PALO ALTO, Calif., August 14, 2008-HP today announced that Livermore, Calif.-based converter Vintage 99 Label Mfg., Inc., has installed an HP Indigo press ws4500, extending its reputation for top-quality wine labels with faster turnarounds and a wider variety of run lengths. The press, installed last month, offers key production advantages for Vintage 99's current client base, enabling the firm to confidently drive greater profitability in its operations. Vintage 99's executives are showcasing the press in an open house today for customers and prospects.

Vintage 99's production operation also includes flexographic presses, as well as a waterless offset press used for some of the firm's highest-quality work. The HP Indigo press ws4500 prints labels rivaling the offset press in quality, while enabling the firm to produce the smaller-quantity jobs that are becoming more prevalent in the converting industry.

Increasing throughput and lowering costs with digital

Jobs printed on Vintage 99's offset press typically require three or four hours of press setup, plate preparation and makeready – a time and money investment that keeps shorter-run work from being cost-effective. The firm's HP Indigo press ws4500 provides an affordable production solution for Vintage 99's customers, eliminating most of the time and expense related to analog printing processes.

"The HP Indigo press ws4500 meets important, strategic needs for converters today as the premier solution for label, shrink sleeve and flexible packaging jobs up to 6,500 linear feet," said Rich Raimondi, vice president and general manager, U.S. Graphics Solutions Business, HP. "Jobs of 6,500 feet or less represent up to 60 percent of all label converting work(1), which means customers like Vintage 99 can dramatically enhance the level of service they provide by adopting digital with HP Indigo."

HP Indigo presses excel at meeting and exceeding critical color requirements, using proven liquid HP ElectroInks in up to seven colors, as opposed to four- or five-color digital printing with dry toners or inkjet inks. The HP Indigo press ws4500 is also compatible with a wide range of pre-certified media, including metallized papers commonly used in wine label converting.

"The wine market is highly competitive, and having the highest quality possible is a very important factor for our customers," said Kathy Gonzales, president, Vintage 99. "When it comes to offering labels that rival offset in a press run that is as short as 50 feet long, HP Indigo is only solution that enables us to meet our clients' needs."

Designed for continuous operation, the HP Indigo press ws4500 is a robust, reliable production device that offers a fully automated workflow as well as enhanced color capabilities. The HP Indigo press ws4500's six- and seven- color process color matching capabilities, as well as its unprecedented capability to print with and switch spot colors between jobs with virtually no downtime, give converters a distinct competitive advantage.

Vintage 99 established a turnkey short- to medium-run production operation with its HP Indigo installation, pairing the press with a new Digicon finishing unit from Omega, which enables foiling, embossing and die-cutting for digitally printed labels, and a Stork silk screen unit for specialty varnishing and other applications.