Palo Alto, Calif. – HP had its best-ever Ipex trade show exhibit, with the May 2010 event in Birmingham, U.K., surpassing company expectations for customer sales and prospects.

"In addition to the international scope of the business conducted at Ipex, it was significant that more than 50 percent of the sales and leads were from companies newly embracing digital systems," said Christopher Morgan, senior vice president, Graphics Solutions Business, HP. "Ipex affirms the fact that digital printing is now mainstream and no longer the newcomer."

HP achieved strong sales of the new high-end HP Indigo 7500 Digital Press model offering intelligent automation features for increased quality and productivity. Other top-selling press models at the show included the HP Indigo press 5500 and the new, entry-level HP Indigo 3550 Digital Press. Several HP Indigo 7500 and 5500 purchasers also included the Thick Substrate Kit with their new presses, an option that will allow them to expand into folding carton production and other markets.

All HP worldwide regions reported HP Indigo press sales at Ipex, with one large order coming from Hong Kong's W.Print, part of the Wing Hung group. W.Print signed for two HP Indigo 7500 presses, the first in Asia, and an HP Indigo press 5500.

The U.K. and France led HP in sales for Europe, with HP Indigo 7500 presses going to leading U.K. digital printers ProCo, Pureprint Group and Precision Printing. Photobox signed for the first web-fed HP Indigo W7200 Digital Press in France to be used for photo applications. In addition, ORWO Net GMBH, a photolab and commercial printer, agreed to purchase the first HP Indigo 7500 in Germany after successfully completing its beta test of the new press.

Beta agreement for the new HP T200, and new sales agreements for the HP T300
One of Ipex's most significant draws was the new HP T200 HP Color Inkjet Web Press, which is the first extension of the HP Color Inkjet Web Press product line. Unveiled at Ipex and scheduled for availability in 2011, the 521-mm (20.5-inch) wide HP T200 is a four-color, single-engine duplex inkjet web press designed for high-speed, high-volume book, transactional/transpromotional and direct mail printing. The world's first T200 will be installed as a beta testing unit at Los Angeles-based O'Neil Data Systems to handle a new publication for the financial industry.

Meanwhile the 30-inch (762-mm) HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Press has been installed at nine customer sites, with two additional installations currently under way. HP received numerous qualified sales leads for T300 presses at the show. Plus, HP finalized purchase agreements for the press at Ipex or immediately thereafter, including sales of HP T300 engines for use in transactional and transpromotional printing applications as part of new IntelliJet 30 printing systems from Pitney Bowes.

HP also continues to report a successful 100 percent sales rate for HP T300 presses installed at customer sites.

Positive signs for sign and display activity
HP's Sign and Display operation also did brisk business at the show, both with its core customer base and with businesses in the production printing space looking to enter the large-format market.

For the latter, the new HP Designjet Z5200 PostScript Printer making its debut at Ipex proved popular. Suited for a broad range of applications, the 44-inch (112-cm) printer includes new HP Instant Printing Pro software that offers fast, easy file preparation and automates production tasks.

For sign and display print service providers (PSPs), the first HP Scitex large-format printers using HP Latex Inks –the 126-inch (3.2-m) HP Scitex LX800 and 104-inch (2.6-m) HP Scitex LX600 – were top sellers. As the largest, most productive HP Latex Ink device to date, the HP Scitex LX800 Printer launched at the show sets a new image-quality standard for the industrial large-format market.

During Ipex HP also announced that it is working with Quad/Graphics, one of the world's leading printers of magazines, catalogues, direct mail and other commercial products, on a plan to host the first commercial beta test of the HP Color Print Module imager. The advanced imager, which uses HP Scalable Printing Technology thermal inkjet imaging, helps PSPs integrate cost-effective four-color process digital printing into traditional offset web press lines.

With the largest stand at Ipex, HP not only demonstrated its new digital printing systems, but also showcased the breadth of its digital solutions and services. These included HP SmartStream workflow and finishing capabilities, expansion of the Capture Business Success Program to help PSPs grow their digital print businesses a new Graphic Solutions Services organization to increase efficiency and lower cost, together with comprehensive financing services and environmental advances.

During the course of the exhibition, HP printed more than 750,000 A4 pages for the Born Free Foundation, an international wildlife charity working throughout the world to stop individual wild animal suffering and protect threatened species in the wild.