Countdown to Drupa: HP to unveil three new PageWide presses
HP has expanded its portfolio of PageWide presses, adding three new presses, which will be unveiled at Drupa. This in addition to the five new Indigo presses for commercial printing, which has been reported on and a new Indigo kit for label and packaging printing.
01 Apr 2016 | 3340 Views | By PrintWeek India
David Murphy, worldwide director for marketing and business development, HP PageWide Web Press division at HP, made the announcement at the media event held in Israel on 21 and 22 March 2016.
David Murphy, HP PageWide Web Press division at HP
The three new web presses – HP PageWide T490 HD, T490M HD and T240 HD are powered by the High Definition Nozzle Architecture (HDNA) technology, which Murphy said, will provide customers with high quality and higher productivity than previously possible.
Murphy said, there are three sources of volumes that go on our presses – one is volume that is on offset presses, where you take the lower volumes with variable applications; those that are printed digitally; and there are those which were previously unthinkable, now enabled because of the HDNA, which enables higher quality and productivity – 2,400 native nozzles per inch, dual droplet and precision placement. “Inkjet printing is not about counting the addressable dots on the inch but the size and precise placement of the dot. This enables smooth halftones and smooth gradation especially in skin tones that are so important in postal applications.”
David Murphy with a sample at the event
He added, “Not all need higher quality, but some need higher productivity and are looking to reduce their capital cost, optimise their labour expenses. With the HP architecture, we are able to produce higher speeds, 67% faster than the previous offerings.”
In December 2015, HP had introduced the 2.8 metres wide HP PageWide T1100S, developed in partnership with KBA. The press was designed for a corrugated pre-print sector. The thermal inkjet technology that powered the previous PageWide T400S was used in this 180m/m press. “We have taken the technology that has been inherent in our platform, and the 44-inch head, which is the basis of scalable print technology and PageWide array, and moved to new applications including corrugated application,” said Murphy.
According to Murphy, the 42-inch HP PageWide T490 HD has a monthly duty cycle of up to 205mn pages digital colour duplex press, has two modes, the performance model to print at 1,000 ft/minute and quality mode that prints at 500 ft/min. The T490M HD is the monochrome variant.
The third press, the T240 has a monthly duty cycle of up to 60 million pages and prints at speeds up to 500 fpm in performance mode, and up to 250 fpm in quality mode. The T230 and T200 customers can upgrade to this model.
Murphy asked, the question is whether inkjet is reading as a substitute for offset. “We think it is,” said Murphy.
All the three presses will be compatible with the cloud-based PrintOS production environment.
Drupa 2016 will take place from 31 May to 10 June 2016 at Dusseldorf, Germany. PrintWeek India is a cooperating media partner at the show. The team led by Noel D’cunha, Rushikesh Aravkar and Monica Rohra will be present on all days of the show.