BARCELONA, Spain, 09 August 2012 - HP today announced that Allkopi Service Point AS of Oslo, Norway, has installed the first HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press in Scandinavia, as an initial step in developing high-quality digital print for its diverse market base.

Primarily an offset litho printer, Allkopi has experience with dry toner digital production, but its press at Lysaker is being replaced by the HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press. The move will increase the company's capabilities in a number of areas, such as a larger colour gamut (up to 97 per cent of PANTONE Colours) and a broader range of substrates (coated and uncoated papers and synthetic stocks from 70 microns to 350g/m2), which will extend its application range.

"With changes in the market, we've essentially been running offset litho like digital, trying to meet customer demands for short runs and fast turnarounds," said J?rn Aalefj?r, CEO, Allkopi Service Point AS. "So, when we started looking at reorganising production, we logged onto an HP digital printing webinar and were very much interested in the business model."

Conversations began with Visutech AS, the distributor for HP Indigo presses in the Nordic countries, and the purchase was completed at drupa 2012 in May.

"While the press' speed of up to 120 full-colour pages per minute is impressive, we were particularly attracted by the Enhanced Productivity Mode (EPM) that increases that to up to 160 pages per minute," Aalefj?r continued.

Allkopi relies on digital print to help the company stand out in the highly competitive Norwegian market.

"As a market leader, having a competitive edge is essential," Aalefjar said. "Norway has the same offset capacity as Sweden, but only half the population. That means there is excess capacity with many printers competing on price."

One of the high-end applications for Allkopi is printing real estate prospectuses.

"These are short-run jobs of a few hundred copies, but they need to have a classy look and feel, which we'll be able to achieve with the HP Indigo 7600," Aalefjar explained.

In addition to purchasing the HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press, Allkopi also signed a letter of intent to buy an HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press, the first B2-format commercial press available from HP.

"The advantages of that press will be increased digital production capabilities and the ability to handle new formats, not possible before on digital presses," said Aalefjar.

Installation of the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press is scheduled for autumn 2013, in time to meet the demand of the peak holiday season.

"HP Indigo technologies are well suited to customers of companies like Allkopi," said Jan-Olof Jungersten, managing director, Visutech Digital. "The ability to produce added-value, high-end print that matches their conventional offset output gives a competitive advantage that is essential in today's market."

Established in 1957, Allkopi has a history of technical leadership and has expanded to 20 locations from Kristiansand in the south to Trondheim in the north. Allkopi became part of the Spanish-based Servicepoint Solutions SA in 2008 and now employs more than 230 people.