BIRMINGHAM, England, April 4, 2006 – HP today announced the availability of its new HP Indigo press w3250 designed to meet the needs of the most demanding 24x7 digital production environments while producing offset-quality prints at as low as 0.03 $/€ per page (A3 4/0). Offering top of the line speed and support for a broad range of substrates, the HP Indigo press w3250 will help print service providers increase their productivity and generate new business opportunities in commercial printing, direct mail, postcards, books and publishing. The HP Indigo press w3250 is one of the fastest web-fed digital presses in its class, delivering full color output of up to 8,000 impressions (A4 images, two up) per hour and print speeds of up to 136 pages per minute (ppm) when printing four colors and up to 272 ppm when printing two colors. With its in-line priming features designed to accept standard offset media, the press offers broad substrate flexibility from 40gsm to 300gsm, enabling printers to serve diverse customer demands. In addition, the press offers improved print quality along with in-line and near-line finishing options to deliver a true end-to-end solution. “The HP Indigo press w3250 delivers on the promise of digital printing, combining the speed and quality of offset with the efficiency and intelligence of digital,” said Alon Bar-Shany, general manager, Indigo Division, HP. “The productivity of the press is a key feature that will help to maximize profitability for print service providers, particularly those operating an average monthly print volume of over 500,000, 4-color, A4 impressions.” HP can now deliver even greater efficiency, quality and cost-effectiveness for the higher volume commercial printer as the web-fed HP Indigo press w3250 features significant new benefits compared to its predecessor, the HP Indigo press w3200, including: •Superior color print quality with new software for color control and color calibration between engines; •Lower print costs by up to 35 percent with In Line Priming, enabling printing from off the shelf papers, including house- or publisher-supplied offset paper; •Greater end-to-end capability with additional finishing options for cutting heavy media, books and binding, plus new digital front end and workflow connectivity options. Adair, a print service provider offering litho and digital print, based in Michigan, U.S., purchased an HP Indigo press w3250 primarily for the production of short-run catalogues on lightweight stock. “We have been using the press to produce short-runs of our offset jobs, and we are also undergoing development work with digitally produced flyers, brochures and small catalogues,” said Glenn Thomas, general manager, Adair. “In Line Priming has proved to be of immense benefit to our overall cost-effectiveness; being able to print on virtually any substrate, including off the shelf papers, is a distinct advantage. The HP Indigo press w3250 has really exceeded expectations in terms of quality output.” Nine HP Indigo presses w3250 are currently on order, including two to Sommer Corporate Media, Germany, which will use the presses to print photo books and other high-quality applications. HP delivers more than high-volume digital printing capacity by working with leading industry partners to streamline print workflow from start to finish. With complete and comprehensive solutions, including a host of near-line and in-line finishing options from Hunkeler AG, EMT International (available in North America) and Horizon, the HP Indigo press w3250 enhances any volume commercial print facility.