PUBLICATION CENTER

At the HP Graphic Arts Summit for journalists and analysts held May 10-11 in Rome, HP formally introduced the Designjet Z6100, a fast, eight-color, aqueous pigment-ink large-format printer for indoor graphics, art reproduction, maps, renderings, and short-term outdoor signage.

Available in 42 in. and 60 in. widths, the HP Designjet Z6100 uses eight Vivera pigment inks and HP DreamColor technologies for color consistency and matching with other devices, and two new technologies that make the printers capable of outputting graphics at speeds of up to 1,000 sq ft/hr. The new Double Swath technology creates a print swath up to 1.8 inches wide and a new Optical Media Advance Sensor that improves how the paper is advanced.

The printers feature 775 ml ink cartridges and can handle jumbo rolls of paper (up to 575 ft. long). Four models are available, ranging in price from $9,995 for a 42-in. printer without a PostScript RIP to $18,500 for the 60-in. model with a PostScript RIP.

The HP Designjet Z6100 is one of many new products HP announced at the Summit. Other products included:

• HP DesignjetT printer series for large-format technical printing

• HP Indigo 3500 entry-level press for commercial and in-plant printing shops looking to adopt digital presses for the first time or switch over from color copiers

• Indigo 5500 production-grade press for marketing collateral, books, manuals, photos, and photo merchandise

• HP Indigo UV Coater which applies a gloss, satin, or matte finish that protects printed pages during binding and other finishing processes and shipping

HP is expanding its portfolio of graphic-arts printers because the company estimates that the value of the printed pages in the global graphic arts market will reach $98 billion by 2010. And, a growing percentage of these pages will be printed digitally as more print buyers recognize the value of shorter runs of more customized printed materials.

InfoTrends has estimated that in the U.S. alone, the retail value of color print-on-demand jobs will grow from $28.5 billion in 2005 to $57.8 billion by 2010. Even if these forecasts turn out to be off by several billions of dollars, that’s still a lot of digital printing.