Business News
HP Launches Faster HP Inkjet Web Press, Plus a Host of Additional Digital Print Systems at Graph Expo
Tuesday 05. October 2010 - Print professionals can gain profit advantages with capabilities of new HP digital printing solutions
HP today introduced the HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press, which is capable of printing nearly 4,000 letter-size pages per minute, and unveiled a multitude of HP Designjet, Indigo, Scitex and Specialty Printing Systems solutions at the Graph Expo 2010 tradeshow.
HP also reported that its customers have printed significantly more pages this year as they accelerate their shift to digital technology for greater flexibility, more customization, superior quality and reduced cost. Collective page volumes for the high-end HP Indigo 7000 series presses, for example, grew 90 percent year-over-year for the third quarter of 2010, compared to the same time period in 2009.(1)
“The fact that our customers’ digital color print business continues to grow – while the overall volumes are flat or down – reflects that print service providers are realizing the benefits of HP’s digital printing solutions,” said Christopher Morgan, senior vice president, Graphics Solutions Business, HP. “People are printing smarter, with targeted, high-quality output printed on demand with less waste, more streamlined supply chain processes and a reduced environmental impact.”
A new milestone in Graph Expo history
HP, the leading digital color printing solutions provider in the graphic arts industry(2), has the largest booth at Graph Expo (booth No.1200). This marks the first time in Graph Expo’s history that a digital print solutions provider is the event’s largest exhibitor, another sign that the industry is rapidly transforming from analog to digital technology.
HP’s new solutions, which improve productivity, profit potential and opportunity for print service providers (PSPs), include:
the 30-inch-wide HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press for applications such as high-quality books, transpromotional/transactional statements and direct mail. The T350, a faster version of the T300 model, prints at up to 600 feet per minute (up to 3,927 letter-size pages per minute) on standard offset or custom coated media
the HP Indigo 7500 Digital Press, a flagship sheetfed, offset-quality commercial printing solution featuring advanced Vision Systems technologies for higher quality, reliability and productivity
the HP Indigo W7200 Digital Press, shown for the first time with an advanced color consistency option for high-end photo and publishing applications
the HP Indigo 3550 Digital Press, a high-quality, entry-level solution that prints in up to five colors
the HP Print Module, shown in the HP booth as a technology demonstration for monochrome and spot-color production at speeds up to 800 ft./min., and as part of the new four-color process Print+ Messenger Color Inkjet system from Pitney Bowes
the HP Durable Black CQ849A Ink Cartridge, a pigment-based cartridge that helps inkjet technology integrators develop new solutions for printing on coated, aqueous overcoated and varnished substrates
HP Latex Printing Technologies for large-format printing in their first full-portfolio demonstration in North America, including the HP Designjet L25500 Printer Series, the 104-inch HP Scitex LX600 Printer and the 126-inch HP Scitex LX800 Printer
two flatbed large-format solutions: the HP Scitex FB700 Printer offering increased productivity with advanced media load and collect features, and the HP Scitex FB500 Printer, a product that offers value as an affordable and compact flatbed production device
the HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer, a solution that is the world’s fastest, professional-quality large-format photo printer in its price class,(3) along with the HP Designjet Z5200 PostScript Printer, a simple, affordable device for small commercial print businesses interested in entering the large-format market
software and workflow solutions, including the latest version of HP SmartStream Designer software for HP Indigo and HP Scitex customers.
Greater productivity in production printing with the HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press
With a speed that exceeds the HP T300’s, the new HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press expands what graphic arts professionals can do with digital, offering a more productive platform for streamlined, high-volume full-color printing.
The four-color, 30-inch-wide HP T350 also extends an up to 1,200 x 600 dots per inch (dpi) native resolution HP Inkjet Web Press product line that also includes the 30-inch-wide HP T300 and the 20.5-inch-wide, single-engine, duplex HP T200.
Expected to be available in the second half of 2011, the HP T350 features a new writing system and improved data processing workflow. HP is presenting details on the HP T350 in its booth at Graph Expo. O’Neil Data Systems, Los Angeles, has the world’s first HP T350 beta unit. The company also currently operates the first HP T200 Color Inkjet Web Press beta unit.
“O’Neil’s expanding business is directly linked to success of the HP T300 inkjet press,” said James Lucanish, president, O’Neil Data Systems. “With the new T350 web press, productivity has increased from 400 feet per minute to 600 feet per minute with the usual HP color quality.
“We’ve added to our portfolio the T200, which will also be used to increase our capacity. O’Neil is excited with the portfolio of products that HP has supplied to us. We continue to see the quality of color and productivity that sets them apart from the competition.”
HP is providing updates at Graph Expo on its progress in creating a new magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) production solution for HP Inkjet Web Presses. Currently in the development and testing process, the HP MICR solution will be based on a new print bar that will insert into existing expansion slots on all HP Inkjet Web presses.
HP also has completed several media advancements. Standard uncoated papers and newsprint, as well as a growing range of coated papers, run on HP Inkjet Web presses. Appleton Coated’s line of Utopia Inkjet papers, which HP and Appleton Coated co-developed to allow for high-quality, high-speed inkjet production, are now commercially available. HP also is collaborating with Sappi Fine Paper Europe for the development of new coated papers for European HP Inkjet Web Press customers.
The HP Exstream customer communications platform on display helps HP T300 customers like O’Neil Data Systems and Communisis assemble and process complex variable-data jobs at full-rated press speeds.
High-value digital color pages grow with new HP Indigo solutions
The launch of the highly automated HP Indigo 7500 Digital Press in May highlights the industry’s digital page growth trend.
Making its first appearance at a North American tradeshow, the HP Indigo 7500 elevates the quality, reliability and productivity of sheetfed digital printing. PSPs use the HP Indigo 7500 to offer customers efficient, offset-quality printing on jobs normally produced on mid-size sheetfed offset presses, as well as high-value variable-data jobs requiring digital print capabilities.
The HP Indigo 7500 includes the new Vision System, an integrated module that enables scanning of press output at full press speed. Developed in conjunction with HP Labs, the company’s central research arm, the Vision System automates a number of the press calibration and service tasks that operators typically must perform, reducing downtime and improving print quality. Future enhancements for the Vision System will allow for real-time monitoring and color correction across the printed sheet, as well as optional, real-time data inspection for variable fields.
“The HP Indigo 7500 makes us more productive and more competitive. – our operators run it more than the other six HP Indigo presses we own,” said Chris Nunez, director of Digital Printing for Grandville (Mich.) Printing Company, a company that uses the HP Indigo 7500 to print auto manuals for one of the world’s best-known luxury car brands.
In addition to producing a full range of commercial print products, the HP Indigo 7500 has an optional thick substrate kit that allows PSPs to expand into new product offerings such as greeting cards and folding cartons.
HP also has introduced a progressive finishing solution that eliminates manual intervention, lowers production costs, improves turnaround time and enhances document integrity. Using a new Universal Finishing Interface (UFI), the press can work in automated print-and-finish workflows.
The press’ streamlined production capabilities include the new Lasermax Roll Systems PageReady, an automatic cutter/slitter/merger/stacker option that can serve as an in-line connection to finishing modules from other manufacturers.
Many HP Indigo 7500 model features will be available as field upgrades for HP Indigo 7000 users.
Debut of HP Indigo’s premier high-volume photo book printing solution
The HP Indigo W7200 Digital Press has a new, advanced color option designed for high-end photo specialty and publication work. The new option consists of linked color-management utilities on both of the press’s print engines, which yields highly accurate, consistent prints.
Designed to meet high-volume production needs for photo specialty products, publications and transational/transpromotional statements, the Indigo W7200 model prints up to 240 four-color letter-size pages per minute at volumes up to 7.5 million pages per month.
The press is in production at some of the world’s leading photo specialty production firms, including Seattle-based RPI, which bought the press at Ipex 2010 and installed it in preparation for the annual photo specialty peak production season that begins in October and will continue through the end of the calendar year.
The press also has been installed at leading PSPs in the publishing, transactional printing and other markets, including a new, five-press installation at Jeppesen, where HP Indigo W7200 Digital presses will produce aviation charts used in the global transportation industry.
The new, entry-level HP Indigo 3550 Digital Press also is making its North American debut at Graph Expo. Offering HP Indigo’s hallmark print quality and versatility at a low initial investment, the new 3550 model is the ideal solution for PSPs producing up to 300,000 four-color pages per month.
Higher productivity, more color in mail and HVTO applications
HP is expanding its relationship with Pitney Bowes for transpromotional and high-volume transactional output (HVTO) solutions. Pitney Bowes, which uses HP Inkjet Web Press technology in its IntelliJet line of solutions, will provide details at Graph Expo on a new 20.5-inch-wide, dual-engine solution scheduled for 2011 availability that is capable of printing at speeds up to 600 ft./min. using HP Inkjet Web Press technology.
Pitney Bowes is showing and accepting orders for its new Print+ Messenger Color Inkjet System inserter, which enables the high-resolution color printing of a company’s logos and customized marketing messages onto envelopes during mail finishing, in its booth, No. 3601. Using HP Color Print Module thermal inkjet technology, the Print+ Messenger Color Inkjet System helps increase mail’s value, relevance and response by bringing full-color personalization to the outside of the envelope.
Other new products for the HVTO and direct mail markets include the HP Durable Black CQ849A Ink Cartridge for imprinting applications using coated, aqueous overcoated and varnished substrates. Available now from HP, it can produce high-quality, high-resolution dark black text at up to 600 dpi(4) and barcodes with high optical density and excellent durability at speeds up to 150 ft./min.
New Latex Ink solutions and advanced flatbed productivity for the signage market
For PSPs offering large-format signage and graphics services, HP Latex Printing Technologies offer more consistent image quality than solvent-ink printers while delivering comparable performance in terms of productivity, size, durability and media choices.
By supporting a broader range of applications, latex-based printers offer PSPs more versatility and also help reduce the environmental impact of printing. These solutions have gained tremendous market acceptance since their introduction, with HP shipping more than 3,000 latex-based printers to customers that have collectively printed more than 32 million square feet of output.(5)
Latex-based printers at Graph Expo include:
the104-inch HP Scitex LX600 Printer, which is on display and for sale at the show in reseller PRISCO’s booth, No. 417
the126-inch HP Scitex LX800 Printer, the largest, most productive HP Latex Ink device to date, operating at speeds up to 947 sq.ft./hr. for outdoor billboards and up to 484 sq.ft./hr. for indoor applications
The HP Designjet L25500 Printer, which delivers easy, low-maintenance printing with unrivaled versatility(6) for a broad range of high-quality and flexible, outdoor and indoor applications.
HP Scitex flatbed printers on display offer application flexibility based on their ability to print on a wide variety of media. They also offer ease-of-use with automated calibration, HP Print Care solutions and on-board camera monitoring features for consistent, high print quality.
The HP Scitex FB700 Printer, with new media handling features and a White Ink Upgrade Kit, helps PSPs produce high-quality prints for durable outdoor and indoor applications on virtually any rigid or flexible media
The HP Scitex FB500 Printer, a 64-inch printer on display in the PRISCO booth, helps digital and screen printers, sign shops, converters and large repro houses bring rigid-printing capabilities in-house. It offers fast and efficient printing; simultaneous media loading, printing and collection; and no daily printhead maintenance.(7)
Helping production print businesses expand with large format
Graph Expo also features two new, low-volume solutions that allow production printing firms to bring large-format printing opportunities in-house.
The HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer delivers fast photo-quality output at up to 2,400 dpi with the versatility to produce indoor applications from line drawings, to photographic output to signage. HP Vivid Photo Inks, featured in the HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer, offer improved scratch resistance, gloss levels and gloss uniformity, as well as a wider color gamut with deeper blacks, compared to previous HP inks.
The HP Designjet Z5200 PostScript Printer is a simple, affordable device suited for a broad range of applications. The 44-inch printer includes new HP Instant Printing Pro software that offers fast, easy file preparation and automates production tasks.
New workflow products from the world’s leading IT provider
A new version 5 of HP SmartStream Designer software helps HP Indigo and HP Scitex customers use Adobe InDesign CS5 to create effective variable-data print collateral and targeted signage campaigns. The new software includes Photo Smart Fit and Photo Image Enhancement – a pair of sophisticated image handling solutions from HP Labs – new database editing tools for variable-data work and auto-impositioning features that optimize the use of media.
Another workflow offering, HP SmartStream Production Pro Print Server version 4.0, improves workflow performance processing times by an average of 18 percent.(8) HP SmartStream Designer and HP SmartStream Production Pro also raise the industry bar in variable-data imaging flexibility and productivity, as they are two of the first workflow products in the industry to support the new Adobe PDF/VT format.
HP SmartStream Production Analyzer monitors and analyzes HP Indigo production operations in real time, providing a central console for fleet management and press operation optimization. HP is demonstrating a new version 1.5 of HP SmartStream Production Analyzer that supports more press models, monitors a greater number of production parameters and has enhanced reports.(9)
HP offers flexible financing solutions for customers deploying the latest HP digital printing technology through HP Financial Services, the company’s leasing and life cycle asset management services division. An HP Financial Services representative is on-site in the HP booth during Graph Expo to provide details of applicable offers. Information also is available at www.hp.com/hpfinancialservices.