Just-in-time production eliminates inventories, cuts waste for publishers
 
HP today announced that Sheridan Books, Inc. installed an HP T360 Color Inkjet Web Press to change its book manufacturing model and meet customer demand for increased efficiency and shorter print runs.
 
"As print runs decline, publishers look for more efficient ways to manufacture books in shorter runs," said Tim Cotter, vice president of operations, Sheridan Books. "We and our customers needed a better way to address this changing print market, and the HP T360 Color Inkjet Web Press delivers that for us."
 
There are currently more than 80 HP Inkjet Web Presses installed and running at customer sites worldwide. The installation at Sheridan adds to the momentum that HP high-speed inkjet technology is gaining with book manufacturers.
 
"Customers tell us they have been waiting for a digital inkjet solution for years as the publishing industry's transformation has accelerated," said Aurelio Maruggi, vice president and general manager, Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions, HP. "Today, companies have a solution that meets current needs and prepares them for continued change, and forward-thinking organizations like Sheridan are the reason HP is leading the industry's adoption of digital production technology."
 
Changing the book manufacturing model
Sheridan Books serves more than 2,000 publishers focused on trade, professional, religious, scientific, medical and technical fields, and is one of the largest book print providers to university presses in the U.S. With the HP T360 Color Inkjet Web Press, the Chelsea, Mich.-based company can now offer customers a faster and more efficient model for the shorter run jobs out of the 20 million books it produces each year.
 
"With the HP high-speed inkjet platform, our shorter run customers can better manage inventories, ordering smaller quantities as needed and eliminating overhead from warehousing and unsold books," said Cotter.
 
The 30-inch HP T360 Color Inkjet Web Press is capable of production speeds up to 600 feet per minute in full color and 800 feet per minute in mono. Driven by an HP SmartStream Elite Print Server, part of the HP SmartStream Solutions Portfolio, the press delivers the speed and efficiency needed to address shorter run lengths
 
In addition to efficiently printing quantities of titles as they are required, the company expects to cut delivery time by 60 to 75 percent in many instances. It can offer these decreased turnaround times without compromising print quality for its customers.
 
Reliability and quality
Reliable, high print quality was a primary consideration for Sheridan in choosing its press. The HP T360 is built on proven HP Scalable Printing Technology, using multiple nozzles to address each pixel. This nozzle redundancy minimizes defects and helps maintain high print quality over time.
 
"In our research, we traveled around the globe visiting customer sites using a variety of high-speed inkjet platforms," said Cotter. "We chose the HP T360 because of its print quality. The designed nozzle redundancy and new pigment inks eliminated defects we saw from other vendors and delivered the dark ink density we needed to match offset production. HP has the only high-speed inkjet solution we felt comfortable running alongside our heatset presses."
 
Additional information about HP Inkjet Web Presses and HP publishing solutions is available on the HP Graphic Arts Portal. Follow HP on Twitter @HPGraphicArts and find videos on the HP Graphic Arts YouTube Channel.