SAN LUIS OBISPO –- Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department has received a Hewlett-Packard Indigo 3050 variable data digital printing press, which will give students an edge in “hands-on” learning with cutting-edge commercial equipment. The press will enable Cal Poly to remain at the forefront of digital printing teaching and research. The equipment, valued at approximately $350,000, is capable of seven-color printing on a wide variety of substrates at high speeds. “Students will learn about the HP Indigo press’s capabilities, applications and variable data functions, preparing them well for leadership positions in industry,” said Harvey Levenson, head of Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department. The equipment will also give the Cal Poly Graphic Communication leverage in performing research, testing, product evaluations and conducting educational seminars and workshops for people in industry. In addition, HP has been invited to perform its own testing on the press within the university’s lab environment. “This is the type of ‘partners in education’ opportunity we extend to all of our industry supporters,” Levenson said. Peter Vorenkamp of HP’s Digital Publishing Solutions Organization and a member of the Cal Poly Graphic Communication Department Advisory Board said, “HP is committed to continuing its partnership with Cal Poly by providing students with the latest equipment in printing technology. It is critical to be involved with the education of upcoming leaders in the digital solutions world." Graphic Communication Professor Penny Bennett, who specializes in digital printing, said, “The HP press will be instrumental in teaching the values of variable data printing, a area that is expected to continue to grow as traditional commercial offset printing declines in the United States The press uses HP’s patented liquid “ElectroInk,” designed to simulate the look of offset lithography. “We believe HP’s technical applications of new developments is going to be part of shaping the printing and publishing industry of the future,” Levenson said. Additional industry supporters of digital printing systems at Cal Poly include Xeikon, Xerox, Heidelberg, Epson, Kodak, and Fuji.