PALO ALTO, Calif., April 25, 2006 -- HP today announced that MetroPresort, Inc. (MPI), one of Oregon's premier mailing houses, has successfully expanded into digital printing with the HP Indigo press 1050. A presort and statement-processing specialist since 1981, Portland-based MPI uses the advanced variable-data capabilities of the HP Indigo press 1050 to print previously outsourced jobs for local arts, sports, real-estate, publishing, and financial customers. With commercial printers adopting in-house mailing and fulfillment to increase cash flow, MPI invested in an HP Indigo offset-quality digital press to enhance existing data processing, list purchasing and other direct-mail services. Since installing the HP Indigo press 1050 last year, the company has evolved to become the state's largest combined presort and direct mail service bureau. “The HP Indigo press 1050 provides the full versatility of digital on-demand capabilities for companies entering the market, including high-impact customized direct mail,” said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo division, HP. “With a robust digital front-end and vibrant color imaging, the HP Indigo press 1050 is an entry-level press that features all the power of HP Indigo technology at an affordable price.” An increase in customer orders for postcards, self-mailers and newsletters was the driving force behind MPI's decision to add digital printing to a roster of complete mailing services that includes data processing, inkjet addressing and laser printing. In addition to simplifying MPI's two-step inkjet addressing process, which means waiting for customers to send in a preprinted piece before incorporating the necessary data, the HP Indigo press 1050 enables full-color one-to-one marketing collateral to be cost-efficiently created in-house. “The biggest advantage is that customers now have a single resource to fulfill their direct marketing campaigns, from start to finish,” said David Weaver, MPI's marketing manager. “We can do it all virtually leveraging the web and our in-house capabilities, which now include digital technology.” The HP Indigo digital color press has allowed MPI to capture a wide range of short-run on-demand print jobs that were previously farmed out to a commercial print shop. When the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, a mailing client, suddenly needed 50 gift cards for top tier supporters, the team was able to email the file to MPI that morning and have the gift cards the same afternoon. “Normally it would have taken three to five days,” said Weaver. Other applications have included tickets, postcards, a poster for a local dance group that Weaver calls “a work of art,” a personalized newsletter for a local realtor featuring individual broker names, and inserts for a statement-processing client that also needed the job done right away. “It was one of those last-minute decisions,” Weaver said. “They emailed us the file and we immediately printed it, cut it, and had it ready to insert into their mailing.” MPI's expertise in the mailing side of direct mail is an obvious advantage, encompassing: •designing pieces that qualify for the most advantageous postal rates •understanding how mailing costs impact bottom lines •meeting urgent drop-date deadlines. The HP Indigo press 1050 is an affordable, high performance, full-color digital solution, ideal for the short-run production of color brochures, inserts, flyers and postcards. Part of a complete solution featuring a wide variety of front end partner applications and back-end finishing options, the press produces offset quality printing in up to six-color output at 2,000 letter-size images per hour, or 8,000 letter-size images per hour in monochrome.