PALO ALTO, Calif., April 21, 2008 – HP today announced that Pyramid Printing & Digital has upgraded its capabilities with a five-color HP Indigo press 3500 that will help the firm pursue even more profitable growth opportunities. The press, along with HP Graphic Arts Capture Business Success training and services, have empowered the Weymouth, Mass.-based print service provider (PSP) to provide outstanding digital print quality, color consistency, run-length flexibility and turnkey web-to-print functionality to an expanding customer base.

"HP's Print 2.0 philosophy reflects how we work to lower the cost of digital with solutions like the HP Indigo press 3500 and enable commercial printers to offer web-to-print services," said Rich Raimondi, vice president and general manager, U.S. Graphic Arts Organization, HP. "We back it all with comprehensive Capture Business Success training and business development offerings to create growth opportunities for companies like Pyramid Printing & Digital."

Company owner R.J. Ciccolo chose the HP Indigo press 3500 over other digital devices because it matched the high quality the firm achieves in its all-Heidelberg offset pressroom. The services and training Pyramid received from HP made the return on investment even greater. For instance, the company achieved a significant increase in uptime relative to the digital equipment Pyramid purchased from another vendor. With the improved productivity, Pyramid's new 3500 has replaced both an older-model HP Indigo press and the other vendor's digital color production device.

"One of the best things about HP is the way they trained our operator for maintenance," Ciccolo said. "On the machine we had from another vendor, a technician was here once a week. HP provided the training that allows us to work on our new digital press they way we work on our traditional presses. As a result, the downtime on the HP Indigo press 3500 is minimal, while the quality is as good as offset."

The new press boosts Pyramid's ability to meet its clients' print needs in an age of shrinking deadlines. For example, the company often receives orders for short-run jobs late in the afternoon for delivery by noon the next day. While the company can sometimes meet those deadlines with offset, it cannot do so profitably given the labor costs for platemaking and the cost of press time in makeready. With the HP Indigo press 3500, Pyramid's sales staff can now accept more work with the confidence that it will be profitable.

Similarly, the HP Indigo 3500's capabilities facilitate quick-turn productivity for Pyramid's fast-growing web-to-print offering. The press' HP Indigo Press Production Manager connects with Pyramid's printing workflow system, which also handles web-to-print submissions. As a result of the turnkey connectivity, the HP Indigo press 3500 is handling the bulk of jobs that customers submit online.

The HP Indigo press 3500 offers outstanding production color value and productivity, enabling volume-based profit opportunities. Key features and benefits include:

- adjustment-free paper handling

- simplified operation with the HP Indigo Press Production Manager digital front end

- state-of-the-art color management with 4- and 6-color Pantone emulations and ICC profiling

- HP Indigo adaptive halftone technology for enhanced line work printing.

HP Graphic Arts Capture Business Success provides Pyramid with a collection of tools, training and programs, including job estimators, market research, marketing templates and online resources, which positively impact their total return on investment. People and communities – such as technical trainers, business consultants and the Digital Solutions Cooperative users group – are a central part of the HP Capture program. 

More information about Pyramid Printing & Digital's many products and services is available at www.pyramidprinting.net.