HP Indigo Showcases Labels and Packaging Innovation at Labelexpo 2015

HP Indigo showcased labels and packaging portfolio innovation at Labelexpo 2015, including new product features and upgrade packages, software enhancements for mass customization, as well as new financing options. These new innovations allow more customers to capitalize on the growing digital opportunity in a market where they are already achieving 30 percent page growth year over year.(1)

“With mounting pressure from brands to deliver differentiated, high-quality labels and packaging at faster and faster turnaround times, converters and PSPs are constantly looking for new avenues for growth and expansion,” said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo Division, HP. “New HP Indigo cross-portfolio innovations, including breakthrough color management and higher productivity and versatility, allow our customers to remain a step ahead of the market, time and time again.”

Expanded Narrow-Web Capabilities and Worldwide Customer Installations

HP is demonstrating new HP Indigo WS6800 Digital Press innovations, boosting color capabilities and productivity. New features include:

• Color Automation Package, a new, best-in-class digital color matching solution that uses the press’ inline spectrophotometer and new HP Indigo Labels & Packaging Print Server capabilities powered by Esko, offering converters a quick and easy process to match brand spot colors from the first label to the last. Labelexpo attendees will have the opportunity to test this new color solution as part of a “color challenge” held in HP’s booth.
• A new HP ElectroInk Fade Resistant Ink set, enabling high-value applications with high light-fastness for use outdoors.
• Enhanced media versatility, ease of use, and lower cost of operation with the new Michelman DP680 Primer.
• Integration with industry-leading digital workflow solutions, including web-to-print solutions designed for labels and packaging product ordering, as well as new proofing, pre-press and automation tools.
• HP SmartStream Designer integration with security solutions to create microtext variable data printing (VDP), anti-counterfeit QR codes, dynamic guilloche, and end-to-end track and trace solutions.

The industry’s best-selling narrow-web press series, the HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press series now boasts installations in more than 60 countries with an installed base nearly doubling over the past two years.(2) Marking the 1,000th HP Indigo WS6000 series press purchase worldwide, Italian worldwide group EUROSTAMPA is adding a fifth press to its HP Indigo narrow-web portfolio with an HP Indigo WS6800 Digital Press, to produce custom labels for wine and liquor brands. Other recent HP Indigo WS6800 purchases include:

• Kroschske Signs International in Germany, one of the largest signs and outdoor label manufacturers in Europe.
• Graficas Varias in Spain, who specializes in label production for wineries and champagne brands.
• U.S.-based Labels Specialties, a privately-held wholesale custom label manufacturer, adding digital printing capabilities for the first time to increase production flexibility and deliver faster turnaround times.
• U.S.-based Dion Labels, a legacy label printer using two new HP Indigo WS6800s to expand into shrink sleeves, cost-effectively produce long- and short-runs, as well as achieve high-quality, consistent color results.

“The HP Indigo WS6800 is a terrific advancement, with features that deliver what we wanted to achieve most from digital printing,” said John Dion, president, Dion Labels. “Advanced color capabilities, including color consistency using the inline spectrophotometer, allow us to save time and reach optimum color much faster.”

HP Indigo 20000 and 30000 upgrade packages and customer adoption

New upgrade packages for the HP Indigo 20000 and 30000 Digital Presses extend the presses’ media gamut and deliver improved quality, efficiency and productivity:

• The HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press upgrade package includes a new slitter, reinsertion capabilities and HP ElectroInk White for shrink sleeves.
• The HP Indigo 30000 Digital Press upgrade package features new options for metalized substrates as well as reinsertion capabilities.

Additionally, the HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press is compatible with conventional finishing solutions, including the ABG Digicon 3000 that can be connected inline with the HP Indigo 20000, as well as the recently announced Comexi Nexus L20000 laminator. Designed for use with the HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press, the Comexi Nexus L20000 laminator is launching at Labelexpo and is demonstrated in HP’s booth.

The first dedicated digital presses designed for packaging converters, HP Indigo 20000 and 30000 Digital Presses have reached 70 units sold worldwide since 2014 commercial availability, with six customers installing multiple presses. Recent HP Indigo 20000 purchases include:'

• Camargo Cia, de Embalagens, who purchased Brazil’s first HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press.
• CPM International, one of southern Europe’s leading labels and flexible packaging printers and converters.

“A leading print provider for major food brands, our company was facing challenges to cost-effectively meet customer demands for high-value, VDP products at varying run-lengths,” said Javier Marina, sales director, CPM International. “The HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press has allowed us to introduce new offerings to our customers, now with the ability to quickly develop and deliver new designs, and complete product personalization.”

Powering Mass Customization for Brands

Showcased in HP’s booth at Labelexpo, the new HP SmartStream Designer for Adobe Illustrator CC2015 includes access to HP SmartStream Mosaic and offers an easy-to-use, feature-rich VDP plug-in solution.

The only software of its kind, award-winning HP SmartStream Mosaic delivers highly customized campaigns where every copy is different, helping HP customers deliver unique solutions to leading brands worldwide. Most recently, Bud Light used an HP Indigo WS6800 Digital Press and the HP SmartStream Mosaic software to create 200,000 unique, limited-edition beer cans from just 31 original designs, making Bud Light the first U.S. brand to deploy HP’s mass customization technology.

HP Indigo Financing

HP Indigo Financing, a new offering from HP Financial Services, gives customers the freedom to choose how and when they pay for any HP Indigo product, with the flexibility to customize their monthly payment cycle with a multi-step structure.(3)

“As a company with a 25-year history and deep local roots, we have seen more change within the past two years than in the past two decades, with customer demand for unprecedented levels of customization,” said Scott Harris, vice president, Holly Tag & Label. “HP Financial Services helped us rethink our investment approach, enabling us to achieve financial flexibility and invest in the right solution, positioning our company to meet and now exceed evolving customer needs with industry-leading HP Indigo technology.”

(1) Based on HP internal market data as of 2015.
(2) The HP Indigo WS6800 Digital Press is the best-selling narrow web press, outselling all analog vendors, based on IDC market share data as well as HP internal and external market data as of 2015.
(3) Financing available through Hewlett-Packard Financial Services Company and its subsidiaries (HPFSC) and its or their affiliates in certain countries and is subject to credit approval and execution of standard HPFSC documentation. Rates are based on customer’s credit rating, financing terms, offering types, equipment type and options. Not all customers may qualify for these rates. Not all services are available in all countries. Other restrictions may apply. HPFSC reserves the right to change or cancel this program at any time without notice.

Source: HP.