May 21, 2007

How Can I Email Family Members Who Don't Have a Computer?

By Taeho Lim

PrinTip: HP Printing Mailbox with Presto Service Helps Bridge the Generation Gap

Your life now moves at the speed of light. Your digital life that is thanks to digital cameras and email, which make it easy to snap and share photos with your family and friends. Unfortunately, family members who don't have a computer don't get to participate in all the fun — and they're often the ones who most want to see your photos (i.e., grandparents).

HP and Presto have teamed up to solve this problem. The result is HP Printing Mailbox with Presto Service.

A network printer of sorts, HP's Printing Mailbox is a color inkjet printer that plugs into a telephone line. The accompanying Presto service provides an email address. When you send email to that address, your messages print on the Printing Mailbox.

To take advantage of the printed format, you can choose from a number of professionally-designed templates in which to frame the recipient's email messages. Because paper and ink costs real money, you can also create a whitelist -- a list of people who can send email to the account. This security feature ensures that your loved ones won't receive any spam. As an added bonus, you can also sign up for free email newsletters and crossword puzzles from Better Homes & Gardens, The Wall Street Journal, and others.

When the Printing Mailbox runs out of ink, just pop in another HP 97 Vivera Tri Color Ink Cartridge (you can also use the lower capacity HP 95). As for paper, the Printing Mailbox holds 50 sheets of 8.5x11 inch paper. We recommend HP 112103 8.5 x 11 Office Quickpack Paper to keep costs down.

The Printing Mailbox currently sells for $99.99. As for the Presto Service, you can choose from a $9.99 monthly plan or a $99.99 annual plan. Below you can watch a promotional film showing the Printing Mailbox in action (click here if you cannot see the video).

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