By Nishant Arora

Chicago, Mar 31 (IANS): For India's thriving small and medium business (SMB) community that accounts for about 31 per cent of the country's GDP, it is imperative to become globally competitive and HP Inc says it is geared up with a sustainable and secure device ecosystem to enable them on their digital journey.

Xavier Garcia, Global Head and General Manager, Office Print Hardware at HP, told IANS that the company is enabling different manageability tools and remote monitoring tools so that IT managers and their teams at SMBs in India can become more productive, as their workplaces remain secured from the ever-growing fleet of hackers.

"We wish to continue growing our business among the SMBs in India, providing them with our new-age, sustainable and secure printing solutions," Garcia said.

The SMB ecosystem in India employs more than 110 million people and seamless connectivity is a challenge in the post-pandemic hybrid world where some employees are in office while others work remotely from their homes.

"We are bringing our sustainable and secure printing solutions to the India market that we have already tested rigorously at our end. The SMBs and startup community in India is growing exponentially and in the hybrid work scenario, our devices and solutions can herald a new era of productivity for them," elaborated Garcia.

Garcia is responsible for print hardware systems and host of overall hardware product generation for both transactional and services businesses, including both laser and ink technologies, at the company.

In 2022, inkjet printers reported a 17.7 per cent annual growth in the Asia-Pacific region, in which some of the bigger markets such as India and Indonesia witnessed double-digit year-on-year growth, driven by economic recovery from the pandemic.

HP retained its position as market leader in the Asia-pacific region with 35.5 per cent market share in the home and office printing space in 2022, according to the IDC.

The company has now announced a new lineup of LaserJet printers with sustainable TerraJet toner that delivers up to 27 per cent reduced energy use and up to 78 per cent less plastic packaging.

With 25 per cent faster print speeds, customers can empower their team with technology that enables more productivity.

"The Colour LaserJet 4000 series was designed for small businesses to maximise productivity with easy, reliable, and professional printing. As our customers grow, our Colour LaserJet Enterprise 5000/6000 is ready to enable productivity and scale," Garcia asserted.

TerraJet is an advanced toner technology requiring 27 per cent less energy when printing, up to 78 per cent reduction in plastic, all while delivering sharper detail with up to 20 per cent more printable colours.

HP TerraJet cartridges can have a lower carbon footprint than their predecessor products and are included in new printing solutions from small business through large enterprise.

According to Garcia, sustainability is now on top of every government's mind, including in India.

"We are leading in creating products which are sustainable and environment-friendly. We have the most sustainable ink tank printer in the market with 45 per cent post-consumer recycled content. I am sure India is going to become a very important aspect of the global sustainability agenda in the coming years," Garcia told IANS.