Imatec Perth steps up with HP Indigo 5000 installation

WA digital printer boosts its print quality and capacity with the purchase of the top-of-the-line HP Indigo press from graphic arts distributors Currie.


The HP Indigo 5000, which crossed the Nullabor inside the Currie Colour Express pantech, was installed into the factory floor of Imatec Perth on Wednesday.

(Pictured: David Currie, managing director, Currie Group and Michael Mogridge, HP Indigo sales director Asia Pacific and Japan, with the Imatec HP Indigo 5000 at last month's Perth Colour Express showcase.)

The press joins the existing Indigo Platinum purchased five years ago by Mike Hay, managing director, when he brought out what was at the time functioning as a low-key prepress operation.

Hay says the speed of the HP Indigo 5000 will more than double the capacity of his businesses, and with a print quality that is “every bit as good as offset”, will enable Imatec Perth to take on its offset competitors.

“Our new press has eliminated all the problems associated with digital production, such as banding, and the six-colour capabilities offer us a wider colour gamut than we’ve had to work with previously,” says Hay.

While a common consensus in the industry is that digital became a viable choice in the last two years, Hay has worked in digital colour production for over a decade. While he insists it was viable during that time, he claims new developments have made digital production more practical than ever before.

“Digital is the way everything is going, and the overall process is definitely getting easier,” says Hay. “With our customer’s use and understanding of the PDF file format increasing, workloads are decreasing and same-day turnarounds are becoming the norm.”

“Basically, our clients are demanding short-run printing and for that there is no alternative to digital. So it is certainly a growing market,” he claims.

Imatec Perth offers a wide range of digital services, including variable data, and also specialises in display, large-format posters and prepress services like scanning, proofing and colour retouching.