HP bets big on SMBs; rolls out low-cost printers

New Delhi, Jul 3 (UNI) As the small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) gear up to increase their IT spend, global printer and cartridge maker Hewlett Packard (HP) India today launched two new low-cost printers for this segment.

''The SMB segment contributed more than 30 per cent to our Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) in the country last year. With the increasing spend by the SMBs on printing solutions and IT, we see a great potential in the market,'' HP India President (IPG) Ravi Aggarwal told reporters here.

According to reports, the SMB segment's spend on printing solutions increased 20 per cent last year.

Asked about the growth the company expected in the current fiscal in the segment, company Director (Commercial and Enterprise Printing Business-IPG) Samir Shah said it will be about 20 per cent in tandem with the pattern the segment is witnessing.

The printers--HP OfficeJet J6488 AIO and HP Color LaserJet CM1312nfi--have been priced at Rs 13,399 (catalog price) and Rs 49,999 (MRP) respectively.

HP is also offerering online marketing tools and templates through which the SMBs can self-design business stationery like document headers, business cards, and marketing collateral from a wide range of templates available at www.hp.com/paula.

The CM 1312nfi comes packed with an in-house marketing kit worth Rs 15,000.

HP has a market share of 73 per cent in laser printers, according to the latest IDC report.

The company has also launched a 360-degree advertisement campaign 'Dream Bigger' with Shahrukh Khan endorsing the brand.

The campaign is a part of HP's worldwide 300 million dollar global marketing campaign called ''What do you have to say?'' as a part of its Print 2.0 strategy.

UNI SR PDT KN1719