New wave of inkjet as HP launches T400 in Los Angeles

The release of HP's new T400 press is set to make waves in the inkjet market around the world. As an Australian journalist invited to attend the official launch in the US this week, Mitchell Jordan got the star treatment while witnessing the machine in action.

Los Angeles and celebrities go hand in hand, so it was fitting that there was not one, but several red carpets at O'Neil Data Systems in LA, the location of HP's lavish press conference.

Paparazzi and limosines may have been lacking, but amongst graphic arts writers, the chance to see HP's latest press, the T400, was as exciting as arriving at the Oscars.

Second speaker for the day, Chris Morgan, senior vice president at HP's graphic solutions business, confirmed what most of us already knew, or at least strongly suspected, when he announched that today was the official launch of the press.

"It's our most productive colour inkjet press ever. It's our flagship," he said.

Indeed, the flagship is already flying high with one installation at O'Neil Data Systems. Recently, South Australia's Griffin Press announced that it had ordered the press' predecessor, the T350 which will have a major effect on local book production.

Pictured: Print21 reporter, Mitchell Jordan (centre) with HP's Mike Neuffer and Ann Goyou of O'Neil with the T400.

At O'Neil, the T400 was delivered in November last year and has already enhanced the company's offerings in the areas of publishing; pharmaceutical; finance and direct marketing with its speeds of up to 600 feet per minute and the ability to print 5000 books per hour.

DM back on the map

According to Mark Rosson, the press has strengthened the range of direct mail solutions that O'Neil is able to offer. This is a significant change given the widespread decline in DM volumes.

"This economy has hammered the [DM] industry," he said. "Now, we've been able to produce better direct marketing pieces through demographic imaging in colour, both on envelopes and documents."

Now that is pushing the envelope.

William O'Neil, founder and CEO of William O'Neil and Company, who also launched Investors Business Daily newspaper in 1984 told the audience that "you can't stop the innovator and entrepreneur."

A good thing he has this attitude, because it is likely that his newspaper, currently printed on the company's newest piece of offset kit (a KBA purchased in 1994) could also be printed digitally on the T400.

"We won't be buying anymore offset presses," Rosson (pictured) told Print21. "We're testing the newspaper on the T400 now and the samples are fantastic. The T300 didn't give us a cost benefit to convert over, but we are now very seriously considering moving it to the T400."