HP announces new digital press platforms

Ahead of the much-awaited Drupa trade fair, HP has announced two new HP Indigo digital press platforms designed for print service providers and converters to digitally print higher volumes profitably.

12 Mar 2020 | By Aultrin Vijay

The new HP Indigo 100K digital press

Thanks to innovations driving higher speed and productivity, both digital press platforms are said to unlock new opportunities for the analogue-to-digital transformation.

According to HP, the new B2-format HP Indigo 100K digital press for commercial print – the first press in the new Series 5 platform – is engineered for higher productivity to deliver more than one million B2 duplex sheets per month. Printing at 6,000 sheets per hour, the press is designed for offset players to adopt highly productive, on-demand printing with less waste. The press is scheduled for commercial availability at Drupa.

Meanwhile, the HP Indigo V12 is a narrow-web digital press for label production designed with next-generation HP Indigo LEPX architecture (see box), which exploits the core power of Indigo’s Liquid Electrophotography (LEP) technology.

First in the Series 6 platform, the HP Indigo V12 offers up to 12 colours on press, a speed of up to 120 meters per minute (400 f/pm), and multiplies productivity performance to match analogue speed, according to the company. A new, automated colour-matching technology, Spot Master, provides the industry’s fastest time-to-colour, claimed HP.

Alon Bar-Shany, general manager, HP Indigo, said, “Over the last four years, HP customers have almost doubled business, generating USD 15 billion in revenue in the last year alone from over 100 million print orders. We believe the dramatic innovations in our Drupa portfolio will usher in a new era that will drive continued growth for customers over the next decade and beyond.”

In a press note, HP mentioned that the Drupa portfolio will deliver continued innovation in eight additional new presses: the B2 HP Indigo 15K, SRA3+ HP Indigo 7K and HP Indigo 7eco for commercial printing, the HP Indigo 6K, HP Indigo 8K, HP Indigo 25K for labels and packaging, and the HP Indigo 35K and B1 HP Indigo 90K for folding carton and specialty applications. “Value packs with upgrade options will allow existing customers to benefit from these new features and capabilities,” the note said.


The HP Indigo V12 digital press will be demonstrated at Drupa 2020

Santi Morera, general manager and global head of graphics solutions, HP, said, “The need for high-quality, versatile and productive digital printing is crucial today, given the rising demand for same-day delivery, sustainability and customised print experiences. With the new portfolio, we’ve set the stage for our customers to grow and build the print factories of the future. In today's fast-paced environment, where jobs can suddenly land on your doorstep, customers need the agility to react quickly so they can profitably cash in on those opportunities.”

The B2 HP Indigo 100K and HP Indigo 15K, SRA3+ HP Indigo 7K and HP Indigo 7eco for commercial, as well as the HP Indigo 6K, HP Indigo 8K, HP Indigo 25K, HP Indigo 35K, and HP Indigo 90K for labels and packaging are all scheduled to be available in June or later in 2020.

The HP Indigo V12 Digital Press will be demonstrated at Drupa. The press is scheduled for commercial availability in 2022.

New LEPX architecture

According to HP, LEPX releases the core physics of LEP technology, producing Indigo’s high-quality digital printing. In LEPX architecture, six imaging engines operate inline simultaneously, instead of LEP’s single engine, multiplying speed to match analogue with the added benefits of digital printing. As a result, LEPX offers the speed and efficiency for PSPs to profitably produce large print volumes than previously possible.

 

Highlights of the LEPX

  • Operators can run jobs at a single predictable speed, regardless of the type of graphics, ink coverage or specialty colours.
  • Up to 12-colours on press. Change inks easily and create any colour combination.
  • Crisp 1,600 dpi native print resolution.
  • The HP Indigo V12 prints at 120 metres/min for any job with up to six colours, comparable to analogue speed. The press also supports the digital label industry’s largest range of substrates, from 12 microns unsupported film to 450-micron (18 pt) board, using the integrated inline primer.
  • HP 3D printing production opens a new era of digital manufacturing.
  • More than 100 parts in the new HP Indigo Drupa portfolio of presses were produced using HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology, including on the HP Indigo 100K Digital Press, HP Indigo V12 Digital Press, and HP Indigo 15K Digital Press.
  • HP 3D printing technology enables HP to accelerate learning and design cycles, delivering parts in days versus weeks, reducing carbon footprint by decreasing energy and material consumption, with some parts up to 90% lighter.