At the All In Print exhibition that just concluded in Shanghai, Hewlett-Packard introduced new ink printing products such as mPrinter 4000 and UV-curable inks. The new solvent-based ink will be used in the first HP MPrinter 4000-based system launched by RSI Print Systems for China and the Asia Pacific region.
PD China (Packaging Expo) interviewed Jim Stewart, vice president of HP's special printing system, Kelly Tan, vice president of business and professional printing business of HP Asia Pacific and Japan, and Steve Donegal, business manager of digital printing department of HP Asia Pacific and Japan Printing and Imaging Group. They gave a brief introduction on how HP SPS (Professional Print System) technology meets the needs of personalized packaging.
Original Equipment Manufacturer Challenge
HP's Special Printing System (SPS) was established in 1996. HP's SPS department has developed various industrial printing solutions through cooperation with OEMs to successfully conduct business and increase the revenue of its customers.
Jim Stewart, vice president of HP's special printing system, said: "HP has more than 40 partners around the world. SPS has about 1.5 to 2 years of business in China and 4 to 5 OEM partners in China. Hewlett-Packard's OEM partners include Unison, Packjet, RSI, etc. In China SPS is more to support agents and help OEM sales.The newly launched mPrinter4000 is available through selected OEMs throughout the Asia Pacific region in June this year. These manufacturers will integrate this printing platform with their own printing solutions."
On the packaging side, the value proposition of HP's professional printing system is the low cost of equipment, clean and easy to use. Jim Stewart said that the original equipment manufacturers in the printing industry are faced with huge challenges: clear and clean batch numbers and date codes; they can be checked with machine vision systems; and machine maintenance and downtime can be minimized.
Jim Stewart explained: “This requires the use of special inks, low-cost, high-resolution, clean printing technology to print high-quality products or logistics information, increase flexibility and production efficiency. HP’s inkjet technology is overprinted once. Finished production code and date printing; integrated print heads and ink cartridges make operation easier. HP Inkjet technology prints clear and clean information to the US Food and Drug Administration. Convenient technology also enables downtime Shrink to the shortest."
He further stated that Hewlett-Packard selected OEMs to pay great attention to the industry background, for example, some partners are strong in pharmaceutical packaging, and some are strong in food packaging. OEM's domain and regionality will all be considered. The distribution companies of SPS OEM partners in China mainly focus on addresses, postage printing, apparel CAD, and confidential printing. At present, most of the OEM's software and user interface have been Chineseized to adapt to China's situation.
Give customers more choices
Referring to HP's new mPrinter 4000, Jim Stewart said that the new product is mainly to provide more choices to different customers: “The mPrinter with a resolution of 1200 dpi can improve the print quality and accuracy of barcode reading, but at a slightly slower pace. 600dpi, 300dpi faster, suitable for business letters, addresses, etc. In the pharmaceutical industry, labels, barcodes are small, very fine, high-definition printing needs a lot.In the field of inkjet printing, our competitors also No one can achieve a resolution of 1200dpi.
From the aspect of printing speed and resolution, the original printer can print 600dpi, m4000 can print 1200dpi, and the inkjet frequency is faster; the original printer printhead is 0.5 inches wide, and now m4000 is made up of 4.25 inches by several printheads Wide print head module. The original print head requires more development and clean-up by the OEM, and the m4000 automatically enters the clean-up module after a certain amount of printing. The original printhead development time is long, 1.5-2 years OEM can develop a complete machine, and m4000 made a large module, increase the PC to control the print head, OEM development time can be reduced to 3-6 months. â€
There is a growing demand for personalized and variable information in the packaging field. Manufacturers began to add more information on the packaging: bar code, production date, brand and company logo, marketing information. Jim Stewart said: "SPS technology is more about printing personalized information, variable data, etc. on pre-printed materials. HP's solutions are ideally suited to the needs of out-of-carton printing, with low operating costs. Now personalized and The packaging of variable information helps the manufacturer's brand influence and sales more effectively.HP's technology complies with this requirement, it is very flexible, and it can be set up according to the needs of the printing system, the adjustment of font size, address, bar code, color, etc. is very easy For example, during some special events such as the World Cup, some companies printed different stars on cigarette packs and water bottles to meet consumers' needs for special packaging products. In the case of very low printing volumes, HP needs to be flexible. technology."
In terms of ink, HP's product line is getting wider and wider. Currently, HP has four partners who are helping to develop different inks to suit different substrates. Jim Stewart said: "Before HP's inks were water-based, the adhesion was limited, and now solvent inks can be used for more media, such as General's ink can be printed on smooth media, such as coated paper. In April At the UK exhibition, we have just exhibited UV inks. XENNIA's UV inks can be printed on gold foil, tin foil, PVC, metal, wood, rubber and many other media."
Value-added services in the era of low profit
The printing industry has entered the era of meager profits, and HP strives to provide new value-added services so that customers can strive for more profits.
Jim Stewart thinks: “Commercial printing is developing towards the short-run market, orders are getting shorter and shorter, and the print quality is more demanding. SPS can help some printing factories add digital printing technology to the existing traditional printing in order to gain more. In the field of direct mail, various personalized solutions make the product more valuable and customers can get more returns."
He said: “HP has billions of different ink jet printers in use around the world, and economies of scale make production more efficient and cheaper, which other competitors cannot do. Special printing is one of HP’s many applications that will be shared The resources of HP are lower and the cost is lower, for example, competitors need to design complex program control printing, and the HP program is very simple and the cost is accordingly low.If other printers are used for a period of time, the print quality will decline if the print head is not replaced. While HP's print heads and ink cartridges are integrated, a new print head is replaced at the same time when the ink cartridges are replaced, ensuring high-quality printing, and customers do not need a lot of maintenance and maintenance work."
Commitment to the Chinese market
For the fast-growing Chinese market, HP's investment has also continued to increase.
Ms. Kelly Tan, vice president of business and professional printing at HP Asia Pacific and Japan, said: "From now until 2008, China's printing market will achieve an average annual growth rate of 97.6%. As the focus of HP's imaging and printing strategy, the market's Rapid growth helps consolidate HP's market leadership."
She also revealed: "At present, HP has expanded its OEM and OEM distributors from 7 to 14. HP will invest in the bottom commercial and industrial printing market to expand its market leadership. Currently, HP is expanding sales in China. The number of people in service, support and support teams is expected to double by the end of this year and double again in 2008. In order to achieve its goals, HP will cooperate with Chinese partners to expand its distribution network, increase products and services, and increase product market share. rate."
Mr. Steve Donegal, Business Manager of Digital Printing Department of HP Asia Pacific and Japan Printing and Imaging Group, said: “The packaging printing market has a very fast growth and huge potential. It is an important market for HP. China's printing market is mainly concentrated in three major regions: Beijing/Tianjin/ Bohai Bay, which accounts for 1.95% of the country's land area, accounts for 7% of the total population; Shanghai/Yangtze River Delta Region accounts for 2.19% of the country's total land area and accounts for 11% of the total population; Guangdong/Hong Kong/Pearl River Delta Region accounts for 2.42% of the country's total land area and accounts for the total population. 3%."
Jim Stewart, the prospect of special printing, is full of confidence: “More and more digital printing, although more than 80% of the market comes from the traditional printing industry, but more than 10% of the market has already been very tempting.â€
He also said: "HP's move to expand the OEM network demonstrates our commitment to the market. We will continue to invest capital and resources to promote technological innovation and promote the development of China's printing industry. The introduction of new ink and hardware, on the one hand, shows that HP With the consistent support of the partners, the other side also proved that the cooperation between HP and OEMs for the high-growth Chinese market was successful."
In the area of ​​packaging printing, HP hopes to become a leading supplier in the next 10 years with superior technology and low cost.
Source: Packaging Expo
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