HP Press Release: March 24, 2024
HP Sets New Industry Standard in Digital Printing with Advanced Technology and Intelligent Automation. New HP Solutions for Production Lines Deliver Unprecedented Productivity and Improve Economics of Digital Printing
News Highlights:
Launches HP Indigo 120K and 18K Digital Presses industry.
Defines industry standard for end-to-end automation using artificial intelligence and robotics.
Introduces innovative approach to digital security printing with HP Indigo 7K Secure Digital Press.
Today at Dscoop Edge, HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) ushered in a new era for digital printing with the latest lineup of HP digital printing presses and intelligent solutions designed to address today’s production challenges in the commercial printing and labels and packaging industries.
Printing businesses face challenges such as inflation, labor shortages, material scarcity, and environmental concerns. To sustainably grow their business, offset players need to access new growth opportunities by embracing digital printing and an intelligent production floor.
"We're committed to unlocking profitable and sustainable growth for our customers," said Haim Levit, SVP and Division President of HP Industrial Print. " Our LEP, LEPx, and inkjet technologies have improved in terms of quality, versatility, productivity, sustainability, and economics and our commitment and significant investment into continuous innovation has enabled over 8,000 printers and converters to expand their businesses and grow sustainably. HP has been a digital transformation leader for more than 30 years, and our digital printing technology has established the gold standard in commercial print and labels and packaging production."
Addressing High-Volume Production Challenges
Today’s printers are navigating increasing production challenges. Supply chain disruption, energy supply concerns and worsening sector labor shortages reinforce the need for greater efficiency, speed and reliability across the production floor.
The HP Indigo 120K Digital Press sets a new standard for high-volume production and automation, while enabling printers to move jobs from analog to digital more intuitively and economically to meet demanding customer needs. Optimizing production floors by combining analog and digital technologies, the HP Indigo 120K reduces human touchpoints and enables multi-press operation by a single operator. The new press delivers offset-matching image quality, flexible job routing between offset and digital, and an ECO mode option that reduces the press's carbon footprint by 11%[1], supporting sustainability goals.
Unlocking Profitable Growth
The next-generation of the bestselling B2 sheet-fed digital press, the HP Indigo 18K Digital Press takes versatility, efficiency, and user-friendliness to new heights. As the commercial printing sector tackles significant competitive transformation, the need for presses and solutions that help printers enrich their offering and sustainably grow their business is critical.
The HP Indigo 18K Digital Press handles the widest range of print applications ever produced with a single B2 digital press[2] , accommodating diverse substrates and job types seamlessly. Advanced AI features like auto recovery and proactive alerts enhance productivity and simplify the entire production process, achieving up to 80% press availability[3] within a single shift. Aligning with HP’s sustainability commitment, the Indigo 18K supports Enhanced Productivity Mode (EPM), delivering 24% energy savings per sheet[4].
Innovating for Restricted Digital Security Printing
HP introduces the groundbreaking HP Indigo 7K Secure Digital Press, revolutionizing restricted digital security printing by executing security-focused print jobs in a single pass. Collaborating with Jura JSP, this cutting-edge sheet-fed press enables workflows tailor-made for security production lines, so customers can diversify their offerings, cater to a comprehensive range of security needs, and acquire new customers to grow their business.
"As the printing industry embraces automation and digitalization, HP Indigo empowers customers with unprecedented levels of productivity, efficiency, versatility, quality, and cost-effectiveness," said Noam Zilbershtain, VP and GM, HP Indigo and Scitex. "Our portfolio defines the industry standard for automation and sustainability, reflecting HP's vision for the print production floor.”
“We’re also excited to announce that today HP will roll out general commercial availability of the HP Indigo V12 Digital Press, the fastest narrow web digital press on the market and first press to utilize new innovative LEPx technology[5]. Commercial availability comes after successful beta site installations including Brook + Whittle, a leader in sustainable packaging and digital printing in the US" continued Noam Zilbershtain, VP and GM, HP Indigo and Scitex.
Paving the Way for Success with Intelligent Factory Floors
HP is defining the industry approach to automation through AI and robotics, offering a comprehensive print production automation ecosystem. By leveraging automated processes, printers can achieve higher volume and more jobs per press, growing faster than the industry average[6]. HP's holistic approach combines effective presses with intelligent features from job submission to delivery.
Specific efficiency innovations include:
Indigo PQ Maestro, an intelligent start-of-day wizard to bring the press to its best performance.
Preflight, an AI-based decision-making tool that automatically predicts the suitability of the best-fit print mode by learning customers preferences.
AAA 2.0 (Auto Alert Agent) advanced, a machine-learning algorithm that increases print productivity with zero human intervention[7].
“By using AAA 2.0 we experience a significant reduction in production time, saving 1 hour for every 80,000 impressions. This not only enhances our operational efficiency, but also drastically reduces customer complaints and returns by 5-7%” highlighted Andreas Organzidis Head of Color Digital Printing, Elanders.
As the industry moves towards a more productive production floor, HP introduces Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) in collaboration with Movigo to automate media transfer, saving up to two hours per day, per press.
Developed in collaboration with printers and converters, today HP also announces the launch of the HP Sustainability Amplifier program enabling printers and converters to accelerate their sustainability agenda and offer more sustainable prints. The program, in collaboration with HP’s Sustainable Impact Strategy, aligns with HP's commitment to renewable energy and reducing CO2 emissions.
At drupa 2024 HP members of the global print community will be able to see firsthand eight automated production lines equipped with the latest innovation across HP Industrial, involving over 25 partner companies and incorporating more than 20 unique automation solutions.
For more information about HP at drupa 2024, please visit HP Industrial's Official social media hub via LinkedIn HP Digital Print, and see HP innovation for yourself at drupa 2024 in Hall 17.
[1] ECO printing mode offers sustainable gains with a thinner layer of ink. The estimated carbon footprint (calculated for press operations in France) includes main supplies, press energy consumption and supplies transportation to customer.
[2] Widest application range takes into consideration HP Indigo's extensive substrate support and vast number of ElectroInks, based on press manufacturer’s published technical specifications, September 2023.
[3] Based on HP Indigo Digital Press time distribution mode.
[4] 24% reduction in energy consumption per sheet in EPM, which requires 3 versus 4 separations.
[5]Deliver the highest production speeds at 120 meters/min (400 linear feet) for your mid- and long-run jobs. Highest production speeds based on press specification comparison of major digital printing competitors as of September 2022.
[6] Based on internal studies, highly automated customers achieve 51% higher volume and 80% more jobs per press compared to the rest of Indigo customers. Also, these customers grow 27% faster.
[7] Based on internal data: 3-minute savings for each detected artifact.