HP Deskjet Printers see Military Action Thanks to Blazepoint
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Technology has a vital role to play in the work of today’s armed forces but most traditional IT equipment is totally unable to withstand the rigours of military operations or battlefield conditions. Temperatures ranging from -18 to +60 degrees centigrade, 95 per cent humidity, driving rain, sand and dust, corrosive atmospheres and being continually dropped from the height of a standard desk would kill the average office printer, but HP Deskjet printers are surviving just such hostile tests.
HP Deskjet 6122 colour inkjet printers are the latest IT recruits to be enlisted into the forces thanks to the work of Oxford-based Blazepoint, whose Defence Engineering Division is one of the UK’s foremost manufacturers of ‘ruggedised’ printers and peripherals for the defence industry. Blazepoint has been designing HP products into its rugged hardware for military customers since 1996.
The HP Deskjet printer mechanisms are mounted in custom-made protective enclosures, and can then see action on Navy vessels, for aircraft ground support, under canvass and even in the open air. HP Deskjets were used in the Gulf War and have been part of many military projects. The latest is Project Bowman, which is providing a £2.4 billion upgrade to UK forces communications networks and includes rugged computing equipment which will be fitted into 20,000 military vehicles, training facilities, Royal Navy vessels and helicopters.