In Tel Aviv, Israel, at a preview event for the upcoming Drupa tradeshow, HP announced a release of graphic-arts technologies and products designed to improve the speed and reduce the cost of digital printing. The rollout supports HP’s Print 2.0 strategy, which is geared around capturing more digital pages from the analog print market and enabling print shops to take advantage of new market segments and business opportunities.
Release highlights include:
* New HP Latex Printing Technologies: The new water-based HP Latex Inks are designed to 'offer an environmentally responsible large-format printing alternative for a wide variety of outdoor and indoor applications' and produce odorless prints (although some substrates may have inherent odor, HP points out). The latex inks will work with new printers that will be announced at Drupa in May; printers using the new inks will use internal heaters to dry and cure the latex polymer film. The latex inks will work with a broad range of HP and non-HP large-format media, and will provide display permanence up to three years unlaminated (results may vary based on media performance).
* Three new HP Indigo press models – the HP Indigo 7000, HP Indigo W7200, and HP Indigo WS6000: The first of these new presses available to the market will be the Indigo 7000 in June. Variable-data capable, the press runs at speeds of 120 four-color pages per minute and is aimed at general commercial printing, photo merchandise production, and other high-volume applications. The Indigo WS6000 and W7200 models are web-fed digital presses designed for industrial and commercial applications, respectively, while the WS6000 model is a label and packaging press targeted at users with significant volumes of medium- and short-run jobs. The WS6000 is expected to be available in early 2009, and the WS7200 is expected to be available in the second half of 2009.
* Also on the Indigo side of things: HP has enhanced the Indigo press 5500, allowing greater productivity with an additional feeder, an in-line connection to the HP Indigo UV Coater, and a kit for enabling printing on thicker media. And the Indigo ws4500, a digital label press, is now offered with an EskoArtwork digital front-end to enhance both quality and productivity.
* The HP SmartStream Digital Workflow Portfolio, the company’s first graphic-arts workflow portfolio: The company's Indigo presses will be the first hardware devices to employ the HP SmartStream Digital Workflow Portfolio, an open environment designed to meet a broad range of market segments and application needs and provide workflow management from job creation to fulfillment. Combining SmartStream and partner components will result in specific solutions that are customizable and scalable to the unique business needs of print service providers operating in key market segments, such as general commercial printing, direct marketing, publications printing, photo merchandise, and labels and packaging. Future additions to the HP SmartStream portfolio will offer workflow components for other HP segments, including HP Scitex, HP Inkjet High-Speed Production Solutions, and HP Designjet, the company reports.
* The HP Inkjet Web Press: A high-speed color digital printing platform, the Web Press is capable of printing in full color on rolls up to 30-inches wide at 400 feet per minute (122 m/min.). It's compatible with a wide range of uncoated media to enable efficient printing of book signatures, full broadsheet newspapers, and other documents. It's expected to be commercially available in the second half of 2009.
HP
www.hp.com