In rare move from printing industry, HP actually has a decent idea

The printer business is in a rut.

With the digitization of, properly, practically all the things, folks simply don’t print like they used to. Extra trendy methods of storing and sharing info, modifications in communication preferences at residence and in places of work, and environmental considerations have stonewalled the printing business and challenged stakeholders like HP.

I’d argue that it’s not simply technological, financial, and societal modifications which have diminished printer companies. For the common particular person, printers and their capabilities have turn into boring. When’s the final time you’ve heard of a brand new killer printer characteristic?

HP has obtained quite a lot of guff for alleged anti-consumer practices in its printer enterprise, turning many individuals off the gadgets. However HP’s newest print announcement is a uncommon instance of a printer agency proposing new, doubtlessly useful options as a substitute of questionable enterprise ways to drive enterprise.

Printers want a rebrand

Frequent readers of Ars Technica, (together with myself), could also be shocked to see me praising a printer firm, particularly HP. Lately, HP has been an enormous driver of damaged belief between printer manufacturers and prospects.

Its most egregious offense has been utilizing firmware updates to make it so beforehand bought printers not work with non-HP ink. HP has handled quite a few lawsuits over this and has paid out tens of millions in fines and buyer compensation. Activists have referred to as for HP printers to be faraway from the Digital Product Environmental Evaluation Instrument registry due to HP’s Dynamic Safety updates.

However HP continues to face by Dynamic Safety, with CEO Enrique Lores even going as far as to unrealistically declare that third-party ink poses a cybersecurity menace. Updates that brick options of gadgets that folks depend on for valued, and even work-critical, duties can wreck somebody’s day. It may additionally make folks distrustful of updates, creating extra urgent safety considerations than that of non-proprietary ink cartridges. Additional, HP and different printer corporations (like Canon) have additionally been rightfully criticized for making combo printer-scanner gadgets require ink to carry out scans, one thing that must be an inkless activity.

It has gotten to the purpose the place, in 2024, my finest suggestion for folks looking for a printer is a boring, black-and-white Brother laser printer from 2017 or to go to their native library.

Function being examined might truly enhance printing

So shade me impressed to listen to HP saying a characteristic for printer customers with potential for simply and instantly bettering prospects’ printing expertise. The characteristic is presently solely out there to pick prospects as a beta software program driver. However Excellent Output, as HP’s calling it, may very well be a great tool for simplifying and dashing up sure forms of print jobs, particularly for tech novices.

Excellent Output is the primary in a class of printer options that HP will name HP Print AI. Sure, it is a part of the AI advertising hype presently overwhelming tech customers (do not shoot the messenger!). Based on HP’s Tuesday announcement, Excellent Output is meant to make it simpler to print issues off of internet browsers (like articles, journey paperwork, and tutorials) and spreadsheets in a cleaner, extra natural-looking manner.

One might use Excellent Output to rapidly repair picture sizes and take away adverts and white house when printing one thing off an internet site, HP says for instance.

And it must be simpler to print spreadsheets that don’t lower throughout a number of pages, like within the picture beneath, in response to HP.