Shere Print invests in HP Indigo WS6600

Shere Print, a division of the Ultimate Packaging Group, will install the first HP Indigo WS6600 digital press in the UK.

The HP Indigo WS6600 digital press will be Shere Print’s first printer since its foundation in December 2011 and was chosen for the high productivity, substrate versatility and print quality achievable. The company believes that the investment will help it successfully enter the competitive flexible packaging industry and quickly attract new customers.

‘The digital market is still new to us, but our expectations are high. We are aiming to become one of the world’s leading businesses in the digital packaging industry and I believe that the latest HP technology will support us and help make this a reality,’ said Chris Tonge, sales and marketing director, Ultimate Packaging.

The new press allows the company to deliver cost-effective short-runs, enabling Shere Print to meet growing demand for smaller, more frequent orders, driven by a need for businesses to reduce inventory costs and waste.

In addition, Shere Print can offer its customers a wider range of products utilizing the benefits of HP digital printing, such as personalization, coding and marking and the exclusive HP Indigo White Ink option, which allows customers to print on a larger variety of specialized substrates, including transparent, metallic and colored media.

‘To meet our objectives for the company, we need to offer innovative products that meet today's marketing trends. The features of the HP Indigo press will not only help us do this, but enable us to do it cost-effectively and with a fast, efficient production line,’ said Tonge.

With a printing speed of up to 60 meters per minute, and a new Enhanced Productivity Mode that increases press throughput by 33 percent for most color jobs and by 25 per cent when adding white ink, the HP Indigo WS6600 press pushes the crossover point of digital vs conventional processes by up to 50 percent. This increased productivity enables the Print Service Provider (PSP) to be flexible, efficient and profitable as well as deliver time-sensitive jobs with ease. The new optional Inline-Priming-unit also enables PSPs to print on almost all carton types, which allows customers to choose from a wider range of substrates, increasing production flexibility and lowering media-related costs.

Ultimate Packaging provides design, photography and print options using flexographic presses to some of the leading food brands in the UK but Shere Print will offer only digital, narrow web packaging options. As a group it is now able to offer customers a wider range of products, in offset and digital print.

‘I see big potential in digital solutions for our industry and HP's technology is a leader in the analogue to digital transformation,’ continued Tonge. ‘Shere Print is still in the early stages of development, but we are confident it will grow quickly and establish a clear competitive edge with the many production advantages enabled by our digital technology. Our existing customers have already shown great interest and are excited to see the first products printed on the HP Indigo WS6600 digital press.’

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