HP Wireless printers, also known as SmartPrinters, have become a major part of the digital world, but some of them are still a little slow.
With the printer’s price tag hitting $1 million in the U.S. and up to $5 million in Canada, some people are finding they can’t afford the printer.
But a new $1.2-million upgrade for the printer from HP’s wireless division is putting a new spin on what was once an inexpensive solution for people who work with printout files.
The printer is now part of a partnership between the U of T and HP, the Toronto-based company that makes the printers.
The partnership includes support from the University of Toronto’s Information Sciences and Engineering Sciences Research Institute (ISERIS), as well as the University’s College of Arts and Science.
The $1-million purchase is being done to “support the continued development of the SmartPrinter” by the U, says a news release.
The U of M said it has already purchased about 100 SmartPrins for research and development.
SmartPrices The U. of T said the new printer is an upgraded version of the current HP SmartPrincess, and that it is “designed for printing high-quality digital files, including high-resolution image and audio data.”
This version has a bigger screen, and it has a USB 3.0 port that allows for faster transfers.
The new printer has a touchscreen, but its touch-sensitive screen does not have the same tactile feedback that the original version has.
The device is designed to be “responsive and easy to use,” said the university.
The university also said the U-T has a partnership with HP, which is also part of its $1m purchase.
The deal was announced by University President David Eppes, who noted that the university is one of the first to bring a high-end, high-performance printer to market, as well.
He said it will allow the university to “revisit the way we use and build digital files.”
The university says the printer will be available for purchase beginning June 5.
The upgrade is being made possible by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the largest federally funded research program in Canada.
The grant is designed “to develop technologies to further expand the use of high-performing digital imaging systems in the biomedical and public health communities,” said a press release from the university announcing the grant.
“By providing the latest in digital imaging technologies, we will be able to support further innovations in the health and imaging industries.”
The U- of T’s announcement on the upgrade comes two weeks after the university’s $2.4-million investment in a SmartProne system, which was unveiled in May.
The SmartPrones were developed with support from IBM, the company that also makes the IBM PC.
IBM and the university said in a joint statement that they “are excited to collaborate with the University on the Smart Prone project, which we expect to transform the way the university uses digital imaging to support a better understanding of human health and disease.”
The announcement of the new partnership comes as the university has been trying to ramp up its research on the use and development of digital imaging.
Last fall, the university announced a $3.8-million effort to launch its own cloud-based data-processing platform for biomedical research.
In June, the U made a similar investment in the development of a cloud-backed digital imaging platform that will be used by universities to do their own research.
“We are looking forward to using this new partnership to build on our strong research partnership with IBM,” said Epps.
“As part of our vision of creating a world in which all scientists and researchers can work together, we want to see all our data be available in one central location, and we want our researchers to have access to it as soon as possible.”
The new deal is a big boost for the U’s new partnership with the university, and also for the Canadian government.
In July, the Canadian Science Minister announced $15 million in funding for two research initiatives at the University.
The money will be split equally between the three institutions.
The Canadian Institutes for Health Research is one.
The government is providing $25 million in financial support for the other two.
The University of Ottawa is the third.
It’s been one of Canada’s biggest recipients of funding from the federal government for biomedical technology.
In 2015, the federal and provincial governments gave $100 million each for the two projects, and another $20 million was provided in 2018.
It was the second time the two programs have worked together in Ottawa.
The first funding for both projects came in 2013.
The three projects were announced in July.