Digital print pioneer backs up again for HP Indigo after 12 years

The first two high-end digital colour presses came into Australia in October 1994 to the WYSIWYG facility in Kent Street in Sydney’s CBD following the Indigo launch at IPEX that year. Michael Tan and co-director Albert Tadja were instrumental in kick-starting a new era in Australian printing by being the first in what was a daring leap into the unknown. The technology was so new at the time that Indigo would only agree to a sale if the customer bought two machines to provide backup in case one went down.

Over the years the two machines were upgraded onsite to take advantage of new developments but in recent years they reached the limits. One of the presses was disposed of last year when WYSIWYG opened new premises in St Leonards in Sydney’s north, while the surviving press was still producing print until it was decommissioned a few weeks ago as a trade in.

The decision to invest in the Indigo 5000, top of the HP digital press range, is a sure indication of how far the technology has come in the intervening years, according to Michael Tan. “The quality is quite different now. We’re now running jobs we would not have been able to accept some years ago,” he said.

Tedja, who manages the St Leonards facility, backs him up. “The quality of printing from the HP Indigo now is amazing. It has very much improved from the early days.”

Although WYSIWYG does a fair amount of variable data work on its digital presses (it also has an original Xeikon), most of the work on the press is still short run on demand printing. Tedja says the client base has expanded and grown since they first started, “but they are still not using anything more than basic variable data printing.”

He expects to be able to produce a lot more print with the new, more powerful machine.

Phillip Rennell, Current Images, the digital printing division of Currie & Co, the HP Indigo agent in Australia and New Zealand, hailed the decision as a vindication of the brand’s superior level of technology and the service backup provided. “No one has more experience in digital printing than WYSIWYG. They have experimented with most of the other technologies and have helped the whole market develop to the stage it is now.

“When they wanted to upgrade to the very latest digital technology, HP Indigo proved the winner. When operators with this much experience choose the HP Indigo 5000, it sends a clear message to the industry.”

The deal was also heartily welcomed by Michael Mogridge, HP Digital Press Sales Director Asia Pacific & Japan, who pioneered Indigo in the region. “This was where it all started and to get them back at this point is great news,” he said. He claimed it proves HP Indigo’s sales and service combination is the digital printing industry benchmark.