Q&A with Bret Bottger of HP and Mark Evans of BID Blinds

After weeks of blogging about his experience with an HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One, Mark Evans of BID Blinds emerged with the most votes among the five small business owners who participated in the HP Officejet Pro Challenge and won the grand prize package worth more than $2,100. Beyond the obvious advantage of receiving professional color documents while saving up to 50 percent on printing costs and energy use compared to laser¹, Mark says he learned a lot about how to use his new printer to help run his business. In this wrap-up interview with HP, Mark shares some additional perspective on printing in a small-business environment.

Mark is the owner of BID Blinds, which provides eco-friendly and affordable custom window treatments to residential and commercial clients in the greater Nashville, Tenn. area. Mark retired his Lexmark X125 All-in-One printer for the HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One, and hasn’t looked back since.

Mark Evans, owner of BID Blinds and his new HP Officejet Pro All-in-One

Bret Bottger of HP, who has been chatting with Mark and other participants throughout the Challenge, touched base with Mark to get his comments. Here’s what Mark had to say about his experience:

Bret: After testing the HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One for four weeks, what did you particularly like or dislike about it?

Mark: Wow, that is a dangerous question to ask if you don’t know the answer!  I think the general thing that stuck out to me was the ease with which I could perform all of the tasks that HP put us through.  Of course, I had the occasional – okay, more than occasional - brain cramp that complicated things because I overlooked the obvious.  I also like the energy saving “sleep” mode it goes into when it has been idle for a short while.  That same mode was probably the “worst” thing, too.  Sometimes I get in a time crunch trying to get out the door.  I hit “Print” and have to wait a sec for the machine to stir from hibernation.  Again, my issue, not the machine’s.

Bret: What features did you find most useful during your four-week “test drive”? Were there any features that you found hard to use?

Mark: Let’s tackle the second part first.  NO!!! Emphatic enough?  There really was nothing that was difficult.  For the Challenge, sometimes I was pressed for time meeting your deadlines because I am still running a business.  But, man, this 8500 really came through.  Had it been a bear to learn or had it required reading a 600 page manual, I would’ve put it back in the box.

Now for the Part A of your query, the feature I utilized the most was, without question, the two-sided option, both printing and scanning.  Not only was it a time saver, it reduces usage and waste and saves the dollars and time it would take to produce a high quality product that is suitable for giving to my clientele!

Bret: What did you think of the quality of materials printed when using Original HP Papers, such as the HP Bright White Inkjet Paper, HP Photo Paper and glossy HP Brochure/Flyer Paper?

Mark: Okay, you got me here.  I’ve only used the Photo paper once – four prints.  Did I tell you I was running a business?  But all of the paper products have been excellent.  They have made the final presentation products “POP!”  And the way they hold the ink in trying circumstances is “magnifico.”  They don’t smudge up or run when wet.  The brochure paper is amazing.  I am still trying to find the ideal template for my biz.  But the brochures I’ve produced are as good as they come.

Bret: Overall, how well did the new Officejet Pro fit the needs of your business compared to your previous printer?

Mark: This is a loaded question.  Your HP bias is showing.  Let me put it this way.  If I hadn’t gone through this experience and learned how many more things I could do and DO WELL with this All-in-One, it would have been a tie.  But this 8500 allows me to do things I never would have done with my previous all-in-one.  And it does them with such ease and in such high quality.

“WOW’” is the impression the Challenge left me with.

Bret: Would you recommend this printer to other small business owners? If so, why?

Mark: Without a doubt.  This machine will make you proud of what you are able to produce.  Sure, there are some items that I do in the hundreds, and even thousands, that I will outsource.  But for those things that take a personalized touch or those that require differentiation or contrasting ideas, the end product from this small business machine will be hard to beat (and you don’t have to wait for the Print shop to call and say that it is ready).

Finally, even the routine functions, are handled seamlessly by a touch screen input panel.  It walks you through your options and maximizes the result.  What more could you ask for from the machine?  Espresso?  Latte?

Bret: Now you have the choice. Would you ever go back to your old printer?

Mark: Somebody would have to pay me a LOT of money as an inducement to use the old machine.  Even then, I’d keep my 8500 wired in and sneak back to use it at every opportunity!

Bret: Congratulations on your win, Mark! I hope that you continue to enjoy the HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One. Be sure to follow the new HP Officejet Pro Challenge: Laser Edition when it launches in a few weeks to hear what a fresh group of small business owners are saying about the Officejet Pro.  Click here to check it out.

Opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not of HP and may not have been reviewed in advance by HP.

¹Majority of color laser AiOs <$600, June 2008; for details, www.hp.com/go/officejet. OJ Pro ISO yield with highest-capacity cartridges based on continuous printing; see www.hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies. Energy use based on HP testing using the ENERGY STAR® program's TEC test method criteria.

By Bret Bottger, HP Small and Medium Business Inkjet Marketing

We recently launched the new HP Officejet 7000 Wide Format Printer for professional color documents, laser-quality black text, and eye-catching photo-quality prints – ideal for marketing collateral.  This printer is built specifically for the needs of small business and quickly produces documents, brochures and presentations without the need to go to an outside copy shop.  This Officejet printer is network ready, and delivers fast speeds of up to 33 pages per minute black / 32 ppm color for every-day prints² or ISO laser-equivalent speeds of 8 ppm black / 7 ppm color³.  And you don’t have to wait long to get your prints because the first page out speed⁴ is as fast as 20 seconds black and 21 seconds color.

This versatile printer produces output up to 13 inches by 19 inches / A3+ standard paper size, with the lowest cost per page vs. in-class inkjet competitors.⁵  Everything you print, both color and black have stunning quality.  And because Ethernet networking is built-in, you can share the printer with up to 5 users right out of the box.  

Affordable Versatility

The Officejet 7000 Wide Format Printer supports borderless printing for large and small documents, with custom media sizes as small 3 x 5 inches (useful for note cards).  It can also print custom-size large documents, like spreadsheets as big as 13 inches by 44 inches on non-standard paper. 

The printer uses four Officejet 920 ink cartridges  – one for each color, so you can save money by replacing only the cartridge which runs out.  Optional high capacity Officejet 920XL cartridges are available⁶ which deliver more printed pages with fewer cartridge replacements -- you can print up to 1,200 pages before replacing the black cartridge and up to 700 pages before replacing a color cartridge.⁷

With the Officejet 7000 Wide Format Printer, you’ll get business-grade documents with impressive laser-quality black text and bold color graphics.  There are many options for paper, including standard office paper, glossy photo media or double-sided brochure paper.  When you use plain papers with the ColorLok logo, you will have fast-drying, vivid documents – perfect for high-volume printing.  And the printer produces archive-quality documents which retain black text and color quality for decades.⁸ 

I’ll be sharing more about this new printer in an upcoming blog entry.  Next time, I’ll discuss how the Officejet 7000 Wide Format Printer is helping an English school in China, talk about its reduced environmental impact and introduce HP software, web assets and device management tools which can help your small business. 

If you’d like to learn more about the new Officejet 7000 Wide Format Printer, check out these links:  Demo video    Data sheet    Solution and Feature Guide.

Compared to B-size inkjet printers and AiOs <$299 from major vendors as of Q408. Excludes HP Officejet Pro products. Average based on ISO/IEC 24711 or HP testing methodology and continuous printing. Actual yield varies considerably based on content of printed pages and other factors. For details see www.hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies.

2 After first page. For details, see www.hp.com/go/inkjetprinter.

3 Based on ppm measured using ISO/IEC 24734. Standard applies to inkjet and laser products and excludes first set of test documents. For details, see www.hp.com/go/inkjetprinter

4 For details, see www.hp.com/go/inkjetprinter.

5 Compared to B-size inkjet printers and AiOs <$299 from major vendors as of Q408. Excludes HP Officejet Pro products. Average based on ISO/IEC 24711 or HP testing methodology and continuous printing. Actual yield varies considerably based on content of printed pages and other factors. For details see www.hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies.

6 Not included. Must purchase separately.

7 Average based on ISO/IEC 24711 or HP testing methodology and continuous printing. Actual yield varies considerably based on content of printed pages and other factors. Some ink from included cartridge is used to start up the printer. For details, see www.hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies

8 Based on paper industry predictions for acid-free papers and Original HP inks; colorant stability data at room temperature based on similar systems tested as per ISO 11798 and ISO 1 8909.

Posted by Bret Bottger, Inkjet Systems Marketing

Following up on my previous blog entry on environmentally responsible printing, I am introducing the new HP Print View software designed to help small businesses save money with do-it-yourself marketing.  This free software helps empower small businesses to reduce their marketing costs by providing a print cost estimate in advance of hitting print, which makes it easier to bring outside color printing jobs inside the small business.  Many HP printers and all-in-ones for small business are supported by the software, including the new Officejet Pro series and LaserJet, as well as both networked and single-user printers.

HP Print View Software is a suite of tools that helps you to create and print professional-quality brochures, fliers, mailers, presentations and postcards by using your own supported HP printer.  Often, producing marketing materials in your own office is faster and less expensive than outsourcing the print job.

Save Money Printing SMB Documents Yourself

HP Print View software generates estimates and allows you to compare your various printing options and choose the lowest cost option.  It can also allow you to compare in-house marketing print production costs to estimates you obtain from your local copy shop.  According to InfoTrends, you can save up to 50% by printing color marketing materials in-house for short runs of up to 500 pages.¹ 

HP Print View Software also lets you understand how the page layout and design affects the potential printing costs.  For example, if you plan to print out slides which have a solid blue background, which would likely increase the printing costs by using a lot of cyan ink or toner.  If a design change makes sense with your marketing need, you might want to redesign the slides to remove the solid blue background.  This simple design change can save money, especially on larger print jobs.

Get More Control Over Your Printing

HP designed the Print View software to save you time, since you don’t need to travel to the copy shop when you print in your office.   By using your own in-office HP printer for smaller print jobs instead of sending them to an external print shop, you can often save money.   You are in complete control over the document, and you can decide which options to use.  This can save money and prevent waste.   Printing in-house with the HP Print View software gives you control over the schedule, the quantity, and most importantly, the output.  You can update your marketing materials whenever you want.

The software also provides a preview of what your printed document will look like without printing test copies.  This is especially important when saving paper by using duplex printing to use both sides of the paper, since duplex printing can be complicated.  This sophisticated print preview can also help you be more environmentally responsible by printing only the quantities you need, helping avoid wasted paper and supplies. 

It’s a free download, so I invite you to check it out yourself.  I’m interested in your experiences with in-house print production for small business. 

Opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not of HP and may not have been reviewed in advance by HP.

¹ Based on average retail pricing for short-run marketing materials. Short runs of up to 500 prints.  Actual prices may vary. Not all country currencies are supported.  Source: Infotrends US Cost of Print Studies, March 2009. Go to www.hp.com/go/ihm for more details. 

InfoTrends, The Cost of Print in the United States: An Analysis of In-House vs. Print Shop Costs. ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software9/COL19323/ja-51202-2/CostofPrint_US_090507.pdf

Actually, that's a bit of an understatement: I make, print,
and share cookbooks. And you can, too.

Follow these three steps to print and make your own cookbook
in 15 minutes or less.

Step 1: Grab recipes
from food blogs and websites. Use tried and true recipes from top food
blogs and culinary websites who freely share. Some of my favorites are listed
below. Just remember to respect their copyright and intellectual property
rights.

Step 2: Hit print
brilliantly. The best food blogs have gorgeous color photography and have
preformatted printer-friendly pages (usually designated with a little printer
icon). Be sure to click through to a printer-friendly
page (like this one from Simply Recipes) before you hit print, or use HP's
free Smart Web Printing software to grab only what you want from the web
and build your own recipe page to print. (Tip: I print my cookbooks using HP Brochure
and Flyer paper on an HP
Photosmart All-in-One.)

Step 3: Bind and
share. You can make this step as fancy or as simple as you want. Use a
stapler or paper clip to hold pages together. Or use a hole puncher (one in the
top left corner, or two holes at the top, or traditional three holes on the
left side of the pages) and insert the pages into a binder. Even prettier -
hole punch and tie together with a ribbon. Or insert pages into a Photobook.

Favorite food blogs
and websites

1. Simply Recipes
2. Serious Eats
3. The Pioneer Woman Cooks
4. Dutch Girl Cooking
5. The Food Network
   and Epicurious

Want to make a
cookbook using your own recipes and photos?

Making a personalized cookbook takes a bit more time and
effort, but the payoff is big -- especially if you want to give it as a gift to
friends and family. Spice up your recipe pages with photos -- of the preapred dish, of
the people who created and shared the recipe, of places, of things (like pots, pans, or an apron ).  

See
how I made a cookbook using family recipes and free
HP templates in this step
by step guide on the HP
Wiki.

Send me a link to your favorite food blog, and please ping me if you share your finished cookbook on the HP
Wiki.

Angela LoSasso manages HP's Creative Wiki and HP's Small Business Wiki. When she's not cooking or writing, you'll find her on Twitter.

Posted by Bret Bottger, HP IWS Market Development Team

Today HP is introducing new HP Officejet Pro and Officejet inkjet printers and All-in-Ones which give small businesses the impact of professional color at up to 50% less cost per page and energy use than lasers.⁽¹⁾    Color makes printed pages stand out and helps with readability and comprehension, and these new HP Officejet Pro and Officejet products enable small businesses to print quality color pages affordably.

These products were developed to challenge preconceptions about ink printing compared to laser printing, and are designed to deliver outstanding business-class output at a great price.  Color printouts from these new printers rival the quality of print shops.  In addition, the new HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One series, HP Officejet Pro 8000 Printer series and HP Officejet 6500 All-in-One series offer small businesses laser-comparable print speeds⁽²⁾ while only consuming up to 50% of the energy of competitive laser printers.⁽¹⁾    

These new Officejet Pro products offer the best combination of features among inkjets in their class -- printing at the fastest color speeds⁽⁵⁾ with the lowest cost per page and highest-yield supplies of up to 2,200 pages.⁽⁶⁾   This video gives a quick overview of the HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One.

The Officejet Pro products use four new individual, water-resistant HP 940 Officejet Inks  which are pigment-based and provide professional print quality with premium durability.  These inks are like liquid laser toner and create pages that stand up to rain and water spills when used with plain papers.⁽³⁾ You can actually dunk printed pages in water or take them out in the rain.  (I’m not sure why you’d want to do that, but you can.)  It’s more likely that you might accidentally place a wet cup on an important page.  I’ve poured water on freshly printed pages and the ink stays right where it’s supposed to be.  And of course, the ink delivers deep, sharp blacks and brilliant colors for professional-looking print projects that resist smudging.

These products come with a one-year limited warranty as well as HP Total Care advice and support.  More information about HP’s new printing and imaging portfolio, including videos and images, is available in an online press kit at www.hp.com/go/HPSMBEvent. 

Opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not of HP and may not have been reviewed in advance by HP.

⁽¹⁾ Cost-per-page (CPP) and energy-savings claims for HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One (AiO) series are based, as of June 2008, on the majority of color laser AiOs less than $600 when using HP Officejet Pro products with high-capacity cartridges. CPP and energy-savings claims for HP Officejet Pro 8000 Printer series are based, as of June 2008, on the majority of color lasers less than $300 when using HP Officejet Pro products with high-capacity cartridges. CPP and energy-savings claims for HP Officejet 6500 AiO series are based, as of June 2008, on the majority of color laser all-in-ones less than $300 when using HP Officejet Pro products with high-capacity cartridges. Energy use is also based on the manufacturers’ stated power consumption when printing. Test methods may vary. Details are available at www.hp.com/go/officejet.

⁽³⁾ Based on HP internal testing, using papers with the ColorLok logo.

⁽⁵⁾ Color print speeds are based, as of Q2 2008, on the majority of inkjet printers less than $200 and inkjet all-in-ones less than $500 from major vendors. More information is available at www.hp.com/go/officejet.

⁽⁶⁾ Compared to inkjet printers < $200 and AiOs with fax < $500 from major vendors as of Q208. Average based on ISO/IEC 24711 or HP testing methodology and continuous printing. Actual yield varies considerably based on content of printed pages and other factors. For details see www.hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies. Based on products offered by manufacturers as of March 2009. 

⁽⁸⁾ Automatic two-sided printing only available on the HP Officejet 6500 Wireless All-in-One.