PRODUCT PORTFOLIO: Me & My Machine - HP Indigo Press 1000.(Brief Article)

Redlin Print hasn't looked back since getting its quick 1000. In fact it's almost too quick, says Barney Cox

Redlin Print Management's HP Indigo Press 1000 has proved to be such a success in turning work around quickly that it is having to improve its administration to keep up. Some jobs have taken just two hours to get through the factory before they grind to a halt and sit waiting for a delivery note to be generated before they can be despatched.

The firm's selection process was nothing like as rapid. According to production director Paul McPherson, it took 18 months as it 'did a round robin on all digital and DI presses'. What the firm wanted was a colour machine suitable for short runs. In the end, it decided to go for a digital press rather than a DI because of the quicker makeready. The final shortlist was a head-to-head battle between the HP Indigo and the Xerox DocuColor 2060. 'We liked the Indigo because it looked more like litho,' says McPherson. Having made the decision, a deal was signed at Ipex and the press was installed at the firm's Essex factory in July.

One job the firm has is to produce and maintain training materials for a large building maintenance company. These are subject to regular updates as health and safety regulations change. Before it was printing digitally, it kept a stock of books to hand, which were often out of date by the time they were printed - never mind after being in storage. Going digital has meant that, as soon as a document changes, it can be updated and reprinted in the required quantities. In this application Redlin handles the design, layout and production of the books - with updates being based on changes to the text that are phoned or faxed through.

Other work that has gone onto the 1000 includes business cards and compliment slips. It has built its own web-based system to allow customers to personalise template-based cards and comps. Text edits online are applied to a master document to automatically create a PDF. Other personalised work includes mailings that have been produced using HP Indigo's Yours Truly software.

Short-run work has proved to be the bread and butter for the press in runs of up to 1,000. McPherson feels that this is the maximum economic run for the machine. Although for runs of between 1,000 and 2,000, it is a grey area between the HP Indigo and litho. This is an area where he is looking at future investment: either in a faster ...