HP MonoChrome LaserJets Promise “Plug and Print” Simplicity

By Geoff Duncan April 13, 2010

For most people, printing technology isn’t very sexy—and it’s made even less appealing by all the complicated software that most users have to install and configure before they can even begin putting marks on pages—and often those complicated installers wind up polluting machines with unwanted bloatware and add-ons that people will never use anyway. Hewlett-Packard aims to solve some of that trouble with what it’s claiming are the industry’s first “Plug and Print” laser printers. Just pop them onto a USB port, and in less than two minutes HP’s Smart Install technology will have folks up and running in less than two minutes, no complicated installers required.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“Our customers demand easy printing and we’re giving it to them—no clumsy CD-ROMs to install, no drivers to download,” said HP senior VP for LaserJet and Enterprise Solutions Ron Coughlin, in a statement. “HP Smart Install offers the future of printing, today.”

Of course, HP hasn’t really offered all that much information about how HP Smart Install works or what platforms it supports—so like most printing technologies from most companies, it’s a bit of an inscrutable mystery that apparently consumers are supposed to figure out by trial and error. (HP has a video describing the technology, but it never loaded for us.) From the materials available, we’ll assume it supports recent versions of Microsoft Windows—as for Mac or Linux systems, your guess is as good as ours. The technology also sounds suspiciously like HP has merely shifted the install software into onboard memory in the printers, rather than on a CD-ROM…so it might be interesting to see how these printers fare in a few years when their burnt-in software may not work so well with new operating systems.

In any case, HP is offering up three printer series with the technology: the ultra-compact LaserJet Pro P1100 series (ranging from $129 to $149), the LaserJet Pro M1130/M1210 MFP series (PDF, ranging from $149 to $199), and the LaserJet Pro P1566 ($179). The printers also feature auto on/off technology so they can wake up when a print job comes in and power down when they’re idle. Availability varies by market: some are available in Europe and Asia now, while the M1100/1200 MFP series should be available worldwide next month.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

Power up your tech game this summer with Dell’s top deals: Upgrade for a bargain

Dell Techfest and best tech on sale featured.

One of the best times to upgrade your tech stack, be it your desktop, a new laptop, or some high-resolution monitors, is when great deals are to be had. Well, I'm here to share that thanks to Dell's top deals, you can power up your tech game and have most of the summer to make it happen. Maybe you're happy with your current system or setup. That's excellent, but you're likely considering upgrading somewhere, and that's precisely what these deals are all about. Dell has a smorgasbord of deals on laptops, desktops, gaming desktops, monitors, accessories, and so much more. We'll call out a few of our favorite deals below, but for now, know that you should be shopping this sale if you're interested in anything tech-related.

What summer tech should you buy in Dell's top deals?

Computing

I love the MacBook Pro, but this Windows laptop came surprisingly close

Apple MacBook Pro 16 downward view showing keyboard and speaker.

There are some great machines in the 15-inch laptop category, which has recently been stretched to include the more common 16-inch laptop. The best among them is the Apple MacBook Pro 16, which offers fast performance for tasks like video editing and the longest battery life.

The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 is aimed not only at other 16-inch Windows laptops but also at the MacBook Pro 16. It offers many of the same benefits but at a lower price. Can it take a place at the top?
Specs and configurations

Computing

How to set an ‘Out of Office’ message in Microsoft Teams

Person using Windows 11 laptop on their lap by the window.

Many people use Microsoft Teams regularly to communicate with colleagues both inside of the office and remotely. It is considered one of the most efficient ways to ensure you can stay in contact with the people on your team, but what if you need to let people know you’re not readily available? Microsoft Teams has a method for you to set up an "Out of Office" status for your profile to let staff members know when you’ll be gone for the afternoon, for several days on vacation, or for an extended period.
Where do I go to set up my ‘Out of Office’ status for Teams?
It is important to note that your Microsoft Teams and Outlook calendars are synced. This includes your out-of-office status and automatic replies. So, whatever you set up in Microsoft Teams will reflect in Outlook. Similarly, you can set up your out-of-office status in Outlook, and it will be reflected in Teams; however, the former has a more straightforward instruction.

First, you can click on your profile icon in Teams and go directly to Schedule an out of office, as a shortcut. This will take you to the settings area where you can proceed. You can also click the three-dot icon next to your profile icon, then go to Settings > General, then scroll down to the bottom of the page. There, you'll find out-of-office settings and click Schedule.