HP today announced that it will present a versatile portfolio of printers, applications and services for professional photographers, labs and retail photo businesses at photokina, 18 – 23 September, Koelnmesse, Cologne, Germany  (Hall 4.1, Stands I-010, I-040, I-050, J-045 and J-049).

HP will display products from the HP Indigo digital press and HP Designjet printer portfolios. HP also will feature applications demonstrating the latest techniques available using HP inks, substrates and technologies. photokina will provide a forum for the entire commercial photography industry, including labs, professional photographers, print service providers (PSPs), retailers and in-home publishing consumers to experience the image quality, versatility, creative and business opportunities enabled by HP technologies.

Featured on the stand will be:

–    HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press – the latest in the range of 7-color presses offering labs increased quality and productivity for printing photo-specialty products.

–    HP Designjet L26500 Printer – the 61in (1.55m) large-format printer using HP Latex Inks for the production of indoor and outdoor graphics, created with the environment in mind.

–    HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer (available in 42in (1.067m) and 60in (1.524m) models) – designed to deliver photo-quality prints at the highest print speed in its class (1) with breakthrough color consistency and accuracy across a wide range of media.

–    HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer (available in 24in (61cm) and 44in (1.117m) models) – the easy-to-use wide format inkjet printer with a 12-ink (HP Qad Black and HP Chromatic Red) printing system for professional photographers with inbuilt spectrophotometer.

“The innovative, high-quality photo applications printed by this diverse line up of products on HP’s stand is sure to engage and inspire visitors to the show,” said Ronen Zioni, market development director, GSB, EMEA, HP . “Beyond the high-productivity of the printers and presses and HP’s technological developments designed to enhance the printed output, HP is also going to reveal new ways in which it plans to support the photo market and help photo labs, in particular, maximize business opportunities in this sector.”

High productivity, more applications and value-adding techniques
Designed for superior-quality and new special effects, the new HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press prints up to 120 A4 pages per minute (ppm) in its standard production mode. It is based on the popular HP Indigo 7000 series sheet-fed presses used by many leading photo specialty providers.

Utilising a new HP ElectroInk Light Black with HP ElectroInk Black, the new press is capable of producing superior-quality black-and-white images, meeting the requirements of the most discerning professional photographers.

The HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press also features:

–     Raised print, up to 50 microns from the sheet, using multiple layers of ink, opening opportunities for creativity, differentiation and added value.

–    Embossing or debossing effects using a mould created digitally on the press creating textures, reverse textures and patterns for photo enhancement.

–    Digital watermarking to enable special visual effects.

HP Indigo digital presses can print on a wide range of papers and other substrates (coated and uncoated, matt, semi-gloss, gloss and textured) so photo retailers, professionals and labs can offer differentiated photo-specialty products.

Increased applications with HP Latex Inks and HP Large-format Photo Printers
HP Latex Ink printing  returns to photokina with the new HP Designjet L26500 Printer that produces odorless prints⁽²⁾ on a wide variety of substrates including vinyl, fabrics⁽³⁾, paper, film, and low-cost uncoated media for exciting and colorful photo applications.

Using water-based HP Latex Inks, the HP Designjet L26500 Printer is a six color machine that can produce up to 61in-wide (155cm) applications. With the ability to deliver prints suitable for indoor and outdoor use in resolutions up to 1200 x 1200dpi, the printer can operate at speeds up to 246 ft²/hr (22.8m²/hr).

The HP Latex technology presents numerous opportunities for professional photo labs and print service providers to produce custom – even personalised – wall coverings, textiles for soft furnishings and hangings.

Also on the stand will be the HP Designjet Z6200 and Z3200 Photo Printer.

Designed for photo labs, digital print shops, advertising agencies, design firms and commercial printers, the HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer series (available in 42in (1.067m) and 60in (1.524m) models), with speeds up to 1,500 ft²/hr (140m²/hr), delivers photo-quality prints with a resolution of up to 2,400 dots per inch (dpi).

HP Vivid Photo Inks offer improved scratch resistance, gloss levels and gloss uniformity and a wider color gamut with deeper blacks than previous HP inks. The printer’s 8-ink printing system also features HP Chromatic Red ink, extending the color gamut.

The HP Designjet Z3200 (available in 24in  (61cm) and 44in (1.117m) models) delivers gallery-quality, black-and-white and color photographs, art enlargements, large-format designs and high-accuracy proofs that stand out and survive the test of time. The Z3200’s12-ink printing system, using HP Vivid pigment inks, features HP 73 Chromatic Red ink, which enables up to 95 percent coverage of PANTONE Colors.⁽⁴⁾

Helping retailers achieve growth and meet customer needs
HP will feature a fully equipped retail photo center model and in-home publishing center, demonstrating how retailers can leverage HP’s portfolio of web-to-store and in-store assets to drive on-demand publishing of personal photos and capitalize on the profitable market of personalized photo creative merchandise. photokina attendees also can experience HP’s portfolio of software solutions and same-day creative output.

⁽¹⁾ Compared to large-format inkjet printers under $25,000 for graphic applications. Based on the fastest rated color speeds as published by manufacturers as of January 2010. Test methods vary.

⁽²⁾ Some substrates may have inherent odor.

⁽³⁾ The HP Designjet L26500 Printer produces an extremely broad range of both outdoor and indoor applications from a single device, which surpasses the number of different applications that traditional eco-solvent printers or water-based printers can produce.

⁽⁴⁾ 95% coverage of PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM and PANTONE GOE systems, based on HP internal testing (PANTONE approval pending). Please visit www.hp.com/go/Z3200/PANTONE for final results.