New HP Indigos for photo speciality products

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28 Feb 2010. HP Indigo introduced two digital press versions with capabilities that improve photo printing quality and colour consistency. The new presses are designed for photo-finishers, professional photographers, yearbook publishers, print service providers and other graphic arts professionals. The HP Indigo WS6000p offers professional portrait output quality as a high-quality, low-cost replacement to silver-halide systems. The enhanced HP Indigo W7200 Digital Press improves colour management and consistency for high-volume printing of photo speciality products, including photo books.

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• HP Indigo W7200

Expected to be available in July, the HP Indigo WS6000p Digital Press brings HP’s high-quality liquid electro-photographic printing technology to the portrait studio market. Designed to replace silver-halide output solutions, the new roll-to-roll press includes in-line lamination for professional portrait output at a low cost. The press includes light cyan and light magenta inks, offering photo-realistic imaging when added to the standard CMYK ink set.

The launch of the new HP Indigo W7200 Digital Press follows a 30 percent year-on-year increase for new HP Indigo press placements used in photo speciality applications. Designed to meet heavy duty production needs, the enhanced W7200 press prints 240 four-colour A4-size pages per minute at volumes of up to 7.5 million pages per month. It also includes new, linked colour-management utilities on both of its print engines for more accurate, consistent photo prints. Optional finishing systems for the press allow in-line cutting, offset stacking of book blocks and lamination.

HP additionally launched a partner solution from M-photo to manage professional lab work-flow for HP Indigo presses and silver-halide output devices. HP also announced the general availability of the ARTtrust self-certification system for photographers and artists using HP Designjet Z Series Professional Photo Printers.

“Digital has crossed the gap between traditional and digital photofinishing in terms of quality, productivity and consistency, and now digital printing surpasses silver halide for photo permanence,” said Christopher Morgan, senior vice president, Graphics Solutions Business, HP. “HP’s solutions are accelerating the shift to digital, creating new business opportunities for print service providers, publishers and photographers.”

Display permanence for HP Indigo prints
New print permanence research from Wilhelm Industrial Research (WIR) – a respected authority on digital print permanence – supports the value and image permanence of HP Indigo printing for photography applications. In a recent study, it gives pages printed with HP Indigo presses on a Kromekote paper from Smart Papers a WIR Display Permanence Rating of approximately 45 years, which is longer than the best-rated silver-halide photo paper, Fuji Crystal Archive. The HP Indigo rating is also more than twice as long as the WIR Display Permanence Rating for prints on Kodak silver-halide photo paper. The study also shows that HP Indigo photo book prints received a WIR Album/Dark Storage Rating of greater than 100 years.

“The permanence ratings from WIR provide an important validation for the use of HP Indigo in consumer and professional photographic markets as well as in the fine art world,” said Henry Wilhelm, co-founder, president and director of research at Wilhelm Imaging Research. “Good display permanence combined with excellent long-term stability, as well as freedom from yellowing for images that are in albums or are stored in other dark locations, are essential to preserving the value of historical photographs, art works and photo books.”

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