HP Expands Labels And Packaging Portfolio With New Innovations

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HP has announced the new HP Indigo 6900 digital press, which according to the company, is the most advanced labels press in the world (1). The press features Pack Ready for labels for enhanced resistance, HP Indigo ElectroInk Silver, and a new high-performance Digital Front End. Another new solution is the HP PageWide C500 press for mainstream corrugated production.

The expanded labels and packaging portfolio drives printing and converting toward more flexible, productive and profitable digital printing of any application.

'The expansion follows the largest packaging deal ever for HP Indigo with ePac. Our customers are growing fast across all segments and are experiencing massive success. They are leveraging HP technology to innovate and deliver on brands’ evolving needs,' said Santi Morera, Global Head of Graphics Solutions Business, HP Inc. 'These new technologies we are launching are needed now more than ever and will allow our customers to be more productive.'

Innovations increasing digital production profit

The new HP Indigo 6900 digital press increases the addressable label market while offering higher revenue per metre, including:
· Pack Ready for labels for the production of high-resistance labels for food, household, chemical, and pharma labels. Four beta sites are producing commercial jobs.
· New HP Indigo ElectroInk Silver, now commercially available, delivers metallic effects across a wide colour gamut, similar to Pantone 877.
· HP Indigo ElectroInk Invisible Blue and Yellow, visible under UV light for brand protection and promotional labels
· Integration with the HP Indigo GEM embellishment unit, the first fully digital, one-pass label printing and embellishment solution for spot, tactile, foil, holograms, mini textures and lamination.

Additionally, the high-performance HP Production Pro for Indigo Labels and Packaging is now included in the HP Indigo 6900 and rolling out this year to HP Indigo’s entire Labels and Packaging portfolio. Featuring five times faster RIP power and the Esko Colour Engine, the powerful Digital Front End provides extensive productivity and scalability for continuous digital production, to allow converters to scale and manage their digital production across multiple presses and multiple sites, increase the number of jobs per day, and shortening delivery cycles.

Pack Ready Laminator commercially available

For the HP Indigo 20000 flexible packaging press, the HP Indigo Pack Ready Laminator is now commercially available. A pioneering technology, Pack Ready Lamination allows for immediate time-to-market of HP Indigo digitally printed flexible packaging by eliminating the use of adhesives. The Pack Ready Laminator is manufactured and supplied by Karlville.

Extended capabilities for the HP Indigo 30000

The HP Indigo 30000 digital press offers converters an opportunity to build new profitable businesses that leverage cost-effective short runs and added value long-run production. The new capabilities and improved performance include:
· Increased productivity to enable dozens of folding carton jobs per day and up to one million B2 sheets per month.
· The widest folding carton application span on one press, leveraging wide media ranges from paperboards to metallised, synthetic, and transparent media, new security features like micro-text and micro QR-codes, and new automatic mass customisation and personalisation capabilities.
· The Tresu iCoat 30000, sold and serviced by HP Indigo, for one robust folding carton production line.

Addressing the dynamic corrugated packaging market

HP also announced that Kiwiplan, a leading MIS/MES software solutions provider for corrugated and rigid packaging, will be fully integrated, keeping the HP PageWide C500 presses running at optimum capacity, while helping customers to save time and costs through production and supply chain efficiency.

Five customers in Europe and the US have already purchased the groundbreaking PageWide C500 Press for direct-to-board post-print corrugated production. The first unit will ship next month.

Using HP’s high-performance single-pass Thermal Inkjet technology, the HP PageWide C500 provides a cost-effective digital alternative for offset lamination and flexo production. The press delivers offset quality direct-to-board with mainstream productivity on both coated and uncoated papers, delivering packaging with vibrant graphics that preserves even the finest details.

The HP PageWide C500 uses HP CV150 Water-Based Inks, which contain no UV-reactive chemistries. These true water-based inks allow corrugated converters to print primary and secondary food-related packaging without an additional barrier (2). This robust and trusted solution enables compliance with the most stringent global food safety regulations and industry guidelines.

(1) Based on HP Internal analysis and independent market data, and compared to the HP Indigo WS6800 Digital Press.

(2) HP CV150 water based inks intended for printing on external side of corrugated packaging, including primary packaging (sometimes referred to as ‘Food Contact Packaging’ in US). Third party (Intertek) World-Wide Statement of Regulatory Listing available for HP CV150 water based inks, based on Tenax migration testing on E-flute corrugated packaging.

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