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Printing on the go from whatever device one carries or wherever they are is likely to become a reality with HP Inc planning to launch its ‘HP Roam’ offerings in India sometime next year.
HP Roam, a cloud-based, cross-platform, locale- and device-agnostic solution, has the potential to replace dedicated PC print drivers that need to be installed and maintained on users’ PCs and network print servers. Users select the HP Roam option rather than a specific printer; and the job gets uploaded on the cloud, sources say. The US-based tech major has already introduced HP Roam in select geographies.
According to Subin Joseph, Vice-President, A3 & Office Printing Solutions, Asia Pacific and Japan, the idea is to enable and offer “print on demand solutions” . “The product will be launched in the Asia Pacific region and Japan region shortly; and in India it will be a 2019 launch,” he told BusinessLine during an interview. Price and other details are yet to be announced.
Target areas
Elaborating on the concept, Joseph maintained that “Roam” as a solution will target individual users, small and medium businesses and also enterprise -level security.
The Roam app will offer a consistent print option across all devices and will also identify the nearest Roam-enabled printer. “If there is a service provider, you can identify the printer, go there and print securely off the cloud,” he said, adding that users can make payments in locally available options (currencies).
Users can print direct, through Wi-Fi or near-field communication (NFC); or from the cloud. In India, HP will look at both businesses and standalone shops — like the print-copy or photo-copy ones.
A3 printing
Further, HP will aim at consolidating its presence in the A3 office printing solutions space. A host of security features have been introduced in its offerings; while acquisition of Samsung’s A3 printing business has helped in leveraging its portfolio.
The A3 printing market size in the Asia Pacific and Japan region is pegged at $11 billion.
“Our A3 shares are low (across the region) and that’s an area of opportunity where we believe that HP technology and all the solutions and services we provide will be useful to our customers,” Joseph said.
In the more popular A4 print market, the company is already a market leader. A4 printing is also a $10-billion market in the Asia Pacific and Japan region.
In India, HP has a 42.8 per cent market share in the home printing segment and 25.4 per cent share in office printing.
The writer attended HP Imagine 2018 in Singapore, at the invitation of HP
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