At a pre-drupa media event organized by HP on 21 and 22 March 2016 at its plants in Israel, the company introduced six new HP Indigo digital presses, three HP PageWide web presses, and innovative cross-platform enhancements for color quality, productivity and versatility. HP underlined its continuing effort in broadening print service providers’ (PSP) possibilities and potential to create and execute high-value commercial applications.
HP invited approximately 50 trade journalists to share its drupa plans and to show them around the company’s Kiryat Gat and Ness Ziona plants. The new HP Indigo portfolio includes three sheetfed simplex digital presses – the HP Indigo 12000, 7900 and 5900; the oversize B1-format duplex HP Indigo 50000 digital press; the HP Indigo WS6800p for photo specialty applications as well as an improved HP Indigo 20000, now equipped for commercial applications and the Indigo 30000 with an in-line coater. A new digital label press – the HP Indigo 8000 was also shown.
HP has ganged-up engines to gain productivity rather than making mechanical or process changes or using a new architecture for its upgraded or faster Indigo presses. Speaking to Indigo engineer Yoav Lotan, one understands that HP has simply combined print engines in line to improve performance. For example, the Indigo 50000 B1 press with a print width of 746 mm consists of two Indigo 20000 engines in-line that can that can print 10 A4 pages together to produce 760 A4 pages a minute on paper thickness ranging from 40 to 350 gsm in 4-color mode.
The new B2-size Indigo 12000 which uses the 10000 platform with new hardware inside for printing 29- inch sheets in color at up to 4,600 sheets an hour is capable of producing over 2 million color sheets a month according to HP. Monochrome sheets can be printed in duplex mode (on both sides at one go) at 4,600 sheets an hour. The Indigo one shot technology extends substrates to canvas, synthetics, and metallized media including coated, uncoated, colored and dark papers and paperboard for folding cartons using an on-press primer to print on untreated substrates. A high definition laser array (HDLA) doubles the resolution from 800 dpi to 1,600 dpi. All the new features on the 12000 including finger-printing for different substrates will be made available to existing Indigo 10000 users at an extra cost.
The new Indigo 7900 and 5900 presses, an upgrade of HP’s popular 5000 and 7000 series presses will get a new set of optional coating applications, a new priming station with Optimizer, to help maximize productivity while the erstwhile WS6800 built for photo specialty applications will be named badged as the WS6800p.
HP’s HDNA powered Page Wide inkjet presses
In the inkjet domain, HP is expanding its High Definition Nozzle Architecture (HDNA) technology powered Page Wide portfolio with the new HP T490 HD, T490M HD and T240 HD PageWide web presses. Aimed at increased print quality and higher productivity than its earlier series of inkjet presses, these are meant to further encroach on highervalue commercial offset print applications.
The 42-inch HP PageWide web press T490 HD is one of the industry’s most productive digital color duplex presses delivering up to 1,000 feet a minute in performance mode – a 67% increase in speed – and 500 feet a minute in quality mode. Its monochrome variant, the HP PageWide web press T490M HD, offers high-volume book printers offset-class digital monochrome productivity. Additionally, the HP PageWide web presses T470 HD and T480 HD now offer 500 feet a minute in quality mode, a 25% increase since their introduction.
The new 22-inch HP PageWide web press T240 HD prints at speeds up to 500 feet a minute in performance mode, a 25% speed increase, and 250 feet a minute in quality mode. With a monthly duty cycle of up to 60 million pages, the T240 HD is designed for commercial print, production mail and book printers requiring reliable color performance in a smaller format.
HP PrintOS
All HP Indigo digital presses will offer HP’s new PrintOS connectivity, allowing customers to monitor print status remotely as well as track and improve production performance over time. Featuring a suite of intuitive web-based and mobile applications, PrintOS helps simplify and automate print production, enabling customers to start printing jobs, faster. Many apps will be available without charge to existing customers with a service contract, while others will be subject to monthly subscription and usage charges. HP PrintOS is expected to be available for customers on 31 May 2016.
Availability
The new HP Indigo portfolio will begin shipping in the second half of 2016 as will the optional field upgrades to the new features. The new High Definition Laser Array (HDLA) technology for the HP Indigo 12000 will be available in 2017. On the inkjet side, the new HP PageWide web presses will be commercially available in 2016 and current duplex color HP PageWide web press customers can also upgrade to the new technology in the same time frame.
