Will Allen is an Inventor and Innovator in the Core Technologies group inside HP, and I am happy to welcome him as a guest blogger today.
Before Will shares his thoughts on HP’s innovative printing systems, let me tell you a little bit about him.
For thirty years, Will has been deeply engaged with inventing and commercializing digital technology, contributing to HP programs with global impact in instrumentation, inkjet printing at all scales, digital projection displays, and services. He’s currently working on the future of the workplace and mobile technology, Internet of Things, enterprise & consumer printing services, pan-organization innovation, and HP technical career path governance.
Okay Will, the floor is all yours.
It might surprise you to learn that HP already has tens of millions of IoT devices in homes around the world. In 2010, when we started selling internet-savvy printers under the ePrint program, we provided secure connections to a cloud-based service. HP ePrint Printers can receive print jobs from email, from mobile devices, from non-portable computers and from devices.
READ ALSO: How Will The Internet of Things Affect You?
Today, our service maintains connectivity with millions of devices, and the number is only growing. We’re able to monitor device status and deliver print jobs on demand or in response to a scheduled subscription. Our goal is to allow our customers to start their day with a cup of coffee and a fresh crossword puzzle waiting patiently in the printer output tray.
READ ALSO: HP Print Channel on IFTTT Creating Over 40M IoT Printers
The ability to print conveniently is just one benefit of creating an IoT architecture for printers. With active connections to devices, we are able to offer our HP Instant Ink replacement service. Instead of buying print cartridges, customers have the option to sign up for automatic replenishment of printing ink supplies. Our service monitors usage and ships new print cartridges before the old ones run out of ink. This way, you’re able to pay by the number of pages used and never have to worry about running out of ink.
HP’s IoT capability with printers already spans half a decade, and we’re just getting started. We are always innovating to provide customers with new ways to print and consume printing services.
