The HP Indigo WS6000 has been introduced at this year’s Labelexpo Americas. It is driven by HP Indigo Labels and Packaging Server, powered by EskoArtwork’s Digital Front End. HP continues its tradition of offering a digital front end from EskoArtwork to meet the demanding color and throughput needs of the label and packaging market.

The HP Indigo Labels and Packaging Server is now available for users of all presses HP offers for the label and packaging market, including the HP Indigo WS4000, WS4050, WS4500, and WS6000 digital presses. This server gives HP Indigo customers enhanced abilities to increase shop floor productivity and elevate prepress capabilities for digital label production. EskoArtwork has collaborated with HP to deliver the HP Indigo Labels and Packaging Color Kit. This is a high-end color management solution that gives users the ability to quickly and cost-effectively match brand colors on proof and press, regardless of the print process.

Also on display at Labelexpo is the EskoArtwork PacVantage software and technology for digitally printed labels. Converters who prepare their jobs using EskoArtwork Software with PacVantage technology will be able to make color adjustments during the proofing stage.

EFI Jetrion showcased its award-winning Jetrion 4000 industrial inkjet system at Labelexpo this week. The Jetrion 4000 UV Inkjet System offers label converters a cost-effective, full-color narrow web alternative to toner-based digital printers for label runs of up to 50,000 labels. It features speeds of up to 30.5 meters/minute at more than 1000dpi with grayscale technology.

The Jetrion 4000 delivers high-quality, full-color label printing up to 139mm wide. The printer is a finalist in the Label Industry Global Awards and was recently named best product of the year in the industrial printing solutions category of the European Digital Press Awards for 2008. The new features of the Jetrion 4000 include a pre-die-cut label printing functionality, variable-data printing enhancements, a new ink set, and a new software suite.

For the first time on display will be a Jetrion printing onto pre-die-cut labels and this means converters can purchase blank die-cut labels, run them through the digital press and produce finished labels. This unique new feature separates the Jetrion 4000 from its toner-based competitors. New software includes EFI XFlow (PDF-based workflow solution), the Print Manager easy-to-use interface for advanced job management, and the Fiery XF RIP (raster image processor).

EskoArtwork is demonstrating the power of a single, unified workflow for mixed digital and conventional tag and label production, its ability to deliver consistent color across multiple printing processes at this year’s Labelexpo Americas. From design to finishing, a unified end-to-end workflow becomes increasingly important as label and tag printers adopt digital presses.

These workflows start manufacturing in hybrid production environments, combining litho, flexo, screen and digital printing as the job type and run length may require. Label converters have long relied on EskoArtwork solutions to optimize press time, increase pre-production throughput and deliver consistent and predictable quality regardless of the print technology used.

EskoArtwork will demonstrate label and tag production advances on its own and with Hewlett Packard, Indigo, Epson, and Xeikon. EskoArtwork is doing these collaborations in order to provide the efficiency and versatility the tag and label producers require. With these partners, they will bring to the digital label workflow the same level of color excellence and production efficiency that their customers rely on with conventional production processes.