PALO ALTO, Calif., October 31, 2005 -- HP today announced that VG Reed & Sons, Louisville, Ky., is pursuing new, high-value specialty markets, as well as products for its core financial and commercial book market, with the purchase of an HP Indigo press s2000. Installed this summer, the press is being used with a variety of paper and plastic media for high-quality short-run and personalized materials. The 67-year-old family-owned company, an established web offset book printer, is expanding the capabilities offered to its traditional client base. According to Eric Reed, the company’s director of marketing, the HP Indigo press s2000 will enable VG Reed & Sons to offer color covers for the monochrome books it prints. “When your customers want a 128-page book that is short-run and has a color cover, there is no way to really help in the traditional offset world. The companies that are doing well in the graphic arts are augmenting their litho business with digital.” Besides book covers, VG Reed & Sons is meeting increased customer demand for specialty products by exploiting the press’s ability to print on plastic media. “We’re running everything from heavy-duty paper and plastics to lighter-weight substrates like 60 lb. paper on the press,” said Tim Williams, digital printing manager, VG Reed & Sons. “When we tested the press, we were impressed with how well it works with both plastic and paper.” Printing at 1,000 four-color 11" x 17"/A3 images-per-hour, the six-color HP Indigo press s2000 produces everything from printed graphic attachments and overlays for applications like membrane switches, panels, keypads and mousepads, to plastic cards for ID, driver's licenses and financial applications. Substrate choices include PVC, polyester and polycarbonate as well as a full range of papers. A high-level performer in database-driven variable-data jobs where images and text changes on every sheet, the HP Indigo press s2000 uses the unique HP ElectroInk liquid ink technology to deliver rich, vibrant color prints. “The HP Indigo press s2000 is one of the most versatile digital presses on the market today in terms of substrate flexibility. So it is always very gratifying when we see customers like VG Reed & Sons turn our unique technologies into revenue generating business opportunities,” said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo division, HP.