HP Inc has announced an all-new portfolio for HP Indigo digital packaging, designed to accelerate the digital print transformation. HP Indigo offers converters a portfolio of presses, along with new colour and workflow automation solutions, to efficiently deliver diverse, on-demand print orders with low waste.
Originally intended for roll-out at drupa, the drupa portfolio includes the sheetfed HP Indigo 35K and roll-to-B1 sheet HP Indigo 90K for folding cartons. Value packs with various upgrade options will allow the existing customer base to benefit from new features and capabilities.
The latest generation HP Indigo 35K digital press for folding cartons.
“The digital packaging market is growing and evolving as converters move to support market needs for on-demand production, SKU diversification, customisation and printing with reduced waste,” said Alon Bar-Shany, general manager, HP Indigo. “Converters using HP Indigo are growing their Indigo volume four times faster than the market and are consistently generating new opportunities. The new packaging portfolio unveiled is a blueprint for customers to create a digital print factory so they can stay ahead of the curve and deliver a wider range of jobs faster, with less labour, all while keeping the environment top of mind.”
Advanced workflow and tools
A new colour automation solution, ‘Spot Master’, will enable converters to reach brand colours within minutes. ‘Spot Master’ enables converters to deliver high colour consistency and uniformity across the entire print frame using a new patented algorithm for fast and accurate colour matching, ensuring every package looks the same no matter when or where it was printed. ‘Spot Master’ will be available for the HP Indigo 35K press to start with.
‘Brand Beat’, a new application offered in HP PrintOSX, delivers real time colour reports directly to converters and brands.
PrintOS Production Pro, featuring HP Indigo’s fastest HP Indigo RIP, is seamlessly integrated with the new Esko Automation Engine, allowing converters to process more jobs per day. HP PrintOSX unites the cloud platform applications with AI-driven service and support infrastructure to help customers get the most out of their press investment. With its suite of tools and applications, customers can start building the digital Print Factory of the Future and reach operational excellence by automating production and minimising operator touchpoints.
Capturing opportunities
The portfolio significantly extends HP Indigo folding carton capabilities, offering enhanced productivity, wider application range and expanded colour capabilities. The portfolio includes the new sheetfed B2 HP Indigo 35K for high-value folding cartons, the new sheetfed B2 HP Indigo 15K for mixed commercial print and packaging production and the new B1 HP Indigo 90K roll-to-sheet solution with an inline water-based/UV coater and sheeter.
Building on the experience of over 100 folding carton press installations worldwide, the HP Indigo 35K introduces significant enhancements:
· Fastest time to colour with ‘Spot Master’ colour automation;
· Faster job changeover with drawers, pallet feeder and proof-while-print capabilities;
· Printing on thinner substrates from 150 microns to capture applications such as rigid boxes;
· New HD printing with 1600 dpi for enhanced print quality;
· New HP Indigo ElectroInk Premium White for higher opacity;
· New ElectroInk Invisible Yellow, track-and-trace solutions and security elements for multi-layered brand protection applications on one press, in one pass;
· TRESU iCoat II, integrated with the HP Indigo 35K, delivers offset-quality for overprint varnish and coating applications at full speed.
Next-generation Coating Technology
TRESU has consolidated the successful partnership with HP Indigo to supply the next generation of inline coating solutions for the new HP Indigo 35K Digital Press. The company’s iCoat II delivers high-end coating opportunities for digital printing using industry-standard UV or water-based varnish in a single production pass and is capable of applying spot, partial or full surface coating immediately after the printing stage.
The new generation iCoat II features significantly improved registration and tighter tolerances, enabling high-end coating results for a wider range of substrates – both thinner and thicker.
TRESU iCoatII.
It was developed in synergy with HP Indigo and as the result of a successful partnership of more than eight years, Tresu now presents a new fully integrated inline coating solution enabling higher productivity and full inline connectivity with HP’s Indigo 35K Digital Press. Folding carton customers will now benefit from a competitive solution based on experience, know-how and high-quality components.
The new iCoat II is designed on a flexible modular platform, which can be updated with further modules and functionalities at any time in order to accommodate future changes in brand owners’ printing operations or changes arising from short-run seasonal fluctuations or fashion cycles.
Ronni Nielsen, Vice President of TRESU Solutions Division, comments, “With the next generation iCoat II, the converters in digital printing enter a new era of coating application opportunities and we now present a flexible modular coating solution with significantly tighter registration and tolerances for a wider range of substrates, enabling our customers to match the quality they already know from offset.”
