Two companies’ first co-developed solution fills unaddressed need in high-volume digital pre-print applications

WASHINGTON D.C., HP and KBA today announced plans to develop a high speed, high volume, 110-inch -wide (2.8 meter) simplex inkjet web press for pre-printing of corrugated top liner. This solution will be called the HP T1100 Simplex Color Inkjet Web Press and will enable corrugators to combine many individual jobs together on a roll or across rolls for short, mid or long runs. Unlike traditional analog pre-print, every box can be different.

Planned to print at speeds of up to 600 feet (183 meters) per minute and produce up to 300,000 square feet (30,000 square meters) per hour, the HP T1100 Simplex Color Inkjet Web Press will print corrugated liner rolls that can then be placed directly onto existing industry-standard 110 inch-wide (2.5 or 2.8 meter) corrugators.  This press will be the first solution co-developed by the two companies since the announcement of their strategic collaboration at Graph Expo 2014 in Chicago on September 28, 2014. 

Centralized corrugated box plants serving major retail brands will especially benefit from this digital pre-print solution for all corrugated print applications. Brands are increasingly requiring just-in-time inventory, shorter runs, and faster turn-around time. HP’s inkjet technology enables significant time, material, and shipping cost advantages when compared to analog processes. Digital preprint is more efficient than post-print alternatives. 

“Addressing the enormous digital opportunity in the corrugated market requires best-in-class technology innovation, a portfolio of solutions, scale, and a market vision,” said Aurelio Maruggi, vice president and general manager, Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions, HP. “The new press will transform the short and mid-range corrugated packaging market, dramatically disrupting operating models and costs and more importantly create new value for brand customers.”

HP and KBA both bring proven legacies of endurance, scale and innovation to their joint initiative. This year, HP celebrates its 76th anniversary and its 31st year of Thermal Inkjet innovation. KBA is a 197-year-old company and the second-largest offset press manufacturer worldwide. 

“KBA has a rich heritage of developing innovative solutions that meet or exceed customers’ quality expectations,” said Christoph Müller, executive vice president for the Web Press Product House, KBA. “In working with HP, we will combine our complementary technological strengths for the needs of packaging converters.”

HP Thermal Inkjet Technology helps meet converters’ needs for high-quality print, along with high-volume productivity, reliability and versatility. Ultimately, it opens the way to game-changing value chain cost savings and capabilities for brands and packaging converters. 

HP’s accelerated entry into corrugated packaging

At drupa 2008, HP announced its first Inkjet Web Press. Since then, the company has expanded its portfolio to its current lineup of ten presses across five web-width platforms transforming the publishing and production mail market.

In May 2014 at Interpack, HP announced its intent to enter the corrugated packaging market.  In June, the company announced its first web-press offering for this market. Fewer than 90 days later the first HP T400 Simplex Color Inkjet Web Press was installed at Obaly Morava – Czech Republic. At Graph Expo, in September 2014, HP announced its partnership with KBA. The new HP T1100 Simplex Color Inkjet Web Press offering is in addition to the HP Scitex sheet-fed corrugated solutions offered by HP.