For years now, the talk in technology circles has centered onthe inevitability of the paperless office, but sometimes realityhas a way of making such speculation seem premature at best.

While innovations in networks and computer systems have allowedmuch more storage of information in electronic form, the demand forpaper documents–also known as hard copy–continues.

Marketers of output and scanning devices are only too happy tomeet that demand with a new generation of hardware designed todeliver value and performance.

The following are some of the new and interesting products thatmay be of interest to agents, brokers and home office executiveswho still need to produce hard copy.

o Brother International Corp. late last year introduced itsHL-5200 Series–a line of monochrome laser printers with fasterprint speeds, higher print quality and more expandable paper inputcapacity than the company's previous models.

According to Bridgewater, N.J.-based Brother, the new lineincludes the HL-5240 ($229), HL-5250DN ($249), HL5250DNT ($299) andthe 802.11b/g wireless-ready HL5280DW ($349). All prices areestimated street prices.

The HL-5240 offers up to 30 ppm (pages per minute) print speed,up to 1200 x 1200 dpi (dots per inch) print quality and a 300-sheetpaper capacity, expandable up to 800 sheets, said Brother. USB 2.0and parallel ports for computer interface are also included,although the cables needed are not.

The HL-5250DN adds small workgroup features including anEthernet (computer networking technology for local area networks)interface, duplex capacity for two-sided printing and 32MB ofstandard memory. The HL-5250DNT adds a 550-sheet total inputcapacity via a second 250-sheet paper tray, the company said.

Finally, the HL-5280DW includes a built-in 802.11b/g wirelessinterface and a three-color LCD to view status and change printersettings.

Further details are available at www.brother.com.

o Lexmark International Inc. this past February also introduceda new monochrome printer–the E120n laser printer for smalloffice/home office customers and small workgroups.

This networked unit features an estimated street price of $149and prints at speeds up to 20 ppm, said Lexington, Ky.-basedLexmark. “The E120n is also one of the quietest and most compactlaser printers in the market, which makes it ideal for officeswhere space is at a premium,” the company said.

“With networking as a standard feature, customers can easilyshare this device between multiple users, maximizing officeefficiency,” said Paul Rooke, executive vice president andpresident of Lexmark's Printing Solutions and ServicesDivision.

Further information is available at www.lexmark.com.

o Xerox Corp., in a product targeted for larger agencies,brokerages or insurance home offices, this year introduced theXerox 4590 digital copier-printer, providing scanning and printingfor large networked offices.

The new unit features 2400 x 2400 dpi resolution and scanningspeeds of up to 100 double-sided ppm, said the Rochester,N.Y.-based Xerox. The product prints and copies up to 90 ppm, andthe system is “engineered” to produce from 75,000 to 175,000 pagesper month.

The Xerox 4590 also features a 250-sheet automatic documenthandler that “holds 150 sheets more than competing devices and hasup to eight paper trays for up to 8,225 sheets of paper,” thecompany said. It can scan up to 10 jobs while simultaneouslyprinting.

The company added that users can use the unit to capture, storeand share documents, sending them directly to e-mail, a networkfile server, or to a hard drive for later printing or copying.

Pricing for the Xerox 4590 copier-printer starts at $59,100, thecompany said.

o Eastman Kodak Company last month introduced the KODAK ScanStation 100, a device that could help offices move toward beingpaperless. Using a color touch-screen, this desktop unit allowsusers to convert paper documents–color, black-and-white andgrayscale–into digital images.

According to Rochester, N.Y.-based Kodak, these images can beshared via e-mail, routed to network folders, sent to networkedprinters or copiers, or saved on portable USB drives.

“While sharing paper documents in a digital environmentshouldn't be difficult, a lot of copier-based multifunctionalperipherals make it that way for the average user,” said ErwinSchwarzl, vice president of Kodak's Graphic Communications Group.“The Scan Station 100 is designed to improve the user experienceand office productivity by keeping a simple office function justthat–simple.”

The company added that the Scan Station 100 does not require adedicated computer, additional software or training to operate,because it connects to existing networks and offers “intuitive”features–such as a preview of scanned images prior to sharing–fromthe touch-screen.

“It can image a wide variety of paper documents of up to 34inches in length–as well as smaller and thicker items includingplastic insurance cards or driver's licenses,” said Kodak.

The Scan Station 100 carries a list price of “under $3,000″ andwill be available in the middle of May, the company said.