Chicago - This year's PACK EXPO tradeshow features for the first time HP Indigo printing technology for label and packaging production, as well as a range of supply chain management solutions that use HP thermal inkjet imprinting solutions.

"HP is leading the conversion to digital with fast, flexible high-quality products and solutions for packaging environments, creating significant value for brand owners," said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo division, HP. "To date, 1,100 HP Indigo label and packaging presses have been installed in the marketplace, which is a testament of the move toward digital."

HP is the leading provider of digital label and packaging presses, and one of the top label and packaging press vendors overall. (1) The HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press in HP booth 3225 at PACK EXPO (Oct. 31-Nov. 3, McCormick Place, Chicago) helps converters offer brand owners fast time-to-market, affordable multi-SKU management and cost-effective supply chains for pressure-sensitive labels, flexible packaging, folding cartons, shrink sleeves and in-mold labels.

HP also is a supplier of inkjet imaging systems used in package coding products, including a new HP Durable Black CQ849A Ink Cartridge on display at the HP booth. HP-equipped systems also are displayed in several places on the PACK EXPO show floor including at booths for inc.jet, FoxJet and RSI Systems.

More flexibility, lower costs for brand owners

Many of the world's leading converters use HP Indigo digital presses to produce labels and packaging for blue-chip companies in nearly every major vertical market, including food, beverage, health and beauty and household products. In many cases, these brands can preserve working capital by purchasing only the amount of packaging needed to service their production fill orders.

Digital printing also improves packaging's overall sustainability, eliminating much of the waste associated with make-readies for analog printing, as well as the chemical processes associated with platemaking.

HP Indigo is the only digital label and packaging printing platform that uses true PANTONE-licensed spot-color inks or offers four-, six- and seven-color PANTONE-licensed spot color emulation, giving converters the ability to meet their customers' demanding brand color standards.

HP Indigo also is the only digital platform to win major label and packaging quality contests when judged against flexographic and offset printing.(2) The Showcase of Packaging Innovations in PACK EXPO's Brand Zone exhibit (McCormick Place East, lower hall) features winning entries in HP's own customer awards competition – the fourth annual worldwide HP Indigo Digital Labels and Packaging Contest.

Designed to be more cost-effective than analog printing on jobs up to approximately 13,000 linear feet, the HP Indigo WS6000 helps converters offer brand owners decreased time-to-market, affordable multi-SKU management and reduced inventories. The press prints on a broad range of substrates, including flexible packaging, shrink sleeves, folding cartons and a wide variety of label stocks.

New ink for coding on coated substrates

In addition to Indigo digital press technology, HP's PACK EXPO exhibit also highlights HP thermal inkjet supplies and technologies used in package coding and supply chain management systems. One of HP's newest offerings, the Durable Black CQ849A Ink Cartridge, is designed for use with coated, aqueous overcoated and varnished substrates.

Inkjet technology integrators can use HP Durable Black to develop efficient, high-speed package coding products. Available now, it can produce high-quality, high-resolution dark black text at up to 600 dots per inch(3) and barcodes with high optical density and excellent durability at speeds up to 150 ft./min.

Several of HP's original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners for the package coding market are exhibiting their own HP-equipped systems.

- The HP booth features a track-and-trace package coding solution from Antares Vision that features an inc.jet print head and print controller with HP thermal inkjet technology.

- In its own booth No. 3329, inc.jet is showing solutions that make it one of the leading U.S. manufacturers of drop-on-demand thermal inkjet solutions for the mail addressing and coding and marking industries. The company's jet.engine product helps users in the industrial printing, mailing and packaging world benefit from HP inkjet technology's ease of use and quality.

- FoxJet, in booth No. S-2008, has released a new SoloSeries Bulk Ink Supply for use with FoxJet Thermal Jet Printhead products. The 350-ml ink capacity SoloSeries Bulk Ink Supply offers up to a 50-percent reduction in the cost per mark compared to a standard ink cartridge.

- RSI Systems, in booth No. 3333, makes solutions for easy and reliable case coding and offers the HP-equipped RSI CaseJet series of marking and coding systems. The new RSI Printstation solution is an extension of the CaseJet line that provides a stable platform to improve print reliability and quality of printing for text, logos and scannable barcodes, including Code 128 barcode symbology. In addition, the platform allows the user to easily change over to different size boxes.

- RSI Systems' BagJet 1300 helps manufacturers overcome the challenge of printing on an unsupported bag lip that varies in thickness. Designed to be a turnkey bag printing system that controls and stabilizes the bag lip for high-resolution printing of text, barcodes and graphics, the BagJet 1300 can reliably print up to two inches on either side of a bag using HP thermal inkjet technology.

More information on HP's products for label and packaging printing and supply chain operations is available at www.hp.com/go/graphicarts or through the HP Graphic Arts Twitter feed.

(1)    HP internal data based on data from InfoTrends (2010) and Tarsus (2010).
(2)    HP Indigo-printed labels were best-in-show winners in the packagePRINTING magazine 2007 Excellence Awards and the Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute 2008 awards competition.
(3)    For semi-porous and non-porous substrates, high-resolutions of 600x600 dpi or line speeds greater than 100 ft./min. may require drying assistance.