Digital print revolution: HP unveils a new digital publishing world at DRUPA 2004

VIETNAM, 27 April 2004

Apr. 2004 -- HP sells half the world's desktop printers. But they account for only three percent of the world's printed pages. For 97% of its printed matter — an estimated 18 trillion pages — the world still depends on mechanical offset presses or copiers.

All that will soon change. A long-awaited digital publishing revolution is underway, accelerated by the introduction of HP's industry-leading Graphic Arts Portfolio.

'Enterprise companies and graphic arts professionals are realizing the advantages of digital content creation and production. From in-house proofing to short-run, on-demand printing, digital workflows ultimately drive more profit,' said Vyomesh Joshi, Executive Vice President, Imaging and Printing Group, HP.

HP will be demonstrating the products and solutions that make up its Graphic Arts Portfolio at DRUPA, the printing industry's largest international exhibition, which is held every four years in Duesseldorf, Germany. DRUPA runs May 6-19.

Unlike conventional offset presses, HP Digital Publishing Solutions offer on-demand printing. In other words, the flexibility for short, fast and cost-effective print runs.

Digital printing allows a company to print brochures, personalized direct mail, labels, plastic cards and graphic overlays with the immediate data only when it is required. Last-minute revisions and corrections can be made at minimal cost. Inventory costs are virtually eliminated.

Real-time targeted marketing works because customers respond to messages that are relevant to them. Its value, however, extends beyond response rates: it simultaneously helps reduce costs and drive incremental revenue.

What this means for digital press users is a shift in business focus towards providing higher-value customer work that earns higher margins.

The centerpiece of the HP digital publishing strategy is the HP Indigo digital offset color press.

The HP Indigo press 3050 is now on the market and offers image quality that rivals offset and in some cases surpasses it, combined with high-volume printing capacity. Enhanced with reliability improvements and lower pricing, the HP Indigo press 3050 makes it easy to invest in high-quality digital printing.

The HP Indigo Press ws4000 offers a definitive competitive edge in the labels market by enabling the production of short-run, high quality color labels - quickly and on demand.

HP's first high-speed color printer, the HP color 9850mfp prints and copies up to 50 pages per minute reliably and easily. It is designed for production color printing and copying locations in medium and large businesses, central reprographics departments, quick- printers and copy shops.

For graphic design, proofing and photography, HP has introduced the six-ink HP Designjet 30 and HP Designjet 130 printing systems. Whether it is a postcard or a poster, creative professionals can enjoy the convenience of output that resists fading for 70 years ⁽²⁾ with fast color stability and color consistency at an affordable price.
New media and ink cartridges also have been developed for the Designjet systems using HP's state-of-the-art dye-based formulations. The media and ink provide professionals who need rich color depth and gloss uniformity with stunning results.

The HP Indigo press 5000 and the HP Designjet 30 and 130 printing systems incorporate CMYK Plus technology (support also is planned for the HP color 9850mfp).

CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the colors used in printing. HP's CMYK Plus enables the production of outstanding output with rich and vibrant colors that are perceptually consistent with traditional offset press in hue and lightness relationships.

This new technology truly has the potential to transform the graphic arts industry, similar to the way HP did when it co-developed sRGB (red, green, blue), the color technology standard for almost every imaging platform, such as computer and TV monitors, digital cameras and most imaging devices.

By developing technology that combines the power and flexibility of digital imaging with the quality of offset printing, HP has created a new world of opportunity for the printing industry and its enterprise customers.

• Real-time targeted marketing