The publishing, direct mail and commercial printing sectors are getting a boost in digital printing solutions. The successor to HP's PageWide Web Press features multiple configurations and customisability. By Sabine Slaughter
First things first: unlike its predecessors, the HP PageWide Advantage 2200 has only one print sheet. This is where most of the technical innovations and arrangements are "hidden". The time of the two large half circles with the half sheets on the right and left is over. The digital press is modular and allows customers to start with a model for lower capacities. If more jobs arrive or the job mix changes, the platform can be expanded to achieve higher output. According to the company, the compact single-motor duplex design saves space but offers high quality and productivity. An innovative, robust paper path with fewer components reduces the number of parts to manage and therefore overall maintenance time, HP says. A wide range of media weights - from 40 to 300 grams per square metre - can be printed. This leads to a variety of applications.
The modular and flexible configuration with, depending on requirements, one, two or three dryer modules as well as passive or active web cooling modules ensures configurations that are as customised as possible. Passive web cooling uses air to cool the web, while active web cooling uses water-cooled rollers. HP will work with customers to determine which version best meets their needs. The HP PageWide Advantage 2200 is equipped with the innovative HP High Efficiency Drying (HED) system. This can significantly reduce power consumption at higher print speeds by circulating up to 80 percent of the air heated during the drying process, HP says.
Quality mode offers the highest quality print system with double drop weights for all colours. Mono Performance mode prints with high drop-weight black only. Performance HDK mode prints with double drop weights for black only to improve quality over performance mode at the highest colour speeds, explains HP's Darren Podrabsky.
2400 native printheads
The new press is capable of speeds of up to 152 metres per minute in colour and 243.84 metres per minute in black and white, and can print high coverage jobs of up to 90 million black and white US letter-size pages per month or 214,000 personalised A3 colour duplex pages per shift. This addresses the growing need for postcards and other applications with thicker substrates and offers breakthrough productivity for high-resolution, full-coverage jobs, the company explains.
With the ability to print with HP Brilliant Ink and 2400 native printheads per inch, the Advantage 2200 delivers high quality for a wide range of high-value applications, from full-colour reference and textbooks to large-format, high-impact direct mail that helps customers differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Print head faults can be countered with eight times redundant print nozzles (black and white print/CMY 4 x redundant) per print bar. No substrate requires a primer, notes HP's Darren Podrabsky.
Customer comments
Kevin Hughes, chief operating officer at SG360º, a beta user explains, "We were pleased that the HP PageWide Advantage 2200 team completed the installation in one week. Time is money in our business and this achievement is great for both SG360º and HP customers. In addition, we printed over 20 million pages within a few weeks of the print system going live, and we're excited about the future possibilities that the outstanding print quality will bring."
Ann Gayou, senior vice president of plant management at O'Neil Digital Solutions, is also enthusiastic: "As a long-time customer and partner of the HP PageWide team, we purchased 13 PageWide web presses and are very pleased to have installed the world's very first HP Advantage. Our operators had no problem getting to grips with the latest features and ease of use, and were producing millions of pages a week in no time. We chose a configuration with two HED dryers and are thrilled with the productivity of the press and the quality of the Brilliant Ink."
Ease of use
"This new PageWide Advantage platform is a milestone for the commercial printing industry," said Annette Friskopp, global head and general manager at HP PageWide. "HP has listened to its customers and we recognise that ease of use and uptime are critical success factors. The new press offers configurations that allow customers to optimise the system for their quality, productivity, versatility and economics to grow their digital production business."
