At Labelexpo Americas 2012, HP announced new features for the HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press, the industry’s most productive, high-speed digital solution for medium-run label and packaging printing, with print quality surpassing that of conventional printing.
HP also announced three beta customers for the 30-inch HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press, including the first in the United States, and showcased its recently expanded portfolio of end-to-end solutions for label and packaging production. The new HP Indigo portfolio helps print service providers (PSPs) and label converters expand into more areas of the label and packaging market to profitably grow their businesses.
Today, 12 of the top 15 label converters worldwide use HP Indigo’s market-leading,(1) high-quality technology, contributing to an increase in print volume of close to 50 percent on the HP Indigo WS6000 and WS6600 presses since Labelexpo 2011.
“Our customers report that the HP Indigo WS6600 has made a significant difference in their operations, dramatically extending the break-even point with run-lengths exceeding 10,000 meters,” said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo Division, Graphics Solutions Business, HP. “Now, with the larger formats and higher productivity of our new systems, PSPs can further expand their businesses to penetrate new markets.”
Increasing productivity, reducing inventories and expanding applications
At Labelexpo, HP will showcase the HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press with the Enhanced Productivity Mode and optional Inline Priming (ILP) unit for increased productivity and flexibility. New features for the HP Indigo WS6600 include an additional primer for the press’s ILP Unit and a SecurePack System that help expand the press’s range of applications.
With the ILP Unit, converters can run the same standard, non-treated media used in conventional production on the HP Indigo press with no off-line substrate preparation. This capability streamlines mixed production environments and makes last-minute jobs faster and easier to deliver to customers.
Michelman, a global developer of water-based barriers and coatings for flexible film packaging, paperboard, and corrugated cartons, has released a new primer for the press’s ILP unit. The Michem ILP040 primer extends the ILP’s media compatibility from paper-based substrates to synthetic media, allowing the WS6600 to support a broader range of applications and offers customers improved total cost of ownership. The ILP and the Michem ILP040 primer are backwards compatible with the HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press.
De Pere, Wisc.-based Belmark 
recently purchased the HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press and ILP unit to enhance its ability to efficiently produce a wide variety of vivid pressure-sensitive labels and folding cartons, as well as further streamline its lean production practices.
"The Inline Priming unit has been a great enhancement to reduce inventory and get materials to the customer faster," said Karl Schmidt, president, Belmark. “It allows us to run more unique materials with very short lead times.”
HP is also featuring its dedicated solutions for pharmaceutical and security label and packaging production, including use of micro-text as small as 0.4pt, security elements such as HP Electroink UV Red, and robust variable data capabilities. The company is demonstrating its new SecurePack System, a complete toolbox for automated production of pharmaceutical and security applications creating controlled and monitored environment to match the pharmaceutical production cGMP. The system is currently in beta testing and will be available for HP Indigo WS6000 and WS6600 users worldwide later this year.
The HP Indigo WS6600 also features an Enhanced Productivity Mode (EPM) that increases press throughput by 33 percent(2), from 98 linear feet (30 linear meters) per minute in four-color mode to 131 linear feet (40 linear meters), enabling faster delivery and print runs of almost any length.
HP’s booth #3223 will include the HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press with finishing equipment from HP Graphics Solution Partners, AB Graphic International and Karlville, to show the end-to-end production of digitally printed labels, sleeves, folding cartons and flexible packaging applications. The booth will also feature the HP Indigo Digital Supermarket and printed output from the HP Indigo 20000 and 30000 digital presses, which were introduced at drupa in May.
New HP Indigo 20000 for Flexible Packaging
As the first U.S. beta site for the HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press, Hamilton, Ohio-based Innovative Labeling Solutions (ILS) will build on its success as a profitable, award-winning label and package print specialist. The larger format of the HP Indigo 20000 makes it possible for ILS to pursue new applications and market opportunities.
“Our HP Indigo WS6000 series give us the speed and quality that have helped our company grow,” said Jay Dollries, owner, Innovative Labeling Solutions. “And with the new HP Indigo 20000, we’ll be able to offer a more robust solution to our clients for flexible packaging.”
Additional beta customers include U.S.-based Belmark and UK-based Shere Print, the digital arm of flexography packaging printer Ultimate Packaging.
The recently announced HP Indigo 20000 extends proven HP Indigo technology to a wider format, increasing the addressable market for digital package printing and expanding its cost and flexibility benefits to more applications. The roll-to-roll digital press is designed primarily for flexible packaging and is scheduled for commercial availability in late 2013.
With a 30-inch (76.2 cm) wide media width, up to 44-inch (1.1 m) repeat length and printing speed of 147.6 linear feet (45 linear meters) per minute in EPM, the HP Indigo 20000 adds digital capabilities to standard production lines and produces most flexible packaging applications. Converters benefit from gravure-matching print quality and up to seven color printing, including white ink, to match brand colors and achieve superb color quality. An on-press inline priming unit handles most standard flexible packaging materials from 10 to 250 microns thick.
HP also recently announced the HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press for folding carton production. Offering a 29.5 x 20.9-inch (750 x 530-mm) format size compatible with carton stocks up to 600 microns thick, the press can run 4,600 sheets per hour in EPM and 3,450 sheets per hour in four-color mode. The HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press is scheduled for commercial availability in late 2013.
HP offers flexible financing solutions for customers through HP Financial Services, the company’s leasing and life cycle asset management services division. Information is available at www.hp.com/hpfinancialservices.
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