HP has unveiled what it claims is its "most significant step" in accelerating the migration from analogue to digital printing with the launch of a B2 sheetfed digital press, the HP Indigo 10000. The 10000 model is part of a trio of 750mm-wide Indigo presses aimed at a range of sectors, including commercial print, flexible packaging and folding carton production.

Capable of printing up to seven-colours, the 10000 can output at up to 3,450 sheets an hour in simplex production rising to 4,600 sheets an hour in Enhanced Productivity Mode (EPM). According to Precision Printing managing director Gary Peeling, the company will become the UK beta site of the 10000 press this August. The other two Indigo launches, the 20000 and 30000 digital presses, are both for packaging applications.

The 20000 is a continuous-feed press designed for flexible packaging production and is capable of "gravure-quality" printing onto films as thin as 10 microns.  Meanwhile, the sheetfed 30000 is targeted at companies producing folding cartons and can print on substrates up to 600 micron thick.

HP has also introduced its new Enhanced Productivity Mode (EPM) onto three current Indigo models, boosting productivity by up to 33%. The Indigo 7600 can now print at speeds up to 160ppm in EBM, while the upgraded Indigo 5600 offers output up to 90ppm. The Indigo W7250 label press can print up to 320ppm and reach output of 960ppm in monochrome operation. The manufacturer has also updated its portfolio of web presses with productivity increases across the board. The HP T410 and T360 webs continue to offer colour output at 600fpm but mono operation has been boosted 25% to 800fpm.

In addition, HP has upgraded its T230 web with print speeds in both colour and mono increased to 400fpm.

HP also used the pre-Drupa conference to unveil its 800fpm imprinting system that enables users to add both monochrome and full-colour variable data content to pre-printed offset material.