HP Launches New Small Biz LaserJets
By Doug Olenick -- TWICE, 4/21/2003
New York— Hewlett-Packard launched its spring 2003 LaserJet lineup.
The majority of the new products are geared for larger business, but two models, the LaserJet 1300 and LaserJet 2300, will sell through retail, Kurt Rockenhaus, HP's shared printing category manager.
The 1300 carries a $399 suggested retail price and features 20-page-per-minute print speed, 16MB of memory, is network ready and has a 133MHz processor. The 2300, suggested base price $649, prints at 25ppm, has 32MB of memory, a 266MHz processor and USB 1.1 connectivity.
Rob Wait, HP's U.S. commercial marketing manager for imaging and printing said these retail introductions are important to HP on several levels. The small business market, defined as a company with fewer than 100 employees, makes 50 percent of all its purchases at the retail level. And while this figure has been steady over the past few years, what is changing is businesses are now buying hardware through retail and not just paper, toner cartridges and other consumable supplies.
"We have found the small business market is growing faster, at about 4 to 6 percent than the IT market, so it is our best hope for growth in the future," Waitt said.
