Lexmark Does Touchscreen Printing

By  |  Monday, July 13, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Lexmark LogoLast month, HP unveiled an $399 all-in-one inkjet printer with a Web-connected color touchscreen that runs applets for tasks such as printing coupons, movie tickets, and Google Maps. Today, Lexmark announced an all-new lineup of inkjet all-in-ones–and no less than three of ’em are equipped with touchscreens. People, we have a trend here.

The Lexmark (top) and HP (bottom) touchscreens are the same size (4.3″) and look strikingly similar–actually, both look rather like iPhones affixed to the front of a black-and-silver printer:

Lexmark touchscreen

HP TouchSmart screen

However, Lexmark is using its touch technology–which it’s calling myTouch with SmartSolutions (not to be confused with T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G phone)–for quite different purposes than HP’s. The Lexmark printers, unlike HP’s consumery model, are designed for use in small- and medium-sized businesses. Lexmark’s screens are Web-enabled (they let you scan documents and e-mail them without a PC being involved, and include a simple RSS reader) but don’t let you print Web content directly in the way that HP’s does. Instead, Lexmark mostly uses the screen to simplify tasks that you’d normally accomplish with the dedicated plastic keys that most printers have. And the SmartSolutions part of myTouch with SmartSolutions is a nifty-looking feature that lets you save multiple custom sets of settings for use by different people–potentially pretty handy in offices where folks share a printer.

Lexmark’s starting price point is also half of HP’s $399: The company will release touchscreen printers for $199, $299, and $399, with varying sets of features. They’re not due to ship until September 1st (HP’s printer is also supposed to show up this Fall). I hope to get my hands on one for a review.

 
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6 Comments For This Post

  1. sfmitch Says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 4:32 pm

    2 Thoughts:

    1. I think adding screens and other functionality that bypasses the computer just a plain old bad idea. It is a solution in search of a problem. I know why printer manufacturers want this – higher printer prices w/ higher margins. I don’t know why 99.99% would consider this. I want printers that have really good print quality, are reliable, have reasonably priced ink and have wired & wireless network connectivity.

    2. All the Lexmark printers I have seen have been lame. Granted it is a small sample but I totally can’t recommend Lexmark over any of the other printer manufacturers (HP, Brother, Epson, etc.)

  2. wiseguy Says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 6:34 pm

    didn’t I read about this a month ago?

  3. hpgeek Says:
    July 14th, 2009 at 3:32 am

    actually HP has had touchscreen on its printers for at least 3 years now, and i'm pretty sure they have several models at different prices with it, not just the $399 one. lexmark, therefore, is about 3 years behind (which, to be honest, is much better than what they normally do)

  4. fd Says:
    July 14th, 2009 at 11:27 pm

    @hpgeek, obviously you never heard of business printers from lexmark. they have a lot of touchscreens and putting them to consumer printers was ‘probably’ not a good time yet until today.

  5. jaypee Says:
    July 15th, 2009 at 12:23 pm

    fd is correct, Lexmark has been producing high-quality touchscreen business-class devices for a few years now. Personally, I think Lexmark’s implementation seems more useful for being on a printer. The HP tries to do too much, when in the end, it’s just a printer. I don’t need crap I can already get on my computer sitting right next to the printer. It’s highly doubtful many (if any) people will buy this printer without using it as a companion to a PC.

  6. Harry McCracken Says:
    July 16th, 2009 at 11:41 am

    Touchscreen on printers isn’t new, but these consumer-level inkjets with big iPhone-like touchscreens are new. And yes, Lexmark has been selling enterprise laser devices with even larger, fancier touchscreens for quite awhile. It’s nice to see them bring the same basic idea to a $199 printer…

    –Harry

4 Trackbacks For This Post

  1. We R Pirates » Blog Archive » Lexmark’s Touchscreen All-in-One Printers Are Simpler But Cheaper Than HP’s [Printers] Says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 4:40 pm

    […] That’s my takeaway from Lexmark’s trio of Wi-Fi touchscreen printers—Technologizer notes unlike HP, Lexmark’s touchscreen is designed to simplify, not like, print web content directly, as the HP models. But Lexmark’s start at $200. [Lexmark via Technologizer] […]

  2. Lexmark’s Touchscreen All-in-One Printers Are Simpler But Cheaper Than HP’s [Printers] | dv8-designs Says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 4:42 pm

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  4. Lexmark’s Touchscreen All-in-One Printers Are Simpler But Cheaper Than HP’s [Printers] | HyipLife.com Says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 5:24 pm

    […] That’s my takeaway from Lexmark’s trio of Wi-Fi touchscreen printers—Technologizer notes unlike HP, Lexmark’s touchscreen is designed to simplify, not like, print web content directly, as the HP models. But Lexmark’s start at $200. [Lexmark via Technologizer] […]