First HP T400 digital press with Epic In-line coater and Videk Web Inspection System

PALO ALTO, Calif. - HP today announced that TC Transcontinental Printing, the largest printer in Canada, has installed the world’s first HP T400 Color Inkjet Web Press integrated with an Epic WebCoat 400.⁽¹⁾ 

This new solution, set up in the printer’s Aurora, Ontario, location, helps TC Transcontinental Printing simplify its workflow, reduce delivery time and grow its direct marketing services.

TC Transcontinental Printing produces a range of print applications, including personalized direct mail pieces, marketing solicitation letters, loyalty coupons for grocery retailers and other promotional self-mailers. Volumes, order sizes and variable-data content have made conventional printing technologies increasingly less efficient to use.

To meet this need, TC Transcontinental Printing evaluated all of the production inkjet technologies available in the market and determined the HP T400 Color Inkjet Web Press with the Epic in-line coater and the Videk DocuVision® 8600 Web Inspection System for print verification would help the company differentiate its direct marketing business with tailored print offerings and faster delivery times.

“In the direct marketing business, it is important to have printing solutions that can produce high volumes of personalized marketing materials without sacrificing speed or quality,” said Rob Seccareccia, director, Direct Mail Services, TC Transcontinental Printing. “The HP T400 Color Inkjet Web Press, together with the in-line coating and content verification systems, will help us meet our clients’ needs to better tailor marketing content and improve their speed to market. This has already enabled us to complete projects that previously took several weeks in just a few days.”  

Producing direct mail materials take a significant amount of time because they typically include an extensive amount of data customized to buyers’ habits. With the HP T400 Color Inkjet Web Press, TC Transcontinental Printing can produce static and variable fields in one step, rather than preprinting the static content and adding variable data in separate processes. Combining these into a single workflow helps boost production flexibility and productivity to meet demands for fast turn-around times.

Additionally, the HP T400 digital press’ ability to produce variable images in full color at high volumes allows the company to grow its capabilities, providing expanded direct marketing offerings to its customers. The press also features high-quality color output, broad media compatibility and scalable format sizes, enabling the company to create and address a wide variety of customer requests. 

The Epic WebCoat unit runs in line with the HP T400 digital press, laying down a UV or aqueous coating on one or both sides of the sheet for finishing effects without the need to use offline post-press equipment. The coating enhances the appearance and quality of the printed surface. With the coater integrated with the HP digital press, TC Transcontinental Printing is able to print high-quality color applications while providing durability and protection of printed materials through the mail stream.

Along with the coater, the HP T400 Inkjet Web Press also integrates in line with the Videk DocuVision® 8600 Web Inspection System. It is an important part of the overall solution, providing quality control and data integrity during a print run. With high printing speeds of 100 million full-color images at 400 feet per minute, the solution is essential to identifying and resolving an error quickly, protecting against loss.

“Our customers are continuously looking for digital printing solutions that can help differentiate their product offerings and give them a competitive advantage in this crowded market,” said Jan Riecher, vice president and general manager, Americas Graphic Solutions Business, HP. “The HP T400 Color Inkjet Web Press enables TC Transcontinental Printing to offer a unique value proposition to its customers—a better time-to-market coupled with high-quality variable data printing.”

In addition to this new investment, TC Transcontinental Printing has a suite of HP Indigoand HP Scitex presses that support its printing needs for its direct mail and in-store marketing offerings.     

More information about the HP Inkjet Web Press portfolio is available atwww.hp.com/go/inkjetwebpress, on YouTube at www.youtube.com/hpgraphicarts and through the HP Graphic Arts Twitter Feed, www.twitter.com/hpgraphicarts.

(1) Based on HP internal data as of January 2014.