THE biggest stand at drupa will belong to HP, with some 6,200sqm of floor space giving it the whole of Hall 17, the first time in the event’s history that a digital print vendor has been the largest exhibitor. The company will have some 230 tonnes of technology on the floor, but the technology is only part of the story for HP. Describing drupa as a ‘landmark event’ Mike Boyle, GM Graphics Solutions Business, Asia Pacific and Japan, says, “Our drupa message is clear: Reinvent the possibilities for your business. This year, HP’s focus will be to showcase, network and educate.”
Showcase
Boyle says, “We will be highlighting great opportunities in digital print to educate drupa attendees on our technology, showcase the latest in end-user outputs, and a providing a chance to network with industry peers. Ultimately, this will take attendees on a journey of how to reinvent.”
“We have the biggest space at drupe, we will put power in the hands of each printer to increase their knowledge and pass on value for their customers.”
“Recently Griffin Press has been transitioning from offset to a digital press print company. The Griffin guys are in an unassailable position by offering printing on demand for customers with order numbers as low as one unit. Griffin Press will now offer instant turnaround, minimal shipping time and no waste.”
Five years ago Griffin was a traditional offset book printer, in the coming weeks it will migrate a significant percentage of its offset book publishing business to its fleet of digital web presses and be in an enviable position in publishing. “By highlighting the value our technology can bring it will create a sustainable, dynamic and engaging business and set its business apart.”
HP has been in the printing business for decades, with that experience brings solid strategies and programmes to educate its end-users on the value of digital print.
To challenge its own technology, HP facilitates seminars with brand owners to highlight the benefits and features of HP Indigo Digital Presses. Boyle says, “These brand seminars are a great opportunity to hear first-hand about emerging sales and marketing objectives from the marketers themselves. We also get to demonstrate the capabilities of Indigo including our personalisation applications.”
“Colour is critical to define an identity. Our customers and the brands they work with demand high-quality colour and consistency regardless of output quantity.”
Boyle points to the recent success of Oreo’s Christmas promotion in the US. The campaign leveraged HP Indigo digital technology to produce cost effective individual packets of Oreo cookies, complete with a personalised message featured on each packet. He says, “Receiving a box of Oreos with a warm Christmas Greetings message creates a high impact and a longer lasting memory for the recipient. Our technology enabled Oreo marketers to reinvent their marketing strategies to deliver. I personally challenge marketers to continue to push the limits of the current creative mind-set.”
“HP platforms are not tied to fixed applications. HP Indigo is driving innovation at an end-user level, and offering higher value commercial opportunities. As we develop the technology, the breadth of applications increases and HP Indigo grows beyond putting ink on paper. To give you an idea of what printers can see at our stand, HP Indigo technology is now printing on canvas as well as synthetic and natural polymers, adding yet another string to its Indigo bow.”
Network
Dscoop, Digital Solutions Cooperative, is an independent community of HP Graphic Arts business owners and technical professionals. Boyle says, “No other organisation brings together a community of thousands of members worldwide to share best practice on the same scale and penetration of Dscoop.
“It is focused on enabling the community to grow digital print by creating meaningful forums and opportunities to network with industry peers.
Dscoop members will be the first to benefit from global business opportunities and real-time operational input from HP across Asia-Pacific including Australia and New Zealand.”
HP also has a programme for new HP Indigo operators, run in Singapore, which trains operators in optimising their technology and working across multiple applications.
According to Boyle HP is helping take print business owners on an analogue to digital transformation. He says, “We have embarked on a journey to a digital future. The HP Graphics Solutions business is oriented to an ink based portfolio, and we are making a massive investment in commercial and production print. HP and its pace of innovation delivers impressive technology in large format and commercial production, at home and in-office printing and personal systems computing. HP has vast economies of scale that truly benefit the printing industry.”
Educate
The new HP PageWide large format technology for instance – which Boyle says will ‘disrupt’ existing technology – uses the same printhead developed for HP’s desktop printers. The same printhead technology is leveraged all the way up from the office printer, through PageWide to the T-Series web printer.
Boyle says, “This technology scale is exclusive to HP. It puts HP in a position of strength as we leverage print across multiple platforms. Print is a crucial part of the marketing mix and is complementing digital marketing in different and innovative ways.”
Visitors to the drupa stand will also get the chance to see Print OS, HP’s new cloud based eco system for Indigo, Scitex, Latex, and Pagewide, which operates via a mobile app.
Boyle says, “Print OS provides insight into production flow, offers quick access to optimise workflow and automatically selects an optimum output. Print OS automatically assesses the media requirements of upcoming jobs and limits the need for user interaction including materials change-over which takes time and resource to manage.”
“HP Print OS offers an open architecture, and we are looking to third party developers to produce apps. Print OS brings together individual segments into one cohesive ecosystem, and it will be developed to eventually integrate with management information software.”
Print OS is in its first stage, but there is little doubt it will develop quickly to become an essential part of a digital print business, as the efficiencies it will deliver become compelling.
Australian printers are keen drupa visitors, and according to Boyle, are early adopters. He says, “Australian print businesses punch above their weight, they look to push the boundaries, they are inventive and alive to exploiting emerging possibilities.”
“HP will be here for the long run. We are here to support our customers and partners and I trust our drupa focus of ‘showcase, educate, and network’ will extend HP’s reinvent message in a meaningful way beyond drupa.”
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