HP's Graphic Arts Blog

UK's Print Business Magazine interviews HP's Stephen Nigro on how Digital Printing is at the Tipping Point

HP Graphics & Imaging Business — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:43:00 GMT

DIGITAL reaches the tipping Point
The tipping point is when an idea becomes unstoppable, when a niche becomes the dominant forcue, and Stephen Nigro at HP sees signs that the tipping point is coming in print

IF IPEX '93 WAS A MILESTONE FOR Indigo, the place where it burst on the scene with digital colour printing, Drupa 2008 is going to be no less important for HP, the company that now owns Indigo. At that Ipex, Indigo was a relatively small player, at Drupa HP's stand will be smaller only than those of Heidelberg and Print City, It will be bigger than Xerox. It needs to be. Alongside the new Indigo 7000 press, the high speed dqet web press, there will be a range of its large format inkjet printers including an as yet unseen machine said to be as large as two football pitches". That comment came from an American, so cannot be taken as an accurate measure given that Americans have only a passing acquaintance with football. It did not come from Stephen Nigro, who as senior vice president of the imaging and graphics business, heads the division, even though he is most defunitely American. His background includes spells as a research scientist in HP's inkjet labs, giving him great knowledge of the thermal idqet technology that HP has developed into a modular system of robust, relatively low cost heads that can be bolted together to come up with any number of different products. This Scaleable Print Technology was first used in a photo printing kiosk, then in an office copier-printer, and will now be seen in new wide format inkjet presses and the high speed inkjet web that HP will show at Drupa.
(full article can be found at http://www.fcm-ezines.com/tpb/tpb-mar08/ page 34)

Whatheythink.com's Patrick Henry (part II)

HP Graphics & Imaging Business — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:43:00 GMT

HP States Where It’s Going (continued)

Posted by Patrick Henry on March 14, 2008

Henk Gianotten’s response to our initial post about the HP pre-drupa press briefing in Israel earlier this week prompts some additional comments. Throughout the program, HP had relatively little to say about end-use applications. The emphasis mostly was on the technical aspects of the new equipment, with almost none of the marketing razzle-dazzle that has accompanied HP’s “Print 2.0” presentations elsewhere. The heavy-duty marketing pitch probably was being reserved for the large group of customers who were being flown into Tel Aviv just as the journalists and analysts were departing. I think that the main purpose of the editorial briefings was to reassert the technical leadership of Scitex and Indigo in their respective fields, and I, for one, was quite impressed by the many advancements that both divisions have made since they jointly hosted a similar media event as independent companies prior to drupa 2000.

We’ll all have to wait until May to see the new 30" inkjet press at drupa 2008, but at the Indigo plant in Rehovot, the editors and analysts were shown a series of imposition diagrams illustrating product layouts for which the press is said to be suitable. One depicted a four-across arrangement of 7" x 14" transpromotional document pages. Others presented book, magazine, and newspaper pages arrayed in actual six- and eight-up signatures—novelties of pagination in the digital world. The implication was that HP wants to position the press squarely within the comfort zones of commercial and publication printers, offering it as a digital platform that can handle the kinds of offset job setups that they’re used to and are deriving the bulk of their revenues from.

It’s true that when HP’s inkjet press begins to ship in the second half of next year, waiting for it will be a new generation of fast, smart, and highly automated offset presses that will not give up quick-turn, short-run work to digital alternatives without a bruising fight. They still will lack the ability to print variably, but as an HP representative noted during the briefing, the practice of using preprinted offset shells for transpromo documents and other variable-content work isn’t going to be abandoned anytime soon. I agree, too, that HP will need all of the marketing muscle at its disposal to get the message through to printers—but I have also seen that when HP throws its weight behind a product pitch, the pitchees tend to pay attention.

http://printceoblog.com/

Want to Know More About HP’s pre-drupa News?

HP Graphics & Imaging Business — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:48:00 GMT

Watch HP's pre-drupa summit highlights here:
http://h30418.www3.hp.com/?fr_story=c2dd690bf951db9fe6592e0ee1025eb0d7716b44&rf=bm

Wide-Format Imaging Editor Denise Gustavson is Today's Special Guest Blogger

HP Graphics & Imaging Business — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:12:00 GMT

Guest Blogger: Denise Gustavson, editor, Wide-Format Imaging

March 11, 2008

I have to admit that when HP asked me to blog for them as one of its guest bloggers for its pre-drupa 2008 event in Israel, I was a little daunted. After two days of meetings and demonstrations, they wanted me to try to jot down some of my initial thoughts about the news they were announcing. But it was clear to me even before the event began, that HP was very excited about the news they had to relate.

And, after my meetings and demonstrations and discussions, I would have to admit that they had every right to be excited.

While the news of the NUR and MacDermid ColorSpan acquisitions were necessary-such as the discontinuation of the Scitex XL 2200 and the NUR Fresco and Tango as the Scitex and NUR product lines were consolidated-it was even more interesting to hear about HP's next technology developments and R&D investment: latex ink.

Out of all the announcements that came out of this pre-drupa graphic arts summit-even the news of the HP Inkjet Web Press, HP SmartStream, the HP Indigo 7000-latex ink has a much broader application going forward-at least in my opinion, for the wide- and grand-format markets. HP's commitment to find an alternative ink technology (other than solvent) and one that is environmentally-friendly, is a daunting task. While I believe the "green" or "sustainability" movement/trend with the printing industry is a key driver to innovation in this arena, it takes more than a good idea to shift an industry. There has to be a strong financial reason for end-users-print-for-pay providers-to make such a drastic shift from current technology, some of which has been doing a good job for their customers.

From the small glimpse I've seen-the ink, printed samples, new printhead technology, the various presentations and discussions with the product managers and experts-I think this technology has legs, has the ability to become one of the next steps in the evolution of the wide-format industry.

HP, however, is not unique in trying to develop a new ink technology to replace aggressive solvent. Industry-wide, there seems to be a general consensus that solvent has a short life span, but until an alternative is found that offers the same kind of reliability and product characteristics-outside durability, scratch- and smudge-resistance, the ability to print on the same range of media as solvent, the ability to print on flexible media surfaces without cracking, a wide color gamut-and a low or comparable price point, there is limited reason for many to switch. Especially because these inks require a new printing platform.

According to HP, the new latex inks-which are 70 percent aqueous-based-will offer both the price point and all the same properties as solvent inks but without the harmful VOCs. This is all well and good, but the one snag, as mentioned before, is that these inks won't work in the current range of printing equipment currently on the market. The new inks have been developed for use with the Edgeline printheads which offer a 4.25-inch-wide swath and 10,000+ nozzles per head.

But right now, the real question is this: Will print providers spend the money on a new printing platform to support the new inks when the current line of printers and services are working well to meet their customers' needs and expectations? That's one question I can't answer at this point, partially because the new printers with the ink and head technology have yet to be released-or even shown. HP has said the printer-or a glimpse of the printer-will be available at drupa in a few months and I am interested in seeing how this technology will be used, especially in its initial application. As of now, mum's the word on any printer product details-although I've heard the printer is impressive. I guess I'll have to wait until drupa to make any final observations or conclusions about the new printer and inks.

And then there's always the question of what the print provider wants to offer their customers-or what their customers are asking for. If a new print platform with environmentally friendly inks that can print on any solvent media and 30 percent of UV media is what they're looking for, this might be a wise investment for them. But, it would have to be taken on a case by case basis.

But then, there is still the media that needs to be taken into consideration. While the ink might be environmentally friendly, it's only one piece of the larger puzzle. Creating environmentally-friendly print media is the next step to creating a truly green printing option. While the new latex inks can print on vinyl, that doesn't really provide a fully "green" solution. HP also announced the availability of media with recycled content, but this is also an area that requires innovation and I know several companies are already researching media alternatives to the environmentally-unfriendly and low-cost media currently on the market.

The potential is there. But will HP convince the print-for-pay providers that they have the best "green" solution? At this point, the product with the best properties and price point will probably be the winner and HP is one of the players in the field. Do I think this is the right solution? Maybe. For some, this will probably be the answer they're looking for and the cost of putting in a new printing platform/system is simply the cost of doing business and staying on the leading edge. Others might look for options within their current capabilities. But, no matter which way you look at it, the "green" or environmentally-friendly trend is driving change within the graphics arts market-whichever segment you belong to. Product innovations such as this are defining the wide-format industry and helping to drive the market forward.

http://www.wide-formatimaging.com/interactive/

WhatTheyThink.com's Patrick Henry Weighs in...

HP Graphics & Imaging Business — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Guest blogger: Patrick Henry, executive editor, WhatTheyThink.com

March 11, 2008

Benny Landa acknowledged that he might have been a little premature when he predicted, back in 1993, that in 10 years, all printing would be digital. But he’s sticking by a prophecy he made more recently: two nights ago, to be precise, when he addressed a large group of print industry editors and analysts at the commencement of HP’s pre-drupa 2008 event in Tel Aviv, Israel.

By the next drupa in 2012, declared Landa, “this company (HP) will be the largest graphic arts company in the industry.” He has had good reason and plenty of quality time to track HP’s business trajectory: he sold Indigo, the manufacturer of the world’s first commercially successful digital press, to HP in 2001.

Of HP, Landa insisted, “You will say, ‘nobody can catch them now.’”

It was a bold claim, even for an industry figure of Landa’s visionary outspokenness. But it soon proved to be the keynote for all that would follow.

The next day, Landa’s assertiveness was matched by that of Stephen Nigro, senior vice president of HP’s Graphics and Imaging Business unit, who confirmed HP’s intention to become number one in digital graphic arts by driving the migration of pages from analog to digital. Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager of the Indigo division, forecasted a tenfold increase, to 100 billion pages, in the volume produced by HP Indigo customers between this year’s drupa and the one that will take place in 2016.

And the industry-watchers at HP’s pre-drupa event also learned that when they venture to Messe Düsseldorf in May, they’ll be confronted by an HP presence as grand as its vision of the leadership position it wants to occupy: the third-largest stand at the fair, and the largest digital exhibit of all.

It all could be dismissed as corporate hubris were it not for the fact that HP is backing its self-confident stance with a string of pre-show product announcements as significant as anything that is likely to be heard at drupa or anywhere else for many months to come.

In Israel, home to the manufacturing centers of its Indigo and Scitex wide-format divisions, HP unveiled major new products and technical advancements that seem certain to strengthen its hold on all of the digital output segments it serves. The announcements are all the more striking for having occurred in market areas that, until very recently, were not viewed as targets of opportunity by HP. As Nigro put it, “Two years ago, HP in the graphic arts did not exist.”

But HP has come a very long way as a force to be reckoned with since then, partly through acquisitions (MacDermid ColorSpan and NUR, along with Scitex), partly through heavy investment in R&D, and partly through a relentless strategic focus on what it calls Print 2.0: an all-encompassing marketing campaign aimed at inspiring the creation of Web-enabled content for output on next-generation HP print platforms. The distance traveled was evident in the potentially long reach of the new solutions announced in Israel.

• Commercial printers—along with the manufacturers of the offset lithographic equipment they use—are sure to take notice of HP’s Inkjet Web Press: a high-volume platform said to be capable of printing rolls up to 30" wide at production printing at speeds up to 400 feet per minute/122 meters per minute (up to 2,600 letter-size 4/0 pages per minute). The press, which will have a base price of $2.5 million when it ships in the second half of 2009, was built to take on work that used to be the sole preserve of offset: newspapers, books, and direct-marketing materials. It will also be aimed at producers of transpromotional documents.

• Landa’s creation, the Indigo family of variable-data digital color presses, gets three new additions: the 120 A4 ppm HP Indigo 7000; the HP Indigo W7200, for 13.4" wide roll-fed output up to 240 A4 ppm; and the HP Indigo WS6000, with numerous features for label and packaging printers. An existing model, the HP Indigo 5500, gets new substrate, feeder, and inline UV coating options.

• A new line of water-based latex inks for signage and other wide-format applications will deliver, says HP, years of indoor and outdoor durability without solvents, allergens, VOCs, ozone, or unpleasant odors. The inks will be optimally used on wide-format devices incorporating the new HP Wide Scan Printing Technology.

• SmartStream, the first branded workflow from HP, is a collection of graphic arts workflow solutions for production and design. The product's open-architecture design includes components from nearly 30 vendor partners.

HP also reported taking steps toward reducing environmental impact and promoting sustainability in connection with each of these announcements. More new information about HP’s entire product portfolio will be forthcoming at drupa.

Welcoming the journalists and analysts, Landa remarked that Indigo’s original intention simply had been to manufacture the world’s fastest copier. History records where the momentum of that objective took the concept of digital color presses. HP caught some of that momentum, stirred in a great deal more of its own, and now is moving toward its goal of digital dominance even faster than its fastest presses can print. All eyes—and more than a few bets—will be on HP as it races the competition toward that ever-moving finish line.

http://printceoblog.com/

What Do You Have to Say?

HP Graphics & Imaging Business — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:25:00 GMT

In the spirit of HP's "What Do You Have to Say?" this blog is dedicated to you - the reader - in an effort to create a link between what HP is doing in the Graphic Arts, where the Industry is going, and, more importantly - What, YOU, the Customers have to Say about it. Of course, we want you to benefit from our unique view as a leading innovator and supplier to the burgeoning digital printing and publishing market. But without your feedback, this effort will have as much relevance as a polyester unitard at a Spring fashion show in Milan. (My apologies to unitard owners everywhere).

In conjunction with our announcements for drupa 2008 ( http://www.hp.com/go/predrupa) We are happy to show you what we think is both dramatic and relevent for this exploding market space.

Chances are if you are reading this you have an interest... or stake... or passion in what is happening in the wonderful world of a market in transition (from analog to digital) and on the verge of continual and irreversible change. At HP we have an interest as well. In fact, over the past year we have invested a significant amount in what we consider one of the leading growth vectors for our portfolio of Business assets. If you have looked in amazement at a 400ft Building Wrap, Tasted Wine with a Label on the bottle (usually the best kind!), Produced an on-line Photo Book, or gawked at a car wrap (how do they do that?) - then it was likely produced or printed on an HP asset.

In the coming weeks we will be sharing about HP's continual innovation and striving to make sure the HP Digital Graphic Experience leads the industry and exceeds customer expectations. We will also share how this fits into our (and every other company's) leading asset - Sustainability. If its not green then its not gold.

What's more, as a frequent reader of this blog, you will get a great view of what's next. Not only from our product and solutions point of view, but from other industry leading experts as well. So stay tuned. Next Week we will be blogging live from our Pre drupa event and the next best place to being there will be viewing it here!