HP Indigo Pack Ready Lamination and HP PageWide C500 Press

HP announced the HP Indigo Pack Ready Lamination and the HP PageWide C500 Press.

May 5, 2017

At interpack 2017, HP Inc. announced commercial availability of HP Indigo Pack Ready Lamination, allowing immediate time-to-market for flexible packaging. Pack Ready lamination creates high-quality, high-performance laminates for HP Indigo digitally printed flexible packaging without the use of adhesives. HP Indigo Pack Ready Lamination is designed for HP Indigo flexible packaging digital printing on the HP Indigo 20000, 8000, and WS6800 digital presses.

It provides strong laminate bond strength with zero curing time for immediate pouch converting, opening new opportunities for digitally printed flexible packaging. Developed and patented by HP, Pack Ready Lamination was first previewed at drupa 2016 as a proof-of-concept design, and fast-tracked into a fully developed commercial solution based on positive partner feedback and demand. The solution includes the HP Indigo Pack Ready Laminator and Pack Ready Film.

“Pack Ready is the next step in the HP digital disruption of printing for flexible packaging, the fastest-growing packaging sector,” says Alon Bar-Shany, HP Indigo general manager, HP Inc. “We are proud to make this solution available to HP Indigo customers to help them maximize the value of HP digital print, drive brand engagement, shorten time to market, and cut waste and costs.”

HP Inc. also announced the commercial model of the Pack Ready Laminator,optimized for the HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press. Now commercially designed, it will be manufactured and supplied by Karlville. Customer beta testing of the laminator is scheduled for this summer. First units are to ship by the end of the year.

At interpack 2017 (Hall 13, Booth 13C93), the commercial Pack Ready Laminator will be demonstrated for the first time for production of digitally printed, laminated,on-demand pouches, using HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press printing, Pack Ready Film and a Bosch Form Fill and Seal (FFS) machine. HP’s patented Pack Ready Film contains a heat active polymer layer thatmechanically interlocks with HP’s Indigo ElectroInk once sufficient heat and pressure are applied, allowing immediate use. HP Indigo Pack Ready Film can comply with key global food packaging safety regulations, under well-defined conditions of use.Pack Ready food contact-grade films are now available from leading global film suppliers, including Polyplex and Polifilm.

HP Indigo Pack Ready Coating is another solution in the HP Indigo Pack Readyecosystem. HP customers in Europe, including Swiss flexible packaging converter O.KLEINER AG that recently installed a second HP Indigo 20000 digital press, areusing the post-print coating solution for high-performance applications in themarketplace such as retort pouches. Commercially released in November 2016, thesolution is now extended to support microwavable clear retort pouches.Various commercial samples created by users of HP Indigo Pack Ready Laminationand HP Indigo Pack Ready Coating will be on display at HP’s interpack booth.

Also at interpack 2017, HP announced HP PageWide C500 Press production capacity of up to 25 million square meters of boards per year, powered by proven HP PageWide Thermal InkjetTechnology.

A robust direct-to-board digital corrugated solution, the HP PageWide C500 also prints on 1.3 meter-wide boards using an innovative corrugated media handling solution with a virtual belt. Announced at drupa 2016, customer beta testing isscheduled to begin at the end of this year, with commercial availability planned for 2018.

“This post-print corrugated solution from HP is yet another step toward digitalconversion of traditional printing, offering savings in waste and setup time and improved supply chain efficiencies, in addition to high-quality color graphics, easy customization, and unique versioning capabilities,” says Eric Wiesner, general manager, HP PageWide Industrial Division, HP Inc. “The HP PageWide C500 will help converters to differentiate with capabilities that only single-pass thermal inkjet and aqueous inks can deliver.”

The single-pass, digital post-print HP PageWide C500 solution is designed for any-sized corrugated facility for printing applications from shippers to high-quality graphics boxes, on coated and uncoated papers, without need for lamination, all in offset-replaceable quality.

HP PageWide C500 will also offer a fully integrated stack-to-stack workflow including an innovative in-line overprint varnish (OPV) solution. Converters will also benefit from a smooth integration to the HP PrintOS ecosystem and industry MIS, enabling an easy migration to digital with existing IT (MIS) infrastructure and prepress workflow.

The commercially released HP PageWide T400S Press, HP PageWide T1100S Press , HP Scitex 17000 Corrugated Press, and HP Scitex 15500 Corrugated Press are already used by HP customers to quickly turn around short-to-mid-run jobs and keep up with market demands, while delivering more versatility. These customers are anticipating the HP PageWide C500:

“The C500 we saw in HP PageWide Labs looks promising. I’m excited about the print quality and color gamut, and what it will mean for our business. The C500 will be a game-changer. It will definitely help us grow new markets and expand within our high-color graphics and display business,” says Richard Brown, president of The Boxmaker.

Louie DeJesus, CEO at Third Dimension Inc, adds, “The C500 is undoubtedly a revolutionary machine. It’s going to change how we’re going to sell in the future. What impressed me most was the food safety part of the ink, and the speed.”

Additional customers that have recently installed HP corrugated solutions include:

Christiansen Print of Thimm Group of Germany purchased the HP PageWide T1100S Press to launch digital pre-print capacity.
DS Smith, one of the largest corrugated box manufacturers in Europe, operates the HP PageWide T1100S press.
Ghelfi Ondulati, based in Buglio in Monte (Sondrio), Italy adopted both the HP PageWide T1100S and HP PageWide T400S.
Georgia Pacific (Color-Box) operates an HP PageWide T400S Press in Richmond, Indiana, and recently deployed the first North American HP PageWide T1100S in West Chester, Ohio.
Kaweah Container, Inc., an independent family-owned corrugated container manufacturer for food, wine, industrial, agricultural, and software industries, is operating a high-speed HP PageWide T400S Press in its Visalia, California facility.
Great Northern Corporation (GNC), producer of corrugated packaging, foldingcartons and in-store displays, purchased the HP PageWide T400S Press.

At interpack 2017 HP PageWide is demonstrating the value of high-quality digital printing for pre-print and post-print corrugated applications.

The “Box of Ideas” is a must-see experience at the HP stand to learn how to transform packaging with HP digital corrugated printing into a growth path for the future.