HP Indigo launches in Europe the V12, 200K digital presses

HP is showing for the first time in Europe its LEPx-based HP Indigo V12 and HP Indigo 200K digital presses at Labelexpo Europe 2023.

This technology is complemented by an HP Indigo 6K digital press, shown at the Patio Hall at Brussels Expo.

The HP Indigo V12 digital press, first seen at Labelexpo Americas 2022, is currently ending a successful beta phase and now available for early release.

‘We believe two V12 digital presses can replace eight flexo presses and completely transform our business,’ said Jeremy Letterman, vice president operations and supply chain at Brook+Whittle, running a V12 digital press in its Hamilton, Ohio print facility.

The HP Indigo V12 digital press brings the agility of digital printing to high-volume label jobs currently printed conventionally and meets the demand for personalization, fast change of art, lower waste, less inventory and on-demand delivery.

HP Indigo holds 65 percent of the worldwide digital label and packaging market value, and more than 2,600 active presses in the field.

‘Traditionally, flexo had been the label industry’s default printing equipment, with digital focus on high value jobs,’ said Noam Zilbershtain, VP and general manager, HP Indigo and Scitex. ‘But with Indigo’s new press portfolio, and especially with the HP Indigo V12 digital press, converters can shift to an ‘Indigo first’ mindset, leading to optimal efficiency, sustainability, and ROI across a versatile portfolio of print jobs. Now it’s Indigo First, flexo second.’

The HP Indigo V12 digital press is successfully completing beta sites around the world, including All4Labels, Eshuis and Brook+Whittle. For even greater productivity, ABG’s nonstop winding technology - specifically developed to run with the HP Indigo V12 digital press and also demonstrated at the booth - can be added.

HP Indigo V12 digital press Beta customer Roger Gehrke, plant manager at All4Labels Hamburg, said of his successful experience with the new press: ‘The HP Indigo V12 is a game-changer. Now we have speed, quality and versatility, which is closing the gap with conventional printing.’

Completing the portfolio on the booth is the HP Indigo 6K digital press. At Labelexpo Europe, the 6K digital press will demonstrate end-to-end complete order-to-label automation with the Web2Pack e-commerce solutions for small brands, combining the ABG Digicon Series 3 - a fully

digital line with no setup; the Storefront technology from Infigo; and digital embellishment and laser die-cutting finishing from ABG.

PrintOS Spot Master is now available on the HP Indigo 6K and 200K digital presses, enabling converters to reach spot colors in minutes, to keep them consistent throughout the run, and to share the results with their brands.

The 200K digital press is now commercially available, after completing an excellent beta phase. The only field-proven mid-web solution for flexible packaging print is designed for seasoned industry players, or for label converters who wish to diversify their business to include FP, increase their label productivity or print wider format labels and shrink sleeves. The HP Indigo 200K digital press drives on-demand delivery with no minimum orders, and enables variable designs, and minimal waste. It is the heart of the Digital Pouch Factory which along with HP Indigo partners offers a complete lamination, slitting, and pouch-making production line. Partners at the show will include Karlville Pack Ready for thermal lamination, Karlville Swiss for pouch making, and JetFX for digital embellishment.

European beta customer Marti Alaball, chief operating officer of Enplater S.A, said this week: ‘Enplater is proud to be the first owner of the HP Indigo 200K digital press in the EMEA region. We were impressed to see that software and hardware improvements across the board have made a dramatic difference in the productivity and performance of the new press. We look forward to producing great work with it.’

Carl Joachim, CMO of US HP Indigo 200K beta site ePac, added: ‘The flexible packaging market is changing, and brands of all sizes are discovering the benefits of digital print. Today, ePac serves thousands of customers across the globe enabling them to go to market faster and more sustainably with great packaging. We offer an unlimited number of SKUs with low minimum order: it’s a new ballgame.’

Printing live at the booth, HP Indigo and partners will demonstrate how to help meet brand sustainability expectations by printing on a full range of HP-recommended sustainable media including compostable, recycled and FSC certified paper , as well as a recyclable paper pouch. The circular economy approach will be demonstrated at our dedicated sustainability station. It will feature daily Happy Hour events with Tony Beer wash-off labels, which allow easy and complete label removal for smooth recycling, showcased in collaboration with Etivoet of Belgium; and pouch to pouch creation – recycling a used pouch into a new one. HP Indigo will also demonstrate a newly designed Carbon Footprint Calculator which helps converters and brands to assess the carbon footprint of a printed job.