Inkjet & Digital Printing
HP Partners with Book Industry Leader Timsons on Medium-run Book Production
Thursday 08. January 2009 - HP has announced a new relationship with UK-based Timsons Ltd, the worlds largest book press manufacturer, to develop a digital inkjet system for short- and medium-run book production.
With the relationship, announced at Graph Expo in Chicago, HP and Timsons will combine HPs market-leading capabilities in inkjet print technology and IT infrastructure with Timsons experience in high-volume, high-performance materials handling. The new solution is designed to take digital book production beyond niche applications to mainstream production.
“Our collaboration with Timsons is a natural next step in HPs strategy to move higher volumes of printing from analogue to digital,” said Aurelio Maruggi, vice president and general manager, Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions, HP. “The digital book solution coming from this work will open a range of new possibilities to help printers and publishers optimise their supply chains, decrease waste and create revenue opportunities.”
High-speed digital book printing
As a result of the joint effort by HP and Timsons, the 30-inch-wide HP Inkjet Web Press will be able to connect with a new Timsons Digital Book Finishing System that will operate at speeds that match the performance capabilities of the press.
“Timsons is excited to establish this partnership, as it offers a complementary opportunity to the book manufacturers Timsons has served for more than 30 years, with innovative new solutions to help our customers capture the momentum that exists with digital,” said Jeff Ward, managing director, Timsons Ltd. “Timsons is extending its business by offering more choices to our customers with short- to medium-run book solutions and by partnering with HP to gain the benefit of HPs digital leadership credentials.”
French firm CPI, Europes leading book printer and a participant in the HP Inkjet Web Press beta user programme, plans to implement the book production solutions from HP and Timsons.
“As an HP collaborator and the largest worldwide user of Timsons presses, CPI will be the first company to put this solution into production as it pushes to reinforce its leadership in black-and-white book printing,” said Pierre-François Catté, chief executive officer, CPI.
New technology for high-speed printing on coated media
HP also is planning to significantly expand the addressable market for the Inkjet Web Press with the development of a new solution for coated media that enables production at high speeds. The coating technology will enable users to print on uncoated and coated media, advancing HPs goal of providing great print quality, leading productivity and breakthrough economics in high-volume printing.
To better ensure high levels of success for customers of the Inkjet Web Press, HP has initiated a beta programme for early installation. Los Angeles-based ONeil Data Systems is scheduled to receive the first HP Inkjet Web Press beta unit in December 2008. The press is expected to be commercially available in the latter half of 2009.