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HP hails Print 2.0

Bridging the gap between paper and the net

Anyone who prints a web page invariably feels this mismatch as the margins do not align or important information is paginated in an awkward fashion. Likewise, if the desired information is in a text box in the middle of the web page, being able to simply print the desired portion is often frustratingly impossible.

HP's efforts with SixApart and its own Tabblo technology are the genesis of what we hope will be a broader effort to map the virtual realm of web pages and other electronic information with the physical realm of paper in an intelligent and useful manner. Once perfected, the approach would be broadly applicable to myriad websites which have become useful information resources but which by their web nature have proven more challenging to incorporate into the printed world.

The vertically focused solutions announced represent to us a convergence of communication, storage, and delivery technology across multiple media. The HP Handheld sp400 All-in-One is an interesting case in point as it may be a spray-on labeler but its use implies a bevy of IT and vertical expertise.

Just consider the packaging label that may be applied. Its application could be driven by an inventory control system, which connects to a CRM app, a database or two, some business logic, supply chain interactions, and some raw processing and networking agility as well.

The point is that being able to label represents a serious degree of infrastructure backing its use: an infrastructure that only few vendors, HP being one of them, have the breadth and depth of ability to deliver. The imaging/printing delivery would be almost trivial by itself, but is made possible by many invisible and highly valuable IT investments.

In a very different yet analogous way the HP Compliant Document Capture for SEC17a represents a coalescing of disparate communication parts such as fax, email, scanned documents, and couriered mail. Being able to provide a regulatory compliant documentation store is a solution that we believe will only grow in importance over time. The technical acumen necessary to integrate and manage multiple communication media far exceeds that of what a "printer company" would possess.

Overall, we believe it will take some time to fully understand the implications of HP's Print 2.0 on the marketplace. Although this is about printing at one level, it implies much more.

This is about making information available to be printed, which is a far more complicated task that involves integration of digital content as well as physical world content. Add to this the need for access controls, information management, regulatory compliance, and a host of other industry-specific and generic business operational issues, and we can quickly see that the opportunity could be great.

HP, through its considerable investments in computing, imaging, and networking technologies, is one of a very select few vendors who could make an announcement such as this with any credibility. It will be exciting to watch just how much transformation the company will be able to bring to bear on integrating the still often segregated worlds of electronically stored and printed information.

Copyright © 2007, The Sageza Group

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