The dream of the paperless office has not been achieved, as the business world is still heavily reliant on printers and the documents they produce. Home users too are still fond of printing photos and documents at their convenience, so that dream will likely never come about.

If anything, printers are only getting better. This week, the world’s largest producer of printers, HP, announced that its latest A3 multi-function printers are available in South Africa.

The range is spread across 16 base models, comprised of various SKUs that use HP’s PageWide and LaserJet printing technologies.

Options

HP Office Printing Solutions Manager Richard Stainforth told us at the launch event that this latest range of printers can be further customised to include additional input or output trays, and finishing features such as staplers, binders and more.

The most important feature of these newest MFPs, however, is the comprehensive selection of security measures HP has added that will help secure them against uses they were never intended for.

As we’re seeing more and more, printers are often used by hackers to gain access to corporate networks; once they’re in, hackers are able to steal data, disable systems and generally cause havoc – definitely not things businesses can afford.

HP claims that only 2% of the world’s printers are secured, and it wants to increase that figure.

Sure Start, FutureSmart

To that end, the new line-up of A3 printers will feature security features such as HP Sure Start which guard against attack. Should the printer detect that its BIOS has been tampered with – a common attack vector – it can “self-heal” by restoring an uncompromised copy of its firmware that’s stored on the machine itself.

HP FutureSmart adds an additional layer of security which can notify IT teams in the event of a firmware-related incident. A nice touch with regards to FutureSmart is that it can be set to shut the printer down if it detects a breach, a move that essentially stops all attacks in their tracks.

In addition to the top-notch security features, many of these new printers use HP’s PageWide print-head technology which boasts print speeds ranging from 35ppm to 80ppm. PageWide heads don’t use moving parts and, as a result, there’s far less downtime due to breakage from wear and tear over the life of the product.

Smart Device Services

Traditional LaserJet printers with plenty of moving parts aren’t left out, either. HP’s Smart Device Services cloud tools and intelligent sensors keep an eye on the condition of the printer’s various components, and alert admins to any need for servicing long before those parts wear out.

HP’s new A3 printers are distributed through Tarsus Technologies and its reseller network. For more information, contact Atty Naicker from the HP IPG team at Tarsus.

Want to know more from the comfort of your own chair instead? Check these printers out online at this link.