Inkjet & Digital Printing

HP and Rotolito Showcase Real-world Book Printing Productivity at drupa 2012

Tuesday 15. May 2012 - HP today announced that it is working with one of Europe's leading book printers, Rotolito Lombarda S.p.A., and finishing equipment provider Muller Martini to produce a live Rotolito book order on-site in the HP exhibit in Hall 4 at the world's largest graphic arts trade show, drupa 2012.

On drupa’s opening day, 3 May, HP began printing 10 different Italian-language technical manuals using the HP T410 Color Inkjet Web Press, a high-speed 1,066-millimetre (42-inch) wide press.
This is the first time HP has completed an end-to-end commercial print job as part of its show exhibit, providing a real-world demonstration of the analogue-to-digital transformation in book printing.
The book pages printed on the web press are being combined with top-quality colour book covers produced on an HP Indigo Digital Press. Additionally, the Muller Martini SigmaLine inline digital book production system folds and collates the printed web pages into book blocks ready for binding. The Muller Martini system is fully-integrated with the HP T410, to create a high-productivity solution. The output of this first 42-inch wide format Muller Martini system is perfect bound at the Muller Martini stand in hall 14 on the new Alegro perfect binder.
“This real-world showcase is a perfect demonstration of the potential our modular and integrated product portfolio offers,” said Bruno Müller, chief executive officer, Muller Martini. “It allows customers to better understand how such an application can be transferred one-to-one into their world.”
When the job is complete, HP will ship the bound books from the drupa show floor to Rotolito’s customer, Milan-based publisher Edizioni FAG S.r.l., for distribution to retail bookstores throughout Italy.
“Instead of printing samples that would never be used, we decided to produce real books on our HP Inkjet Web Presses,” said Aurelio Maruggi, vice president and general manager, Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions, HP. “It’s the ultimate test of our reliability and efficiency to showcase our end-to-end publishing solution in such an open, public forum.”
Efficient, connected workflows for fast turnaround
HP will use an HP SmartStream Production Elite Server to send imposed signatures to the press at full production speeds. The Job Definition Format-/Job Messaging Format- based Connex data and process management system from Muller Martini integrates prep, printing and binding steps to provide automated setup and support for the books’ signature-based production workflow.
Milan-based Rotolito Lombarda, which provided the book work to HP, has successfully incorporated HP Inkjet Web Press technology in its own production operations. In 2010, the company installed one of the first HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Presses in Europe to respond to increased demand for shorter-run books, catalogues, magazines and comics.
“Today, inkjet printing is not only an efficient and reliable technology, but incorporates a new production model, which allows us to be more flexible and to better respond to market’s needs. Thanks to our HP Inkjet Web Press installation, our customers are now able to place very frequent orders and in smaller quantities, saving money on warehouse and unsold, but with an economic advantage and an offset substitute quality,” said Emanuele Bandecchi, digital business developer, Rotolito Lombarda. “And thanks to our new web-to-print portal, customers can order their jobs in a fully automated way, via web. This business model wouldn’t be possible without high speed inkjet technology.”
New, 244-metre-per-minute colour printing speeds
New HP Color Inkjet Web Press solutions making their debut at drupa take high-speed inkjet capabilities to the next level. The press in HP’s drupa exhibit features a technology demonstration of 244 metres (800 feet) per minute colour printing using new inks, printheads and glossy coated paper that support faster print speeds without compromising image quality. The higher-speed colour capability-33 per cent faster than the previous HP Color Inkjet Web Presses-will be available in select systems or as an optional upgrade next year.