Canon UK has recently announced that Gpex has purchased two high-performance production Canon printers in its foray into digital printing. They purchased the Canon imagePress C6000 for high-quality color digital printing and the Canon iR 7105 for black and white production to meet intense print schedules while still maintaining outstanding quality, print flow control and reliability.

The recent emphasis on digital printing prompted the company to change its trading name from Greenford Printing to Gpex in order to reflect the shift in focus from a lithographic printer to a full service communications provider. As the needs and demand for their customers change, Gpex has found the necessity to add digital presses to their existing lithographic portfolio. They looked at various printers and the Canon imagePress C6000 was the best fit for their needs.

The advantages of this printer include the ability to print on substrates that were normally only suitable for litho printing and the excellent output quality made Canon the ideal choice for their transition to digital. Gpex are now able to better service their clients by mixing both digital and litho printing services to provide the most cost-effective solutions. They are based in Gerrards Cross and employ 33 people.

Digital press owners can now quickly expand into fast-growing consumer and business-to-business photo printing markets with new Kromekote True-Photo papers from SMART Papers. The ultra-glossy, recycled-content digital papers have a distinctive position in the global marketplace by combining the quality and feel of traditional photo paper with the printability of triple cast-coated Kromekote.

Kromekote True-Photo delivers outstanding photo and image reproduction, creating visuals that leap off the page. The 92-bright white shade produces intense colors and maximum image resolution. Businesses and consumers increasingly want the quality and feel of traditional photo paper when it comes to digital photography. The new archival and acid-free papers enable digital press owners to profitability meet the growing demand for custom shot-run photos and photo applications like greeting cards, direct mail, and personalized calendars.

The InfoTrends research group recently estimated that 19.7 billion photos will be digitally printed in 2008. SMART Papers is the only North American premium papermaker in the process of becoming 100% fossil-fuel, converting all of its energy production to 100% carbon-neutral waste wood biomass. Kromekote True-Photo has a mirror-smooth, triple cast-coated surface on one side for sharp photo reproduction on digital presses.

With the number of people and businesses in the New York City area, a large number of them have the need for overnight short run digital printing. Short Run digital HP Indigo printing is a very popular form of printing that uses liquid ink digital technology to produce super high quality printing that rivals traditional offset printing.

Traditional offset printing technology has been around for many years and requires the making of a plate before any printing can take place. This step adds cost and time to the production process. It is harder and harder for businesses to wait a week or so to get their marketing materials, brochures or other custom printed products back in their hands.

In recent years, digital printing technology has become so sophisticated that many professional printers have adopted digital printing to meet their customers’ needs for very fast turnaround on small quantities of flyers, business cards and other printed products. The use of digital printing technology makes for a much more “green” printer because there are not metal plates to be made and the “make ready” process for digital printing creates a lot less waste. Digital printing is much better for the environment.

Canon Business Solutions, Inc. is a leading provider of document imaging and office solutions. They recently announced that Langhorne, Pennsylvania-based company Printing & Publications has installed the Canon imagePRESS C7000VP digital press in support of their need to provide quality short-run output to a growing list of clients.

The new Canon C7000VP gives this company added flexibility. They will be able to increase workflow productivity by reducing operator time spent monitoring print consistency. They can now also produce in-line booklets and extend their output offerings to a variety of thicker substrates. The imagePRESS C7000VP allows them to manage complexity in a just-in-time environment and the machine’s print quality is second to none.

The Canon imagePRESS line began shipping in July 2007 and represents the single engine R&D investment in Canon’s history. It is capable of printing images up to 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution with a superior level of quality. The imagePRESS C7000VP maintains engine speed regardless of media weight, including letter-sized paint speeds of 70ppm on media up to 100lb cover stock. For Printing & Publications, it will provide a new stream of business for short-run projects that require high quality imaging.

Hewlett Packard announced that its HP Indigo 7000 digital press has exceeded expectations with more than 130 presses sold in the first three months of its availability. The HP Indigo 7000 is aimed at print service providers printing more than one million pages per month and offers production output at twice the speed previously available, streamlined workflows, the value-adding capabilities of variable data printing and substrate versatility.

The HP Indigo 7000 digital press delivers 120 high-quality four-color A4-size pages per minute for customers in general commercial, direct-marketing, photo merchandise and book and publications printing. The HP Indigo 7000 offers a total cost of ownership that significantly increases the break-even point of digital against conventional printing for high-print volume customers.

The strong sales for multiple units has attracted the attention of the worldwide market and shown the readiness of the industry for a high-volume digital press like the HP Indigo 7000. They have been able to complete all installations in time for the October to December peak season. New customers migrating from litho to digital are buying presses and this demonstrates the success of HP Indigo technology in meeting the demands of the market.