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T.E. Raja Simhan

Images can be size of postage stamps to building wraps

Recently in Sydney

Hewlett-Packard, a $95 billion IT company, has launched new range of large format printers - HP Indigo press 3500, 5500 and HP Designjet Z6100. It now offers print service providers (PSP) the option to print digital images for customers from the size of postage stamps to building wraps, said a company official.

The printers were launched at PrintEx07 held in Sydney from May 24 to 26. Established in 1999, the event is the premier event for the Australian printing industry. The new printers would be first available in Australia in June and later extended to other parts of Asia-Pacific.

According to Mr V.S. Hariharan, Vice-President, Graphic Arts Business, HP Imaging and Printing Group, Asia-Pacific and Japan, the global graphic arts opportunity was 41.4 trillion pages (impressions) a year. However, only 6 per cent of graphic arts are digitally printed. This gives a big opportunity for PSPs to use digital printers to convert analogue printing to digital, he told newspersons.

Digital printing

Using HP's printers, PSPs can capture opportunities in commercial printing, digital photo speciality and signage segments. The digital printing opens a variety of revenue streams that are not viable through analogue printing. There are opportunities in short-run collaterals (like brochures, brochures, calendars, postcards and posters), customised/personalised direct mail and packaging applications, he said.

The HP Indigo press 3500 will be an entry and mid-level solution for those adopting digital technology for the first time and users moving from light production colour copier devices. This press is for customised direct mailers and brochures. The HP Indigo press 5500 is for large volume applications such as marketing collaterals, direct mailing, photo speciality products, books and manuals.

The HP Designjet Z61000 printer series deliver prints, including high impact indoor retail signage and museum-quality fine art photos, he said.

According to IDC, a research company, the digital printing market in the general office in India was around $650 million. On demand digital offset, short run printing was the latest technology that is catching up in India in colour printing.

HP recently opened its first Indigo Digital Press Demo Centre in Chennai at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore. For HP, this was the fifth such centre with two in the US, one each in Singapore and Europe, said a company release.

Mr Steve Donegal, HP Business Manager, HP Indigo Digital Press, Asia Pacific and Japan, said in 2006 about 10 billion impressions (pages) were made on HP digital press globally. This represented around 40 per cent growth for the PSPs. In March, Turkaiz, a US-based PSP, made 3.1 million impressions on HP Indigo press 5000, he said.

Mr Donegal said in Asia Pacific, China was the fastest growing market followed by India. However, he did not disclose county specific numbers and business strategy.

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