Inkjet & Digital Printing
Enhanced HP Indigo Press 5500
Wednesday 12. March 2008 - The Enhanced HP Indigo press 5500 is taking the best-selling mainstream digital color production device to the next level with new features and applications.
New options on the Enhanced model include in-line connectivity to the HP Indigo UV coater, thick substrate support (up to 18 pt. board/450 microns), an additional feeding unit and a range of HP SmartStream print servers and partner solutions.
Using the Enhanced HP Indigo press 5500, a new optional thick substrate kit and HP partner EskoArtworks pre-press and finishing solutions (“DeskPack” for 3D design, “Plato” for step and repeat workflow, and Kongsberg finishing table for carton die cutting), customers can expand business opportunities with short-run on-demand folding carton applications.
The Enhanced HP Indigo press 5500 offers a range of benefits for increased profit potential through high reliability and automation, and it includes advancements such as near-zero downtime on spot color ink replacement for optional fifth, sixth and seventh color stations, an expanded range of supported media (including Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and recycled) and resolution enhancement technology for higher-resolution imaging of up to 1,200 dots per inch (dpi).
Designed for the production of marketing collateral, direct mail, photo merchandise products, books and manuals – including higher-volume production in centrally controlled, multiple-press environments – the Enhanced HP Indigo press 5500 delivers the offset look and feel afforded by HP Indigo technology and liquid HP ElectroInk.
The press is aimed at customers with average monthly volumes in the range of 300,000 to 1 million pages. It complements the HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press, which is targeted at customers with average monthly volumes in excess of 1 million pages.
An optional photo package of solutions for the Enhanced HP Indigo press 5500 enables photo quality using software tools to automatically detect and correct images in need of sharpening and smoothing, combined with the six-color photo imaging featuring Light Cyan and Light Magenta HP ElectroInks.
Key features and benefits
Streamlined coating operations with in-line connectivity to the HP Indigo UV Coater
Expanded business opportunities in short-run, on-demand folding carton applications based on option for support of thicker media up to 18 pt. board (450 microns)
Increased productivity and versatility with multiple substrate feeding units capable of handling as many as seven different media
Streamlined and extended workflow environment with HP SmartStream Digital Workflow Portfolio products and partner solutions
Enhanced productivity with higher duty cycles: capable of printing monthly volumes of 2M+ color pages or 5M+ monochrome pages
Cost-effective media selection with support for an expanded range of economical off-the-shelf media, including leading brand standard offset uncoated papers, as well as FSC-certified and recycled papers
Ability to print on all media within specifications at rated speeds
Enhanced utilization of spot-color capabilities with fast-ink replacement for optional fifth, sixth and seventh color stations, virtually eliminating downtime when switching colors
State-of-the-art color management with four- and six-color Pantone emulations and ICC profiling
Higher-quality printing with new high-definition imaging enabling 1,200 dpi imaging and solid linework thinning
Photo-quality imaging with new photo color tables, light cyan/light magenta inks and optional HP SmartStream Photo Enhancement Server
Liquid electrophotography technology and up to seven-color printing for the look and feel of offset and a wider color gamut
Technical specifications
Speed: up to 68 pages per minute (ppm) in four-color mode or 272 ppm in single-color mode. Any drawer accommodates any substrate within specifications at full speed.
Color stations: up to seven colors. Accommodates four-color process (CMYK), six-color HP IndiChrome (CMYKOV) and six-color photo (CMYKcm) photo imaging, as well as custom-mixed HP ElectroInks
PANTONE Colors: PANTONE licensed for four-color and HP IndiChrome six-color printing
Image size: up to 317 mm x 450 mm (12.5 x 17.7 inches)
Media size: 330 mm x 483 mm (13 x 19 inches)
Media thickness: standard configuration – 80-350 gsm (55 lb. text – 130 lb. cover) coated, 60 – 320 gsm (40 lb. text – 120 lb. cover) uncoated; thick substrate support extends compatibility to 18 pt. board/450 microns
Supported formats and standards: Postscript level 3, PDF 1.6, PPML, JLYT, TIFF, JPEG, EPS
Options and accessories
Additional fifth, sixth and seventh color capabilities
Up to one additional feeder and four additional stackers
HP Ink Mixing Station
Digital Matte ink
HP SmartStream Production Pro Print Server: a high-performance raster image processor (RIP) and press controller for large-volume and complex variable-data jobs in general commercial printing, direct marketing, publishing and photo merchandise applications
HP Indigo Production Production Plus Print Server, Powered by Creo: a server offering a complete graphic arts feature set for out-of-the-box job control and editing on general commercial applications, including brochures, direct mail, books and manuals, and light photo merchandise
HP SmartStream Photo Enhancement Server (formerly the HP Indigo Photo Enhancement Server): a server solution that automatically detects and corrects images in need of sharpening and smoothing for high-quality photographic output
HP SmartStream Ultra Print Server (formerly the HP Indigo Scalable RIP Solution): a completely automated workflow and high-performance RIP solution for high-volume, short-run, image-rich print production, including larger production operations for photo merchandise products such as photo books, calendars and greeting cards
Availability
The Enhanced HP Indigo press 5500 is expected be available in the fourth quarter or 2008.