-in-one that won't use up all of your desk space? Brother's talking up its Business Smart line as a way getting a slew of features without the added office footprint. Aimed at small business owners, the line's first entry, the MFC-J4510DW, utilizes landscape printing and redesigned printer cartridges to help fit all of the requisite features into a smaller body. The peripheral does wireless and mobile printing, auto-two sided printing and features touchscreen controls. It's expected to hit the big office chains and Best Buys in October for $199, with more entries in the line following later this year. More info in the press release after the jump.
HP Expert Day for Apple users this Wednesday, August 15
Apple has its geniuses; HP has experts. While you can go into any Apple Store and chat up an Apple Genius about issues you may be having with your iPhone, Mac or other product, it's not often that you get the chance to talk to someone about a peripheral product like an HP printer or all-in-one. This Wednesday, HP is holding an Expert Day for Apple users who might have questions about how HP products work with their Apple devices. Starting at 7 AM PDT and going until 5 PM PDT on August 15, you'll be able to take part in a day-long session aimed at Mac owners as well as those using iOS and AirPrint for HP products and peripherals. To participate and get support on in- and out-of warranty HP products, log into the Consumer Support Forum page (free registration here) and then point to the Mac Printing & Scanning Board. While posting your question, be sure to select the "Email me when someone replies" option so you're alerted when the Expert addresses your question. HP also announced that Mac users upgrading to Mountain Lion from Lion or Snow Leopard should have no issues following the upgrade. The company has Mountain Lion software updates available for the HP Deskjet 2510, Deskjet 3520, Officejet 4620, Officejet 6100, and Photosmart 5520 printers and all-in-one printers. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; } #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Berg's Little Printer up for preorder at $259, ready to churn out smiley news and gossip in '60 days'
Just when RSS needs a lift amid all the growing competition, here comes a gadget we've been waiting for since last November. The Little Printer from Berg is like a tiny personal printing press: put it somewhere in your home, hook it up wirelessly to your router and then sit back while it prints out a "miniature newspaper" from your personal feeds. More than that, the creators have been building upon their BergCloud software to allow the device to pull updates from places like Foursquare and Google, so it can also produce task lists, location updates, and direct messages from friends. The pre-order page lists a price of $259 plus shipping and promises that the Little Printer will start shipping in 60 days -- big news (and a big price) indeed.
MakerBot Replicator impressions: the dawning of 3D printers in every home?
There's something universally appealing about the concept of a 3D printer -- that concept being an automated system capable of turning computer code into real-world objects. I found myself forced to give a brief overview of the technology to AOL employees in our shared New York City office space after a particularly noisy initial run of MakerBot's Replicator. Reactions to such explanations tend to follow a fairly standard arc, beginning with wide-eyed wonder as one attempts to wrap their brain around the idea, followed almost immediately by a list of things they'd love to print out, given a chance. This is usually coupled with questions like "can it print food?" and "can I print a car?" Both of which speak to that larger, vitally important question: "can I print anything useful?" This, in turn, speaks to another important concern: "how long until it pays for itself?" When we received an unexpected package from the folks at MakerBot last Friday, we realized it would afford us the opportunity to field some of these questions. Though, before opening the thing, we can tell you pretty confidently that, if you're looking for something that will "pay for itself," that answer won't come in a giant cardboard box with a MakerBot logo on the side. Some key questions are a little less straightforward, however, like whether or not this technology is ready for consumers -- or if it's still just the territory of enthusiasts.%Gallery-161579%
Canon expands its PIXMA line with MG2220, MG3220 and MG4220 all-in-ones
In plenty of time for back to school shopping, Canon has added three new offerings to the PIXMA family. The company just uncovered the MG2220, MG3220 and MG4220 all-in-one printers. The trio boasts 4,800 x 2,400 dpi max resolution, FastFront for easy changing of both ink and paper via the face of the machine, borderless 4 x 6-inch prints in under a minute and handles up to 8.5 x 11 sizes. With the MG2220, you can expect the advertised copy, print and scan functionality, while the other models each sport wireless capabilities. The aforementioned perk includes AirPrint, Google Cloud Print and Canon's own Easy PhotoPrint mobile app. If that wasn't enough, two new bits of software will be available with My Image Garden and you'll gain access to Facebook galleries with Print Your Days. The pricier pair also touts Auto Duplex printing to keep costs down and the MG4220 tacks on a 2.5-inch LCD for convenient adjustments for its higher price tag. The outfit didn't offer any details on when these peripherals will hit shelves, but when the time arrives, you can expect prices of $69.99 for the MG2220, $79.99 for the MG3220 and $129.99 for the all-inclusive MG4220. Further details lie in the full PR and a look at all three models can be found in the gallery that follows. %Gallery-160034%
Canon unveils the SELPHY CP900 compact photo printer, allows you to scrapbook from the backseat
If you literally can't wait until you get back home to print your Grand Canyon photos, you're now in luck. Canon has announced the SELPHY CP900 compact printer that makes on-the-go postcard making a bit easier. Making use of the peripheral's added WiFi capabilities, you'll be able to output those images from you hiking expedition from a memory card or with the help of the Easy PhotoPrint app for Android and iOS devices. Of course, you'll be limited to 4 x 6-inch snapshots, but the new accessory will take up less room in your backpack compared to the previous models. Can't find a power outlet? No worries. You can splurge for the optional battery / charger combo for printing mid-safari -- should you so choose. The device also sports a 2.7-inch LCD screen for final adjustments and a wait time of under a minute per copy. Details on a release date are scarce, but the mobile kit will be available in both black and white options for around $100 when it does arrive. For now, a few alternate angles await in the gallery below. %Gallery-160033%
HP teases new Envy all-in-one printer, glass and metal dotted all over (video)
We all love teasers, so it's rather swell that HP decided to tease its next Envy-branded all-in-one printer at the Global Influencer Summit in Shanghai -- almost two years after introducing the Envy 100. As you can see in the above slide and the extremely brief video teaser after the break, this time round the design will feature a glass control panel, as well as a metal scan bar and a metal hinge under the scanner's see-through lid. Pretty hot, we'd say, and looking back at the Envy 14 Spectre which shares similar elements, this certainly sets a good example of how the new Printing and Personal Systems Group is already bringing a better design consistency across what used to be two different groups. For now, stay tuned for more info.
HP introduces Officejet 150 all-in-one mobile printer, Photosmart 5520
We've seen mobile scanners and portable printers, but a combination of the two has been slow in coming. Well, the mobile all-in-one has finally arrived. HP's new Officejet 150 has built-in Bluetooth for printing docs from Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices, and it lets you scan to PC and email files in addition to transferring via USB and memory cards. A 2.36-inch touchscreen is on hand for managing prints, scans and copy jobs. One charge on the lithium-ion battery should get you up to 500 printed pages. The HP Officejet 150 Mobile All-in-One will ship for $399 in June, and if you happen to own an HP laptop, you'll be able to use its adapter with the printer. HP's other new printer isn't as exciting, but the $129 HP Photosmart 5520 all-in-one does add Wireless Direct, which lets you print directly from any web-connected device and from an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch using Apple AirPlay. Like the mobile model, the Photosmart 5520 will hit shelves in June.
Cubify's 3D printer up for pre-order, wants to make you make trinkets
3D systems trumpeted its forthcoming Cube printer back at CES, and it looks like its easy-on-the-eye curves are nearly ready for your earnest crafting. The good part is a lack of them. If you've assembled a more typical printer in the last ten years, you should be able to put these associated pieces together. It's a sharp contrast to plenty of 3D printers that more closely resemble an engineer's tantrum. The printer is priced up at $1,299, so it's not the cheapest, but we are promised a pretty concrete May 25th release date. Hit up the source to place your order, alongside some extra color cartridges. How would you make those turtleshell racers without some blue and red?
DIY 'Descriptive Camera' captures images, prints out prose
Have you ever wished that cameras could capture not only an image of the scene in front of them, but also describe it to you in plain English? Ok, what if it bypassed the whole "photo" thing and just spit out a slip of paper with words on it? Well, if you're still interested, the impressive Matt Richardson (of Make fame) has a project right up your alley. The Descriptive Camera is a relatively simple device really. A Logitech webcam is connected to a BeagleBone dev board, which is in turn plugged into a thermal printer from Adafruit. Obviously, the tech required to analyze a scene recognize the objects then convert that pile of pixels into a slice prose is outside of the budget and capability of your average DIY project. So Matt turned instead to Mechanical Turk, Amazon's marketplace for HITs or Human Intelligence Tasks. Images captured by the cam are uploaded via the BeagleBone, where an actual person describes what he or she sees and the resulting literature is printed out. For more details and images check out the source.
Former MakerBot exec launches Solidoodle sub-$500 3D printer
Let's be honest -- we all want a a 3D printer to call our own, right? Price has always been a significant barrier to the dream of printing pretty much everything your imagination can conjure (barring some hardware limitations, of course). For its part, MakerBot has made some significant strides toward tearing some of those barriers, and now Solidoodle, led by that company's former COO Samuel Cervantes, is looking to take the trend even further. The company's current self-tilted model starts at just under $500. The printer, which is now up for pre-order, can print plastic pieces up to 6" x 6" x 6", and "all you need to supply is a computer and power." Also, interestingly, "a 200-pound man can literally stand on top of the machine while it's printing. " So, that's a bonus. Check out a video of the printer in action after the break.
HP's imaging / printing group combines with PC group, Printing and Personal Systems Group emerges
Rumor had it, and rumor was right. This morning, HP officially announced an organizational realignment that's set to "improve performance and drive profitable growth across the entire HP portfolio." Corporate speak, sure, but what's happening is that the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) and Personal Systems Group (PSG) are joining forces to create the Printing and Personal Systems Group. The newly merged entity will be headed up by one Todd Bradley, who has served as the executive VP of PSG since '05. Vyomesh Joshi, executive VP of IPG, seems to be getting the better end of the deal, cashing in his "retirement" card after 31 years at the company. In related news, HP's Global Accounts Sales organization will join the newly named HP Enterprise Group, and it will "unify its Marketing functions across business units under Marty Homlish, executive vice president and chief marketing officer." Lastly, the company is sliding its Global Real Estate function from Finance into Global Technology and Business Processes, which is bound to befuddle precisely no one. For the full chair rearrangement, head on past the break.
Toshiba Tech's erasable toner lets you photo-uncopy (video)
Put away the matches, finally there's an eco-friendly way to get rid of those ill-thought photocopy pranks. Toshiba Tech has developed a toner that can be erased, letting you use a sheet of paper up to five times. Unlike similar solutions, you don't need special paper, but you will need one of the compatible copiers. The idea is similar to Pilot's erasable ball-point pen system, but uses heat instead of friction. As you'll see in the video over the break, a trace of the erased image remains slightly visible, so you'll still want the shredder for those sensitive documents. A built-in scanner means you can archive documents and also lets the machine sort paper into what can and can't be reused automatically. At the minute, you can only print in blue, but Toshiba Tech promises more options are on the way, and a full-color version is in the pipes. While the price is still undecided at this time, the creators hope that with the long-term paper savings, it'll only be the toner, not your budget, doing the disappearing.
Canon unveils PIXMA MX892 wireless all-in-one, prints from the cloud for $200
If you're in the market for a new wireless printer for that fancy new home office, Canon has a new model that may suit your needs. The PIXMA MX892 wireless all-in-one boasts copy, scan and fax features for those official docs that still have to be sent over the wire. Prints employ the ChromaLife, 5-ink system for high quality images at a resolution of 9,600 x 2,400 dpi. The printer also features a 3-inch LCD screen for last-minute adjustments and will have your 4 x 6 inch borderless Yellowstone photos printed in around 20 seconds each. Built-in effects, such as toy camera and fish-eye, offer quick photo customization in the event of an extreme time crunch. Through software like Google Cloud Print and PIXMA Cloud Link, you can send those documents or photos to the MX892 directly from online albums and your mobile device -- should you be on the move. No word on a shipping date as of yet, but the unit will set you back $199.99 when it hits shelves. Check out all the details in the PR below, should you be in need of a few more.
Adafruit's Internet of Things Printer combines your love of information, receipts
Love staying connected and using excess paper? Adafruit's got your back with its latest project. The Internet of Things (IoT) printer goes online via an Ethernet jack, printing up data on 2.5 inch wide receipt paper. You can print things like Twitter feeds, news briefs or sports scores using its open source software. Putting the box together requires some soldering and an Arduino, but once you're done, you'll finally be able to live out your fantasies of becoming an old timey stock broker. Video of the printer with a slightly grating Twitter song soundtrack after the break.
Epson joins fitness market with world's lightest GPS watch
In the world of electronics, the size of a device directly relates to its ability to pull ahead of the competition -- especially when it comes to fitness-tracking gadgets. The latest and greatest in this field has emerged from the most unexpected of places, with Epson, a company known for its printers and projectors, releasing the world's lightest GPS watch. This timepiece, specifically designed for runners, reportedly offers more accurate readings and better battery life (up to 12 hours on one charge) than competing products from Garmin, with acute data on distance, speed and pace, all due to its newly-designed 13mm-thick module. If sweat is an issue, the water-resistant casing offers protection against a full submersion of up to 50 meters -- you can wipe your brow with a sigh of relief. Pricing and availability on the company's latest concept is still unknown, but you can let your eyes do the jogging as you peruse the press release just past the break.
Apple wants to file patent lawsuit against Kodak, fully aware that Kodak's bankrupt
Poor Kodak just can't catch a break these days. Nearly a month after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and mere days after shuttering its digital camera business, the sputtering company now finds itself the target of no less a behemoth than Apple. Yesterday, Cupertino's legal team asked a US Bankruptcy Court for permission to go after Kodak on two legal fronts: with a patent infringement lawsuit in a Manhattan district court, and a corollary complaint in the ITC. According to Bloomberg, Apple's patent suit focuses on technologies that Kodak uses in its line of digital cameras, printers and digital picture frames. Unfortunately for Kodak, printers are one of the product areas it recently decided to focus on, as confirmed in last week's restructuring announcement. Salt, meet wound.These two companies, of course, have been involved in an ongoing ITC battle over Kodak's image transfer technology, with the latest salvo coming last month, when the camera company launched a fresh batch of litigation against both Apple and HTC. If the bankruptcy court grants Apple's request, the company will head straight to court, in the hopes of obtaining a block against Kodak's allegedly infringing products. Kodak, meanwhile, could file a request to hold off the district level case until the ITC ruling comes through, though Apple said yesterday that it would press forward, regardless. The company was also quick to point out that it's not legally bound to request permission to sue a court-protected bankrupt company, but did so "out of an abundance of caution," which is really considerate, if you think about it.
Canon introduces two new AirPrint inkjet printers
If you're in the market for a new inkjet printer, you may want to take a closer look at two new offerings from Canon. Announced on Tuesday, the PIXMA MX512 and PIXMA MX432 are two wireless All-In-One injkjet printers that'll let you print, copy, scan and fax. Both printers support AirPrint, which lets you print documents, emails and photos from your iPhone and iPad. Both the MX512 and the MX432 print at a rate of 9.7 ipm for black-and-white documents and approximately 5.5 ipm for color. The pair can print a 4" x 6" borderless photo in approximately 46 seconds. The MX512 has auto duplex printing and a dual-function panel which makes its easy for users to manage printing options and print documents directly from a media card. The MX512 and MX432 have a MSRP of US$149 and $99, respectively. Show full PR text Canon U.S.A. Announces New PIXMA Printers With AirPrint Support LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., February 7, 2012 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced AirPrint1 support in the PIXMA MX512 and MX432 Wireless2 Office All-In-One inkjet printers. AirPrint enables iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users to wirelessly print photos, email, web pages and documents without the need to install device drivers, saving time and enabling a seamless user experience. AirPrint will be available with the majority of Canon PIXMA Wireless All-In-One inkjet printers launched from this point forward. AirPrint1 works with iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPod touch (3rd generation and later) running using iOS 4.2 or later. For more information please visit www.usa.canon.com. About Canon U.S.A., Inc. Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. With more than $45 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), ranks fourth overall in patent holdings in the U.S. in 2010†, and is one of Fortune Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies in 2011. Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss.
