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

By: ARS Techica - Tech Posted On: September 26, 2024 View: 4

This article was originally published on ARS Techica - Tech. You can read the original article HERE

Someone touching a piece of paper that's sitting in a printer — Enlarge
Getty

The printer industry is in a rut.

With the digitization of, well, nearly everything, people just don’t print like they used to. More modern ways of storing and sharing information, changes in communication preferences at home and in offices, and environmental concerns have stonewalled the printing industry and challenged stakeholders like HP.

I’d argue that it’s not just technological, economic, and societal changes that have diminished printer businesses. For the average person, printers and their capabilities have become boring. When’s the last time you’ve heard of a new killer printer feature?

HP has received a lot of guff for alleged anti-consumer practices in its printer business, turning many people off the devices. But HP's latest print announcement is a rare example of a printer firm proposing new, potentially helpful features instead of questionable business tactics to drive business.

Printers need a rebrand

Frequent readers of Ars Technica, (including myself), may be surprised to see me praising a printer company, especially HP. In recent years, HP has been a big driver of broken trust between printer brands and customers.

Its most egregious offense has been using firmware updates to make it so previously purchased printers no longer work with non-HP ink. HP has dealt with numerous lawsuits over this and has paid out millions in fines and customer compensation. Activists have called for HP printers to be removed from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool registry because of HP's Dynamic Security updates.

But HP continues to stand by Dynamic Security, with CEO Enrique Lores even going so far as to unrealistically claim that third-party ink poses a cybersecurity threat. Updates that brick features of devices that people rely on for valued, or even work-critical, tasks can wreck someone's day. It can also make people distrustful of updates, creating more pressing security concerns than that of non-proprietary ink cartridges. Further, HP and other printer companies (like Canon) have also been rightfully criticized for making combo printer-scanner devices require ink to perform scans, something that should be an inkless task.

It has gotten to the point where, in 2024, my best recommendation for people seeking a printer is a boring, black-and-white Brother laser printer from 2017 or to go to their local library.

Feature being tested could actually improve printing

So color me impressed to hear HP announcing a feature for printer users with potential for easily and immediately improving customers' printing experience. The feature is currently only available to select customers as a beta software driver. But Perfect Output, as HP's calling it, could be a useful tool for simplifying and speeding up certain types of print jobs, especially for tech novices.

Perfect Output is the first in a category of printer features that HP will call HP Print AI. Yes, it's part of the AI marketing hype currently overwhelming tech users (don't shoot the messenger!). According to HP's Tuesday announcement, Perfect Output is supposed to make it easier to print things off of web browsers (like articles, travel documents, and tutorials) and spreadsheets in a cleaner, more natural-looking way.

One could use Perfect Output to quickly fix image sizes and remove ads and white space when printing something off a website, HP says as an example.

HP's example of a print job before Perfect Output ...
... and after.

And it should be easier to print spreadsheets that don’t cut across multiple pages, like in the image below, according to HP.

A spreadsheet print job before HP's new AI feature ...
... and after.

HP claims that Perfect Output is good for "reformatting and reorganizing content to fit perfectly on the page the first time" and that the feature "can detect unwanted content, like ads and web text, printing only the desired text and images, saving time, paper, and ink.”

I think well-executed features like how HP describes Perfect Output could make people more interested in printing. These days, printing is associated with numerous frustrations. Getting rid of some of those pain points and refreshing printers' reputation could rebrand printing into an easy task instead of annoying chore that you can probably avoid.

To be clear, I haven’t used Perfect Output myself. I don't know if the beta works like it's supposed to or if any final product will be worthwhile. I also don't know if HP might try to use HP Print AI to gather data on its users or push people to connect their printers to the web. Those are both feasible possibilities that could contribute to Perfect Output being a really bad product.

But in a rare occurrence, this feature at least has an obvious purpose and audience and seems intuitive enough to drive simplicity, compared to the unnecessary complexities often associated with printers.

And to be extra, extra clear, I’m in no way campaigning for more AI marketing in tech. Like many, I’m getting fatigued of AI marketing hype. I don’t think we need a flood of AI-driven capabilities to make the age-old task of printing cool. And I'd need my questions around privacy, and other concerns, to be answered before using any new features.

But the truth is, I don't care how exactly the feature is branded. If it's a secure, easily navigable feature logically built around improving or simplifying printing, I think printer users (and businesses) stand to benefit.

HP has missed the mark on printing innovation before

Perfect Output isn’t the only recent announcement from HP framed as a way to make things easier for printer customers. But many of HP's other efforts haven’t gone over well with customers and/or are arguably more about building recurring revenue than customer satisfaction.

In February, for example, HP announced a printer rental program. HP said the program would make it easier for families and small businesses to have the supplies needed for printing but without the complications or responsibility. But it came with a creepy requirement of connecting the printers online or else be charged.

HP has also been criticized for HP+, a program that HP says provides benefits like a "connected cloud that automatically detects and fixes connectivity issues" and a trial to HP's ink subscription program. However, critics have highlighted the restrictive requirement for third-party ink for the entire lifespan of the printer. In July, HP discontinued many HP+ printers.

A better printer company

Amid a stagnant market and evolving customer demand, we've seen printer companies nickel-and-dime longstanding customers and try to convince them that their devices suddenly need expensive add-ons and proprietary accessories. But in order to convince people that printers are still reliable, accessible conveniences, a better printer company would find new avenues to improve printing in a real, tangible way.

There’s only so much that a company like HP can do about the industry's decline. Maintaining printing's remaining customers should center around new features that ensure customers are tended to like assets with evolving needs, not gullible wallets.

I remain skeptical about Perfect Output being perfect upon public release. But ideas like this are the type of thing that I'd like to see more of from printer companies troubled by their shrinking business market.

This article was originally published by ARS Techica - Tech. We only curate news from sources that align with the core values of our intended conservative audience. If you like the news you read here we encourage you to utilize the original sources for even more great news and opinions you can trust!

Read Original Article HERE