Hewlett Packard Announces Safer Printing Initiative

Updated on 5/17/2007 at 10:51PM EST

At WinHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) this past Thursday, Hewlett Packard (HP) unveiled a new line of printers featuring the new Microsoft operating system for embedded devices, dubbed Microsoft Windows Vista Embedded.

Boasting the Windows Vista security model with User Account Control, HP promises a safer, more secure printing experience. For example, when a user attempts to print a document, the printer will sense the potential security risk, and will first print a warning, requesting that an administrator print their password, before the original document will print. In this way, HP executives insist that rogue print-hackers will be thwarted "right at the door". In addition, a new, more secure ink will be used, to prevent malicious document authors from printing without being noticed. The new ink will work just like the existing ink, but users will not have the option to print in "draft quality" or "ink-saver" mode, and every document will contain a secure HP rainbow test pattern, so consumers can be sure that their print came from their new, secure HP ink jet printer, and not "some malicious hacker ink jet printer".

"We realize that consumers may use more of our high quality ink cartridges", cited an anonymous HP representative, "but we believe that consumers will agree that the security benefits are worth the extra expense."