Palo Alto, Calif – HP today announced that Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) has installed an HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press in its Printing Applications Laboratory – the advanced industry research facility that HP uses to certify compatibility of media for use with Indigo solutions.

Members of the lab staff at the Rochester, N.Y.-based institute now certify media for the HP Indigo WS6000, an important step that helps substrate manufacturers successfully bring new products to market. Like all HP Indigo solutions installed at RIT, the press also provides valuable hands-on learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in the institute's highly respected School of Print Media.

"RIT's certification activities play an important role in the progressive development of the digital printing market," said Jan Riecher, vice president and general manager, Graphics Solutions Business, Americas – HP. "HP Indigo is already one of the best-selling label press technologies in the world, and RIT's WS6000 certification activities will help magnify the ways digital printing addresses mainstream label and packaging production."

Growing momentum in digital color label printing
Digital printing is becoming more prominent than ever in the label converting market. HP Indigo is among the top three label press brands worldwide, and HP Indigo-printed labels have earned top honors in industry print quality competitions that judge digital labels alongside labels printed with analog flexographic or offset presses.

Media certification is especially important for the HP Indigo WS6000 as the press prints on a wide range of media. In addition to printing on label stocks, the press also prints on thinner films used in flexible packaging, as well as the thicker stocks used in folding carton production.

"The WS6000 further enhances our world-class digital printing platform and expands the services RIT can provide to the labels and packaging segment of the market, where we are finding increasing opportunities for innovation," said Bill Garno, director of RIT's Printing Applications Laboratory. "It will also expand what we can offer to media suppliers for comprehensive certification processes."

RIT's Printing Applications Laboratory is a central point for verifying media compatibility with the HP Indigo liquid electrophotographic printing process. To conduct its HP Indigo media certifications, RIT has a full-scale, controlled environment to evaluate substrates on a range of HP Indigo presses. During the media certification process, members of the Printing Applications Laboratory staff examine runnability, ink adhesion, ink transferability, blanket compatibility and other factors.

RIT also mixes inks for HP Indigo presses to create PANTONE-licensed spot colors and other custom colors for HP customers throughout the western hemisphere. The mixing service helps HP's customers consistently and affordably meet their clients' most demanding brand value requirements, allowing them to select from more than 1,000 Pantone Matching System spot colors and from more than 2,000 Pantone Goe spot colors.