Digital Domain — October 2010

Digital technologies and news were at the forefront of Labelexpo Americas 2010. Here is a sampling of digital information of interest to the label printing market coming out of the show.

HP Indigo Installs 1,000th Press
ROSEMONT, Ill.—At the opening of Labelexpo Americas on September 14, HP announced it had achieved a milestone of 1,000 HP Indigo digital presses installed among labels and packaging customers.

"In the 10 years since Indigo and HP signed the first strategic agreement, we have grown our customer base from a small number of pioneers using Indigo technology for label printing to 1,000 HP Indigo presses worldwide using a broad range of labels and packaging applications from HP and our partners," says Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo division, HP. "This includes 130 installations of our higher-volume HP Indigo WS6000 in more than 30 countries.

HP Indigo's exhibit included new capabilities for its digital press portfolio, including:

• Cut-and-stack label and folding carton production on a sheetfed HP Indigo press 5500;

• Extended media gamut capabilities for the high-volume HP Indigo WS6000 digital press;

• An optional dryer for flexible packaging production;

• Technology upgrades for the HP Indigo WS6000 that expand the press's range of compatible media, provide greater color consistency on long runs, and allow for higher levels of utilization; and

• New software and finishing offerings.

Digital Label Systems

ROSEMONT, Ill.—Allen Datagraph Systems Inc. (ADSI) showcased the iTech AXXIS digital Label System and offered a new technology demonstration of the iTech AXXIS Digital Label System for proofing labels in any shape—on-demand.

"Many small-to-medium-sized companies have the need for high-quality labels. However the cost associated with purchasing small quantities of high quality labels is one of the biggest issues these companies have to resolve—while still offering products that are appealing to the consumer at the point of sale. Until the iTech AXXIS Digital Label System, they had only a few options," explains Mark Vanover, VP sales and marketing at ADSI. "They were required to purchase labels in large quantities creating inventory that may never be used, or they paid a high premium for short-run labels—both options decreasing their profitability. Their last option was to use inferior pre-cut label solutions. Based on feedback from our customers, the iTech AXXIS Digital Label System represents a paradigm-shift in label manufacturing by offering a complete table-top label production system, printing high-quality labels at a low cost/label to produce."