Hewlett-Packard has expanded its small office/home office product line with the release of the DeskJet 970Cse.

The printer, which includes business-oriented features such as high-speed laser-quality text, automatic two-sided printing and 2,400 by 1,200 dpi resolution, retails for US$399.

"We put 2,400 dpi on the box to appease the customer who wants a higher spec," says Linda Blakely, product manager of the consumer products business organization at Mississauga, Ont.-based Hewlett-Packard Canada Ltd. However, she says most people find the lower resolution, which the printer defaults to, allows for a higher print speed.

Sam Moncada, supplies marketing manager for HP Canada, says the company's range of printer supply products adds to DeskJet's marketing potential. "With the current focus on digital photography, a lot of consumers will print photography off their printers," he says. "We've designed our inks and our specialty papers to focus on photography because we're starting to see an increase in the demand for photo-related products."

Moncada says printer supply products can be an easy add-on sale for dealers, offering margins that outpace those available selling printers alone. "The technology today is still fickle, where if you're not using the proper ink and the proper paper you'll see the quality that it outputs is not crisp and it's not clear," he says. "The process is a combination between the printer and the paper and the inks that we use." He claims HP's dealers are making margins in the 20 to 30 per cent range on paper products.

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