* DESIGN OF
THE YEAR 2016

HP Officejet Pro 8720 All-In-One Printer

HP Inc, Global Experience Design
(Singapore Studio)

DISCIPLINE
Product & Industrial Design

HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 All-in-One Printer is a high-performing, high-speed inkjet printer that offers outstanding productivity. As working styles and workspaces evolve, both large and small businesses are seeking to maximise the workspace and give employees a work environment that stimulates creativity.

Through observations and insights, the designers learned that users dislike the protruding paper tray in printers because it takes up space. For that reason, HP developed a new Print Forward Design for the HP OfficeJet Pro 8720. Its designers rotated the chassis to fully contain the output tray, saving over 11cm in space while enabling efficient office printing.

An innovative paper path in the HP OfficeJet Pro printer allows for high-speed, two-sided printing at a speed similar to single-sided printing. When printing on a single side, the printed pages face down to provide greater protection for confidential information.

The printer, produced in light, neutral colours, is designed to blend into modern office environments while enabling users to print or scan more speedily.

 

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ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Edwin Chin is an industrial designer with HP Inc, Global Experience Design (Singapore Studio). He graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a diploma in product and industrial design in 2000 and went on to pursue his Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design) at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). Since then, he has worked for Nakamichi, Motorola and HP, Inc. Global Experience Design (Singapore Studio).

Edwin’s work has garnered numerous honours including the Red Dot Design Award, IF Award, CES Innovation Award, Chicago Good Design Award, and Merit Award from Singapore Furniture Industry Council and Singapore Wearable Art. Edwin believes in utilizing customer insights to create relevant designs. He studies and appreciates trends and changing customer tastes, incorporating his findings in his designs.

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DESIGNER:
HP Inc, Global Experience Design
(Singapore Studio)
Edwin Chin and Team

ENGINEER:
HP Singapore IPS R&D

The printer offers a small operating footprint, with a large and bright touchscreen control panel.

The printer’s body is not spray painted to enable recycling.

The paper input tray is fully integrated into the unit and accommodates office letter, A4 and legal size paper without extension.

A non-protruding paper tray saves about 11cm in space while pages are printed face down for greater confidentiality.

From concept to creation, the HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 reinvents office printing.

The integrated contained output tray 'catches' the printed paper.

‘‘A great design challenges conventions and sets new benchmarks.’’

Insights from the Recipient

What was the brief and objective of the project?

Edwin Chin: We needed to address the customer’s preference for a non-protruding paper tray that does not take up space. We also challenged ourselves to reimagine and look into how we could redefine the form of an inkjet printer to meet the evolving needs of small and medium businesses.

What challenges did you encounter during the design/manufacturing process? How did you resolve them?

Edwin: During the initial design stages, we posed ourselves a challenge: How to reinvent the printer? Based on research studies, we learned that customers do not want a protruding paper tray, and that they need hassle-free output management. They don’t want to worry about the printed pages landing on the floor, and the need for tray extensions. At the same time, they need a device that can fit into small office environments, while retaining its robustness as a workhorse for their high-speed printing needs.

This led to the concept of Print Forward Design. To achieve this objective, we rotated the paper path chassis to fully contain the output tray, and by doing so, altered the conventional archetype of an inkjet printer. This new design saves over 11cm in operating space and enables easy, robust office printing without the worry of pages landing on the floor. The Automatic Document Feeder and scan bed now float above the output tray, maximising the space for users to pick up their print-outs or replace the cartridges. The input tray also accommodates a range of paper sizes including A4, Letter and Legal.

In addition, an innovative paper path in the HP OfficeJet Pro printer allows for high-speed, two-sided printing at nearly the speed of singlesided printing. Single-sided printed pages now face down when printed to reduce any unintended leak of confidential information.

To improve ease of use, the control panel is placed in the front-centre of the printer as a key interaction point. The good visibility and easy access make it easy for users to perform various tasks such as printing and scanning to email or network.

How should design improve lives?

Edwin: The customer’s needs should be at the centre of our design. We need to approach design from a customer’s point of view, drawing on trends and insights from our research, which include ethnographic studies, resonance tests and usability tests. These become the basis for designing a product, ensuring that it will not only improve its aesthetics but also raise the bar in user experience.

How does the end-user experience motivate you as a designer?

Edwin: Being able to deliver experiences that amaze and make life better for everyone, everywhere – this is what makes me passionate about my work.

What existing design do you think has a positive impact on society?

Edwin: 3D printing. Automobiles and airplanes are using 3D printed parts that are stronger and lighter. Patients are also using 3D printed custom prosthetics. As 3D printing transforms and disrupts manufacturing, supply chains and even whole economies, it’s going to change the way we live, and the way our children live.

Citation

Jury Citation

Drawing on insights gathered from in-depth customer research, the design team at HP was able to perfect the ubiquitous office inkjet printer in the context of an extremely saturated market with similar product features.

By re-engineering the paper path, the design team extensively sped up the process of double-sided printing, while enabling the output sheets to emerge face down, thus ensuring confidentiality. Furthermore, the printing can be controlled via a mobile device. There are no clunky extendable parts to receive the prints and all troubleshooting is consolidated within the paper and cartridge feed area, making the printer very accessible and user-friendly.

The printer’s aerodynamic body is made of a plastic that is not spray-painted, thereby enabling recycling.

Although not a complete reinvention of an office printer, the 8720 is extremely well considered. Every effort has been made to ensure that this is as perfect as an office printer can be.

 

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Nominator Citation

Ramya Krishnan
Future Product Manager
HP Inc

Printing has always been a core communication technology, and its evolution in the 21st Century continues to complement our digital lives and intersect with the physical world.

HP printing business has an unrivalled depth and breadth of hardware, software, design, solutions and services that are designed to benefit any business, regardless of its size or specific needs. We have, once again, reinvented business printing with a new range of OfficeJet Pro printers that challenges the expectation of what a small office printer can be. HP defines and leads this category and the revolutionary Print Forward Design changes the rules of the game again with advancements that will fuel the next generation of innovators.

The new 8720 is a significant step forward that advances print technology, hardware design, user interaction and business model to meet the shifting needs of the customer, whilst adding value to their businesses.

HP has extended the aerodynamics of a car into the 8720 by accentuating its features and unobtrusively blending the whole into the modern workspace. In addition, the team has addressed customer observations of the hassle of manipulating the protruding output tray extension in contemporary business inkjet printers. HP has challenged this conventional form-factor and built a new Print Forward Design into the output tray.

The new design provides customers with greater productivity, high speeds for two-sided print and scan jobs, laser-like paper handling, and a space-saving design that preserves office real estate. Users can now save up to 11cm in operating space, and they no longer need to deal with damaged trays or scattered print-outs.

 

OTHER RECIPIENTS

Hans Tan

DESIGNER OF THE YEAR 2016

Founder, Hans Tan Studio; and Assistant Professor, Division of Industrial Design,
National University of Singapore
Hans Tan Studio

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