Technology Advancements Accelerate Analog-to-Digital Printing Transformation with New HP T300 and HP Indigo W7200 Digital Presses

CHICAGO — (BUSINESS WIRE) — September 11, 2009 — HP (NYSE: HPQ) today announced significant advancements in its comprehensive range of solutions designed to drive print service providers’ (PSPs) profitable growth and competitive differentiation.

This week in booth No. 1229 at the PRINT 09 tradeshow, HP is highlighting the latest developments in its Graphics Solutions Business as it addresses the $115 billion⁽¹⁾ global market opportunity for digital color printing, including:

• Commercialization of the newly branded HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Press, the industry’s first 30-inch (762-mm) wide, high-speed, color inkjet roll-fed production device;
• Industry relationships with leading technology vendors – and a new alliance with Pitney Bowes – designed to accelerate the HP T300 Press’s presence in high-volume digital print applications and offset markets that are transforming to digital;
• High-quality output with new ColorPRO Technology making its debut in media for the HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Press and HP Designjet large-format printers;
• Commercial availability of the HP Indigo W7200 Digital Press, a new liquid electrophotographic printing (LEP) solution that is one of the world’s most productive offset-quality digital presses for the printing of dedicated applications demanding the true look and feel of offset;
• Increased opportunities for HP Indigo customers with the launch of the industry’s first white ink for sheet-fed digital presses;
• Expanded workflow capabilities through a new HP Graphics Solutions Partner Program and new versions of HP Exstream software and HP SmartStream workflow portfolio products.

“Digital color is driving growth in the graphics industry, and a slowdown in momentum seen in the industry at large does not compare with the real, rapid and continued expansion of the digital color print opportunity for PSPs,” said Michael Hoffmann, senior vice president, Graphics Solutions Business, HP. “From last year’s drupa tradeshow through today at PRINT 09, HP has proven its value to customers by being first to market in the introduction and delivery of breakthrough solutions that are empowering customers to thrive as they establish digital as the industry’s preferred printing technology.”

Transforming print with an innovative platform and alliances with industry leaders

PRINT 09 marks the official commercial launch of the HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Press. Previously named the HP Inkjet Web Press, the groundbreaking 30-inch (762-mm) wide, 400-feet-per-minute (122-meters-per-minute) solution enables digital to move from niche applications to mainstream print volumes. The press places HP in a market for high-volume production printing estimated to generate 1 trillion pages annually by 2012.⁽¹⁾

Available this year, the HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Press has already proven itself as a leading-edge solution for transforming business processes, with multiple installations in commercial customer environments that started in December 2008. Several more HP T300 presses are scheduled to be running in commercial customer printing environments by the end of 2009.

Following this week’s announcement of a planned technology alliance with R.R. Donnelley & Sons for development of HP Inkjet Web Press solutions, HP also announced the establishment of an additional sales channel for HP Inkjet Web presses that is managed and operated by Pitney Bowes, the industry’s leading provider of Intelligent Mail solutions.

Through this new alliance, Pitney Bowes is the designated HP Inkjet Web Press value-added system integrator for the transactional and transpromotional print markets. Pitney Bowes will offer the HP Inkjet Web Press as part of the Pitney Bowes IntelliJet Printing System, bringing the T300 press’s unique capabilities to the high-volume transactional output (HVTO) space.

“This is high technology business performance at its best: two global leaders coming together to offer something that customers have been asking for, and that neither company could provide entirely on its own,” said Leslie Abi-Karam, executive vice president and president, Mailstream Solutions Management, Pitney Bowes. “That is why I am so excited about the potential for this alliance, and so confident in its ultimate success.”

The alliance extends HP’s successful, long-term collaboration with Pitney Bowes to develop HVTO solutions for use with HP Indigo presses and HP Specialty Printing Systems imagers. In booth No. 1229, HP has a technology demonstration of the new HP Indigo W7200 Digital Press’s compatibility with Advanced Function Presentation data streams used in the HVTO space through an Emtex data conversion solution from Pitney Bowes.

Plus, the HP booth and the Pitney Bowes booth (No. 7708) are both showcasing an envelope inserting and imprinting line featuring HP Print Module technology, an innovative four-color-process imprinting solution running at speeds up to 400 feet per minute. Scheduled to be available in 2010, the HP Print Module is based on HP Scalable Printing Technology, a next-generation thermal inkjet platform also employed in the HP T300.

HP also announced that Rotolito Lombarda, one of Europe’s leading providers of web offset, sheet-fed offset, digital and gravure printing, has signed a customer agreement to install the HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Press. With the January 2010 scheduled installation, the Pioltello, Italy-based company will gain a competitive advantage by using the HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Press’s capabilities for medium-run-length production in color applications such as children’s books, atlases and educational and scientific publications.