ATLANTA--Feb. 22, 2005-- HP today announced the availability of new solutions and services for the graphic arts market. Highlighting the news is the availability of the HP Indigo press 5000 in North America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa and the availability of HP Vivera Inks for large-format printers. First introduced at Drupa 2004 as a centerpiece of HP's ongoing digital publishing initiative, the HP Indigo press 5000 is a four-color digital press with seven-color capability geared for mid-size to large-scale commercial printers and has the capacity to produce up to 4,000 full color pages per hour. Previously available only for HP's consumer printers, HP Vivera Inks for large-format printers benefit professional photographers, graphic designers and fine artists who need the highest quality when digitally reproducing their original works. HP also announced increased partner support from key industry leaders as well as new financing options to help customers make the transition to digital printing. The announcements were made in conjunction with the opening of the HP Graphic Arts Solutions Center in Atlanta, where visitors can take part in in-depth discussions with technical experts on the benefits of digital printing and one-to-one marketing for their particular business. "These announcements and others we will be making throughout 2005 further strengthen and expand HP's leadership in graphic arts production," said George Mulhern, senior vice president, Enterprise Imaging and Printing, HP. "No other company in the world can match HP's breadth and quality of graphic art solutions, enabling us to leverage the many opportunities this exciting industry offers." HP Indigo press 5000: A new world of productivity and image quality Designed for maximum productivity, ease of use and superior image quality, the HP Indigo press 5000 features a number of paper handling and ink system innovations. These include multi-tray input, which allows the operator to load one tray while the press prints from the others, and a high-capacity paper output system that features a convenient sampling tray for easier proof checks. With the front-end HP Press Production Manager, the HP Indigo press 5000 handles even large variable data jobs quickly and efficiently. Based on open standards, the HP Production Press Manager combines simplified operation with scalable, high-performance RIP and web-to-print connectivity. This results in true workflow integration for dramatically improved throughput and significantly higher breakeven point for short-run printing. "The HP Indigo 5000 has the superior quality, the highest productivity and the best workflow we've ever used," said Peter Sommer, owner and manager of Germany-based Sommer Corporate Media, which is beta testing the HP digital press. "We absolutely have the right partner for digital printing at our side." Uptime is further maximized by the new HP Instant Support System, which automatically alerts the HP Indigo Customer Care Center when a problem occurs and allows a technician to remotely troubleshoot the press. The latest generation of HP ElectroInk is employed to print 97 percent of PANTONE colors, including brand-essential corporate colors, and offers greatly expanded substrate capabilities supported by HP Indigo Printing Papers. Other advantages include no-commitment consumables programs, one year of free service and attractive service pricing once the initial coverage period ends. Greater vibrancy and longevity for large-format printing with HP Vivera Inks HP Vivera Inks are specifically engineered and tested to ensure the delivery of vivid, lifelike colors with a broad color gamut and crisp black text. Inspired to create a formula that provides increased detail and vivid, blazing colors, HP scientists and engineers chose only superior ingredients. The result is ink formulations that blend with advanced precision for consistent, true-to-original prints. Because HP Vivera Inks are ultra-pure, they dramatically reduce printhead clogging. The combination of ultra-pure inks and HP-exclusive protectants keeps documents safe from airborne pollutants and fading, enabling photos and graphics to resist fading for decades.(1) One of the first large-format printers to employ HP Vivera Inks is the new HP Designjet 90 Printer series, a six-color, A2+/C+-size solution that produces very high-quality images with a wide range of colors, deeper blacks, continuous tones and gloss uniformity. Using HP Vivera Inks along with select HP papers, photos printed on the HP Designjet 90 Printer series can last up to 82 years,(1) which is significantly longer than traditionally processed photos. New HP Graphic Arts Solutions Center simulates commercial printing environments Complementing a similar center in Littleton, Mass., the 4,000-square-foot HP Graphic Arts Solutions Center in Atlanta provides real-world scenarios for commercial printing experts looking to make the most educated decision on their individual production needs. The entire printing process is demonstrated -- from pre-print to process to print -- in one central location. Visitors receive a personalized experience from four technical experts, a return-on-investment specialist and a senior printing architect, who spend on average of three to four hours discussing the customer's business objectives, unique industry challenges, sales and marketing strategies, and promotional ways to increase business and improve process efficiencies. The benefits of digital printing and one-to-one marketing are experienced first hand with variable data print marketing campaigns, such as just-in-time collateral, personalized direct mail, short-run packaging and real-time targeted marketing. HP commercial presses and printers featured at the center include the new HP Indigo press 5000, HP Indigo 1050, HP Indigo 3050, HP Indigo 3200, the HP Designjet 5500 and 130nr printers, and HP Color 9850mfp and HP Color 9500mfp. To demonstrate the full production cycle, the center also features equipment from key HP finishing partners such as Hunkeler, Dorn SPE and Duplo. Increased support from partners Partners form an integral component of HP's strategy for the graphic arts industry, and HP has announced enhancements to its graphic arts portfolio with key industry players. DirectSmile, now offering its unique image personalization software in the United States, has exclusively optimized its innovative tool for graphical Variable Data Printing (VDP) for HP Indigo presses. GMC Software has introduced a new version of its flagship VDP solution, PrintNet T Triple Suite, with increased performance that is tailored specifically to the HP Indigo press 5000. Printable Technologies, with its web-based, variable data applications for print production, has proven to be a successful partner for HP and a powerful driver for new pages and revenue for many commercial printing customers. Printable plans to release its new version of DL-100 2.3 (recently acquired from Datalogics) this spring and provides an enhanced VDP solution on Adobe InDesign using the HP Indigo press 5000. XMPie is another partner currently modifying its VDP and personalization software to maximize the speed and efficiency of the HP Indigo press 5000. Additionally, Press-Sense and Ultimate Technographics plan to optimize for HP Indigo presses in the spring with iWay Prime, an off-the-shelf, end-to-end web-to-print and collateral management solution for the printing industry, and Impostrip, the industry-leading prepress imposition solution, respectively. New HP Indigo Press Step Up program lowers monthly leasing payments To help customers acquire the HP Indigo press 5000 and other HP Indigo digital offset color presses,(2) HP Financial Services, the financing arm of HP, announced its new HP Indigo Press Step Up program. Under this innovative leasing program, customers pay lower monthly "start up" lease payments during the first six months of their leasing contract to facilitate their transition to digital printing. Payments then graduate over the revenue-producing lifecycle of HP digital printing solutions. In short, the program makes the digital transformation a financial reality for print service providers. HP is leading the digital transformation of the graphics industry through the application of professional color technologies in a wide range of reliable printing solutions -- supported by its strategic alliances and partners. More information on these offerings and how commercial printers, graphic designers, advertising agencies, fine artists and professional photographers are realizing new business opportunities with HP solutions is available at www.hp.com/go/graphic-arts.