July 12, 2002 -- HP has announced that testing of compatible substrates for the HP Indigo Press 3000 (formerly Indigo UltraStream 2000) is underway at the prestigious Printing Applications Laboratory of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), in Rochester, New York. Since 1999, the laboratory – an independent substrate compatibility center – has provided standardized testing procedures for sheet-fed and web-fed substrates used on all HP Indigo presses. The HP Indigo Press 3000, which represents the latest generation of HP Indigo digital presses, joins two others on-site: the HP Indigo Press ws2000 (formerly Indigo Omnius WebStream) and HP Indigo Press 1000 (formerly Indigo Platinum). According to Rick Mangold, general manager, HP Indigo North America, the RIT lab’s procedures benefit substrate manufacturers as well as HP Indigo owners. "One of the key advantages for consumers is the assurance that all approved substrates have undergone a stringent process that ensures total compatibility with their HP Indigo press," said Mangold. Manufacturers are often present at the RIT Printing Applications Lab when their substrates are being tested, which not only allows them to witness their products’ performance but also gain first-hand insight into the powerful capabilities of HP’s digital print technology. Coated and uncoated stocks are currently being tested for the HP Indigo Press 3000, with three thousand sheets of a sample substrate run continuously through the press and subjected to five specific areas of testing: runnability, ink transferability, blanket compatibility, overall ink-substrate interaction and temperature operation windows. Once a substrate is approved, it is identified as certified and posted on the PAL website (www.printlab.rit.edu). Stocks already certified include brands from Avery Dennison/Fasson, Dunmore Corporation, Eastern Fine Paper, Folex Imaging, Fraser Papers, GE Polymershapes, International Paper, M-real, MeadWestvaco, Russell-Field, Sappi, SMART Papers, Stora Enso, Tekra, and Wausau. "One of the most important contributions our technology brings to the digital printing industry is superior reproduction on a diverse range of substrates, which broadens the range of potential applications for HP Indigo press owners," said Judy Finlay, substrate business development manager for HP Indigo North America. "This high-quality digital color reproduction is available on coated, uncoated, smooth and textured papers, and foil, film and synthetics." In addition to substrate testing and certification, RIT provides spot color ink-mixing services for both the HP Indigo Press 3000 and HP Indigo Press 1000. "HP Indigo ink-mixing systems are capable of matching 98% of the PMS color gamut," said David Duek, imaging products business manager, HP Indigo North America. "It’s another ability that gives our customers substantial competitive advantage in the digital printing industry." The company’s flagship HP Indigo Press 3000 prints up to seven colors, including IndiChrome wide-gamut and specialty colors, at 800x800 dpi resolution and 180-lpi screen ruling. Designed for high-volume, high-quality commercial printing, it has a throughput of up to 4,000 4-color/A4 pages per hour (two-up) or 16,000 single-color pages per hour (272 per minute). Additional information about HP products and services is available at http://www.hp.com.