Printers can be frustrating. HP continues to ensure that their large-format printers are not.
HP has sponsored this post.
In March of 2020, the way that billions of people across the world work was forever changed by the coronavirus pandemic. Stay-at-home orders sent us home for what we all assumed would be a few weeks while the powers that be sorted out the necessary measures to slow the spread of the virus. Weeks turned into months, and it became evident that many workers were never going back to their old “normal.”
The pandemic is slowly ending, but workers continue to enjoy the flexibility and freedom of working from home, and employers are cautious about pushing the issue for concern of upsetting their workforce. A survey by management consulting firm McKinsey titled The Future of Work After COVID-19 in early 2021 found that up to 25 percent of work in advanced economies can be done remotely. As many as 30 percent of large corporations surveyed by McKinsey expect to reduce the amount of physical office space used.
Workers have proven they are more than capable of remaining productive in an entirely-remote or hybrid model and have been very adaptable in how they solve problems, communicate with teammates, host meetings and presentations and manage documents. Of course, many workers have adapted and been supported by their companies with all of the necessary tools such as laptops, printers, monitors and communication software and hardware to be productive at home, but there is sometimes no substitute for the tools available in the office—like large-format printers—especially when some team members are working in the office and others are remote.
Digitization has reduced the reliance on printed documents for many professionals, a transition further accelerated by the exponential rise in remote work. However, an iPad and a PDF isn’t always the best solution for sharing information. There are times when it makes sense to print, and workers need to have access to the printers they need, even when working from home. HP, a leader in the printing sector, has committed to making their products work for both office and remote staff at all times.
“Printing is beneficial in its own right. Multiple studies have shown the best way to learn and retain knowledge is through print. Adding to that, a large format print brings with it a large-scale image that can easily be viewed and edited by multiple people at once, from all angles, even in direct sunlight, without concern of low-battery or damage by dropping,” explained David McDowell, Worldwide Category Manager at HP.
Print from Anywhere
HP has worked hard to build a mobile printing product that allows for quick and easy access to printers for staff in any location. With the HP Smart App, workers can print directly from their Apple or Android devices without being anywhere near their printer. Documents and images from other applications or the cloud can also be managed and printed quickly within the app. Additionally, staff can monitor all of their printers from the palm of their hand. With an eye on enabling mobile work, the HP Smart App is certainly fulfilling the company’s vision.
“Mobile printing is optimized for everyone independently of its location,” said McDowell. “With the T200, T600 and Studio, and the HP Smart App, not only is it possible to print from your mobile while being in the office, you can send jobs to print from anywhere. For example, to share directly with people in the office the drawings you have been working on at home. Or even have multiple pages printed and ready to work with as soon as you get to the office or construction site, sending to print on your way there. No need for being next to the printer.”
HP Mobile Printing users can go from zero to sixty in a hurry, with minimal effort to get the app up and running. Connecting a mobile device to printers is simple using your wireless network. When working remotely off the network, printing can still be accomplishing right from email. Documents can also be printed and shared directly to cloud repositories including Dropbox, Box or Google Drive.
“With the HP Smart App you can not only print any document or image, it’s also useful to keep track of ink levels, job status, scanning and even creation of smart tasks to simplify your workflows and accelerate repetitive tasks,” McDowell added.
Optimize with Click to Print
The HP Smart App is tailored for printing on the fly, but that is not the only improvement the company has made to its platforms in order to upgrade and simplify the user experience. HP Click simplifies the whole experience of optimizing printing from an HP device. Users can quickly manipulate and handle printing tasks such as rotation and nesting different layers of their document, adjust drawing sizes and preview their print. HP Click makes it possible to optimize media usage and costs and make sure you’re not wasting money on printing. Choose from a variety of applications to produce posters, banners or CAD drawings and maps with just a few clicks. “There is no learning curve or challenge while printing,” said McDowell.
“Our T200, T600 and Studio customers love the Auto Source Selection,” McDowell continued. “It means that they do not need to manually select which paper source to use (Roll or Sheet Feeder). The software understands which format is best given the document’s size and automatically adjusts and changes the paper orientation if needed. It also works if you print different documents with mixed sizes. It changes between the Roll and the Sheet Feeder ad-hoc without any interaction required.”
For remote users looking to get the most out of their weekly trips to the office, HP Click ensures they won’t be wasting their time fussing with the printer. From a sustainability perspective, the improved functions will help cut down on second and third prints after a document comes out wrong.
“With HP Click, it’s super simple to send multiple jobs to print at the same time, even if they are different sizes. By just dragging and dropping all the docs into the software you can print them with just one click. No need to merge them into one single PDF or send several jobs to print. Just one job submission with no extra steps. That saves a lot of time. HP Click also has real print preview and PDF error check, so you can anticipate what the expected outcome is and avoid any misprint. This optimizes media usage and costs and avoids waste,” McDowell said.
No-Hassle Maintenance
Finally, from a maintenance perspective, HP’s large-format printers have been engineered to have fewer headaches when it comes to changing out ink cartridges and keeping everything operational. This is key with staff—including those who might know all of the ins and outs of the printer from a mechanical standpoint—scattered around in different locations. The latest HP printers are simple to maintain and do not require a dedicated staff member with specialized knowledge of their inner workings. So, even if your IT professionals are working from home, there won’t be any surprises with the printer that force the team in the office to struggle through a day without a functional printer.
Designed with a Changing Workforce in Mind
HP understands that the office environment has been forever changed due to the pandemic. Rather than remain passive in their product design and development, HP has embraced the opportunity to align themselves with the trends in remote and hybrid workplaces. Every aspect of the new line of large-format printers has been viewed through the lens of optimizing features and functionality for an increasingly-digital office.
To learn more about HP’s large-format printers for the AEC industry, visit the HP website.