HP Indigo 7800 enhancements simplify color management and streamline production

CHICAGO – At Graph Expo 2015, HP introduced the first HP PageWide Web Presses powered by High Definition Nozzle Architecture (HDNA) and HP Indigo 7800 Digital Press enhancements, delivering improved image quality, higher productivity and more application options to print service providers (PSPs).   

The new HP PageWide Web Press portfolio, formerly branded HP Inkjet Web Presses, are built using proven HP PageWide Technology which enables new levels of performance across HP graphics, business and consumer printing platforms. Challenging the limitations of conventional high-volume printing, the two new 42-inch inkjet web presses, the HP PageWide Web Press T480 HD and T470 HD, feature HDNA technology and offer enhanced print quality with unparalleled dual-drop-weight architecture, 2,400 nozzles per inch and built-in nozzle redundancy. 

“Printing technology must keep pace with the challenging market conditions PSPs face today, including higher job volume, strict color requirements and the need for competitive differentiation,” said Mike Salfity, vice president and general manager, Graphics Solutions Business, HP. “HP is committed to offering industry-leading digital solutions across its PageWide Web Press and Indigo portfolios that help PSPs meet their clients’ toughest demands and stay ahead of the competition.” 

HP PageWide Web Presses: a giant digital leap ahead

HDNA production inkjet printhead technology, a Graph Expo 15 MUST SEE ‘EMS Award winner, is designed to provide enhanced print quality and performance to meet a growing range of high-value applications. The new HP PageWide Web Press T480 HD and T470 HD solutions open compelling new publishing, direct mail and general commercial printing application opportunities, including color trade publications, medical journals, posters and banners up to 108 inches long, as well as high-end retail brochures and catalogs.

These high-capacity inkjet presses feature a quality mode that enables dual drop weight per color for sharp text, fine lines, accurate skin tones, smooth gray and color transitions, as well as enhanced highlight and shadow details at print speeds up to 400 feet per minute (fpm). Additionally, new performance modes offer speeds up to 800 fpm⁽¹⁾ and 600 fpm⁽²⁾ using single drop weights.

Current customers can upgrade to the new technology to take advantage of the enhanced quality and productivity enabled by HDNA. HP Financial Services helps customers simplify their investments in inkjet innovation with flexible IT investment solutions for all HP PageWide Web Presses. Customers can now lock in pricing for up to 84 months⁽³⁾, securing financial predictability that aligns with business needs.

Rotomail Italia SpA, one of the largest digital color PSPs in Europe, will become the first in the world to install the HP PageWide Web Press T480 HD in its Milan, Italy-based facility.

“To address growing variable data-driven print volumes, increased demand for faster turnarounds and a desire to expand application options, our company needed to invest in high performing production inkjet technology with superb image quality that could keep up with our growth trajectory,” said Giorgio Albertini, general manager, Rotomail Italia SpA. “The HP PageWide Web Press T480 HD will provide us enhanced quality and productivity, helping us deliver innovative new direct mail, commercial and publishing applications for customers.”

Opening the door to additional revenue streams and an extended application range for HP PageWide Web Press customers, HP also announced:

• A 22-inch duplex priming solution, which makes coated offset media inkjet compatible, while lowering the cost per print
• HP Print Beat for HP PageWide Web Presses, helping web press customers visualize and analyze press performance according to print volume, operating efficiency, system health score, press restart rate and maintenance score
• Commercial availability of HP Visual Remote Guidance and HP Predictive Press Care for HP PageWide Web Presses, offering press operators access to premium remote support capabilities
• A new collaboration with Felix Schoeller to manufacture and distribute inkjet coated papers with ColorPRO Technology
• New HP SmartStream Solutions partners manroland web systems GmbH, Goss Contiweb B.V. and ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH
• Expanded substrate versatility with more than 300 certified inkjet-compatible papers

HP Indigo enhancements simplify color management, increase productivity

The proven HP Indigo 7800 Digital Press offers enhanced on-press color management tools in press software version 11.4 as well as an in-line spectrophotometer, eliminating the need for manual color manipulations. Available this month, media fingerprinting, 3D color calibration, spot color refinement and other advanced color management tools streamline the process for color standards certifications, such as GRACoL and FOGRA, ensure accurate color matching on a variety of substrates and provide color consistency across presses and sites over time.

The HP Indigo 7800 Digital Press also features the new Optimizer, an on-press production management tool that helps manage the print queue, prioritize print jobs, plan substrate usage and improve efficiencies. The Optimizer enables continuous printing and proofing in parallel without the need to break between jobs, improving customers’ productivity up to 50 percent per shift⁽⁴⁾.

“At ProCo, the number of jobs is constantly increasing, but the runs are getting shorter, and it is critical that we manage production correctly as the process becomes more complex,” said Jon Bailey, Managing Director, ProCo, UK. “The Optimizer on the HP Indigo 7800 Digital Press is already proving to be a game changer in our production flow and business growth.”

HP at Graph Expo 2015

In booth 1202, HP is demonstrating the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press, which has reached 200 installations worldwide in 35 countries, including 20 sites with multiple units. Also on display, the HP Indigo WS6800 Digital Press delivers the industry’s highest crossover point in narrow-web production versus analog for the vast majority of pressure-sensitive label jobs⁽⁵⁾. The booth will also feature samples from Graph Expo 15 MUST SEE ‘EMS award-winning HP SmartStream Mosaic, including a recent campaign for a leading American brewer.          

Making its U.S. debut, the 126-inch HP Latex 3500 Printer handles high-volume, dedicated application production and enables more unattended operation, with heavy-duty roll handling up to 660 lbs. and 10 liter ink supplies. HP is also demonstrating the HP PageWide XL 8000 Printer, the fastest large-format monochrome and color printer ever, offering up to 50 percent savings in total production costs⁽⁶⁾.