PALO ALTO, Calif., September 7, 2007-HP today announced that Inserts Inc., a specialty finishing, binding and fulfillment firm serving leading magazine publishers and printers, catalogers, direct mailers and advertising agencies, has added digital press personalization services with the installation of an HP Indigo press 5500.  The press provides the essential high quality and color matching abilities needed to produce customized covers, belly bands, inserts and other materials for use with gravure- and offset-printed magazines and catalogs.
The Chicago-based company, well-known in the magazine business for its expertise with finishing machinery in specialty applications, excels at high-quality, high-volume work that would otherwise be completed by hand at a much higher unit cost. A recent example includes Inserts Inc.'s unique ability to affix two million lenticular covers for Rolling Stone's 1,000th issue.
The company's focus on high quality and manufacturing efficiency extend to personalization with the new HP Indigo press, which is one of the first HP Indigo press 5500s to be installed in the Midwest. Previously, the company used monochrome in-line inkjet imprinting systems to add personalization as a feature on its finishing lines.  With the HP Indigo press 5500, the company now offers full-color, fully personalized printed materials that are nearly indistinguishable from their companion offset and gravure products.  With the unmatched quality possible in digital printing using the HP Indigo liquid electrophotographic process (LEP) and HP ElectroInks, Inserts Inc. can create magazine covers, belly bands, coupon inserts and other personalized promotional pieces that have maximum impact and appeal.
"Inserts Inc. serves the nation's leading companies in the magazine- and catalog-printing industry and is showing the value of HP Indigo digital printing to the key players of this highly visible market," said Rich Raimondi, vice president and general manager, U.S. Graphic Arts Organization, HP.  "Our new HP Indigo press 5500, with its enhanced offset-quality printing, expanded media compatibility and HP DreamColor technologies, takes Inserts Inc. to a new, higher standard in digital color to meet or even surpass its customers' expectations."
The HP Indigo press 5500 is HP's new flagship digital press, delivering increased utilization and reduced operating costs for high productivity and profit potential. The press supports an expanded range of economical, off-the-shelf media, including leading brand standard offset uncoated papers, prints on all media within specifications at press-rated speeds, and uses new high-definition dot placement technology for resolutions of up to 1,200 dots per inch.  An on-press fast ink replacement feature enables near-zero downtime in spot-color changes for the optional 5th, 6th and 7th color stations.  HP DreamColor Technologies on the 5500 press model provide greater consistency and more accurate color matching.
"The liquid ink of the HP Indigo is the hands-down winner in quality compared to toner, and the new 5500 model gives us the opportunity to have the absolute latest and greatest in digital print technology for our publication and direct mail fulfillment programs," said Frank Puisis, President/CEO, Inserts Inc.