December 3, 2007 - The recent surge in the Chinese economy has made it one of the three fastest growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region, leading to a greatly increased demand for digital printing. To capture this market, HP continues to demonstrate how its range of industry-defining digital commercial and industrial printing solutions will enable print service providers to create optimal capacity to meet customer demand in the digital printing market in China.
At Labelexpo Asia 2007 which opened in Shanghai on November 28, HP showcased its end-to-end digital label printing solutions, with the HP Indigo ws4500 digital press working in tandem with alliance solutions for a fully automatic workflow and enhanced color capability superior to flexographic printing.
The end-to-end solution included the pre-press system from Esko-Graphics and the post-press finishing system from AB Graphic. These alliance capabilities combined with the multifunctional HP Indigo press 4500 allows for 24/7 round-the-clock operation capable of performing more than 500 jobs each month. With a fast-ink replacement function and seamless switching between jobs on the press, the end-to-end solution can produce 163,005 printed industrial labels from more than 20 jobs in only eight hours. Compared to flexographic printing, this solution saves customers the cost and time to make 99 plates, 455 minutes of printing time and 4,751 meters of printing stock.
Market development spurs demand for digital printing
According to Labels & Labeling magazine, the label market in China has grown by 15%-20% each year, far above overall average economic growth of 7%-9%. Moreover, as the demand for customized, intelligent and information-variable labels increases, digital printing of labels has become a very viable technology. In 2005, some 4 billion labels were created using digital printing, with sales volumes exceeding USD250 million. In 2007, digital printing in the Asia-Pacific region has shown booming growth and by the end of 2007, it is expected that 7.7 billion labels will be produced with digital printing. This amounts to an estimated total sales of USD500 million. In addition, some international brands have been watching the development of packaging and label technologies closely; they insist on stringent requirements in the packaging and labeling of goods. As these international brands enter the Chinese market, they hope to have access to packaging services of the same quality and standard here in China to allow them effective entry into the market.
HP Committed to China's Digital Printing Industry
In China, HP's outstanding achievements in commercial printing, photography and label printing have been widely recognized. Its participation in industry trade shows, such as Labelexpo Asia, demonstrates its intention to continue building visibility for its end-to-end digital printing solutions in the rapidly growing China market.
Earlier in November 2007, HP participated in the ON DEMAND Printing & Publishing Conference & Exposition held in Beijing, as a platinum sponsor. At ON DEMAND, HP's booth welcomed thousands of visitors for a demonstration of the latest HP Indigo press 3500 and 5500 presses and their applications in the printing of photo books and short-run collaterals.
HP Capturing Regional Growth Opportunities
HP continues breaking records for digital printing and seizing the market growth opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. According to Mr VS Hariharan, Vice-President, Graphic Arts Business, Asia-Pacific and Japan, HP Imaging and Printing Group, about 10 billion printed items were produced on HP Indigo in 2006, with a CAGR 40% page growth. In fiscal year 2007, HP maintained this growth impetus as well as its leading position in the graphic-arts segment in the Asia-Pacific region. The first quarter of fiscal 2007 saw 96% growth for HP Indigo over the previous year and a record high of 68% market share in the digital production-purpose color printing segment.
In the future, HP Indigo will continue to support print service providers to take advantage of opportunities to expand both business and market share. In addition, Mr Alon Bar-Shany, Vice-President and General Manager of HP Indigo Division, said, "HP Indigo will establish a technical support platform. Through idea exchanges and communications with customers, HP will promote digital innovation in our customers' short-run production environment and build up an even more perfect end-to-end value-added solution together with our customers."