Last month, Scitex Corp. Ltd. announced completion of the previously announced sale of its Scitex Vision Ltd. subsidiary to HP for $230 million in cash. Scitex Vision manufactures solvent-, water-based- and UV-curable DOD systems for wide-and superwide format and rigid substrate printing. The acquisition enables HP to expand into the industrial superwide-format category and capitalize on the market for packaging and display materials.

The transaction underscores a growing confidence in the future of industrial wide- and superwide-format digital color inkjet printing as an adjunct or alternative to production methods currently used by offset litho, flexo or gravure printers. Wide-format inkjet increasingly is seen as an ideal choice for printers in the packaging and display markets who want to add digital capability. For commercial printers looking to add products and services, wide-format inkjet is said to present a range of attractive options at reasonable cost.

WhatTheyThink recently spoke with Dov Ofer, president and chief executive officer of Scitex Vision, Ltd., to discuss the development of wide-format inkjet technology against the backdrop of an evolving print marketplace.