HP believes the packaging market is ripe for digital exploitation, and now has a suite of print solutions which it says will enable printers to develop new markets.
Those markets include labels with the Indigo WS6600, corrugated packaging with the new Scitex FB10000, flexible packaging with the new Indigo 20000 and folding carton with the new Indigo 30000. The WS6600 is already available, the other three platforms will be released over the coming nine months. The latter three share 70 per cent of the HP Indigo 10000 platform, differing in the impression cylinder and materials handling. The reel to reel Indigo 10000 is built for foil, film and other flexible media, while the sheetfed folding carton Indigo 30000 has all seven colours laid down on the impression cylinder in one go so the board doesn’t have to travel round seven times. The Scitex FB10000, seen this week at Fespa in London is a flatbed UV printer designed to open up the corrugated packaging market, and capable of printing 500sqm an hour.
According to HP a convergence of dynamic forces and its new technologies have created new market opportunities. It says the emergence of themed packaging and micro segmentation, together with a sharp rise in SKUs has led to a high demand for short run rapid turnaround work.
HP’s drive into the labels and packaging industry had already begun, with more than 50 companies around the world now producing folding carton and flexible packaging on HP Indigo presses. In addition, more than 100 customers have agreed to purchase the HP Indigo 20000 and 30000 presses, including ten of the largest flexible packaging converters in the world, and several multinational folding carton converters. First installations of the presses are planned for the end of 2013.
However the mega event in Israel last week, which included a quartet of Aussie printers, saw HP plave itself firmly in the packaging field, saying it wants to ‘lead the transformation from analogue to digital packaging production.’
Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo Division, HP says, “Brands of all sizes are increasingly demanding packaging with higher shelf-appeal and are producing more and more packaging using HP Indigo digital printing capabilities, generating demand for our customers. Our latest HP Indigo product improvements and workflow solutions help print service providers and converters accommodate production of more jobs with greater efficiency and higher uptime, while supporting a wider range of applications without compromising quality.”
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