HP launched the widest inkjet web press yet developed that it says will reinvent corrugated packaging printing for high-volume, digital pre-print applications.
“Converters and brands alike need to create more targeted, effective packaging while reducing costs,” said Eric Wiesner, general manager, PageWide Web Press (PWP) division, HP Inc. “HP Inc. and KBA have combined forces to bring the first HP PageWide Web Press T1100S, the world’s most productive press, to market, offering more value to high-end converters with the efficiencies of pre-print and digital in one press.”
Digital printing is the fastest growing segment in packaging with a projected annual growth rate of 17 percent in a market expected to be worth $19 billion by 2019. Digital packaging solutions enable cost-effective short-runs and unlock the ability to make every box different.
Brussels-based DS Smith Packaging is the first customer to install the 2.8 meter width (110-inch) press, which can deliver significantly higher productivity and production flexibility than traditional analog technology.
“We selected the new HP PageWide Web Press T1100S as the next step in our ground-breaking digital PrePrint programme,” said Stefano Rossi, CEO, DS Smith Packaging Division. “Our co-development with HP has resulted in the first digital machine able to print at the speed and width we need for high-volume corrugated production. It will provide our customers with unprecedented short-run flexibility and quality consistency.”
While current analog printing technology is limited to printing multiple copies of one box design – all boxes look the same and are the same size – the HP PageWide Web Press T1100S, with Multi-lane Print Architecture (MLPA), creates an immense paradigm shift in the production of corrugated board, according to an HP press release.
HP MLPA splits the web into multiple print lanes, so different jobs, with different box sizes and run lengths, can be printed in the individual lanes. Multiple ultra-short or short runs can be queued and printed together, with no make-ready in between jobs, while a long run is printed in another lane.
HP MLPA, coupled with all the advantages of digital printing, allows cost-effective customization and personalization of corrugated packaging, meeting the demands for shorter print runs without having to create inventory. Corrugated converters can now print only what is needed, when it is needed.
As more brands pursue customized and personalized packaging, converters must accommodate faster turnarounds and shorter run lengths, while producing high-quality printed solutions at lower costs. Printing at speeds up to 183 linear meters (600 linear feet) per minute and 30,600 square meters (330,000 square feet) per hour, the HP PageWide Web Press T1100S helps corrugated converters quickly take on new, complex jobs at speed.