Hewlett-Packard (HP) introduced in South Africa on Tuesday what it has claimed is the world's smallest all-in-one printer.
The HP DeskJet Ink advantage 3700 uses a mobile application, 'HP Snapshot,' to print pictures or documents remotely from mobile devices. Users can print images directly from popular social media networks such as Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Twitter.
The app is available for Android, Windows and iOS.
Although app technology has previously been used in HP printers to allow printing from a mobile device; the 3700 is the first to allow printing directly from social media.
The series was introduced globally in June last year. It has taken over eight months to reach the South African market. According to Jane Geypen, HPS category manager at HP, this is because of regulatory issues in SA, which usually delay shipments for about four to six months. "We are working closely with the local government, pushing to get their turnaround time improved because the longer we wait for the products; the worse off it is for us."
Geypen says the printers started arriving in SA only a week and a half ago. They are being distributed to various retailers.
"[They are] not designed for big groups of people who are going to be printing hundreds of pages. It's a consumer product. The target market is primarily the younger generation and the home users.
"We are not targeting people who are going to be printing normal everyday documentation, but rather people who will be printing from social media; the snapshot paper that comes with the printer encourages people to print more pictures.
"The world is adapting and the nostalgia of printing photos is coming back. Consumers are now wanting to take pictures on the move with their smartphones and then go home and print," says Geypen.
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