As more and more digital presses flood the market, buyers need to remember that there are many different directions that digital printing technology has gone, and one of the earliest developers of digital printing that is still around today is Indigo. The company was sold off to HP a few years ago, but the basic technology is still being used in HP?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ‚Äö?묢s digital presses, called Indigo. The press uses a liquid ink for standard four color process printing, but can be adapted to use spot colors. The gives the Indigo great versatility and a wide range of printing options. Another great aspect about the HP is that there are many different substrates available, and one can coat almost any paper with a special liquid, making it printable. Most HP Indigo printers can handle a standard sheet size of 12?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ¬¨?? x 18?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ¬¨?? and can print both sides. Probably the most important aspect of the HP Indigo is it?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ‚Äö?묢s ability to print cost effective short runs with little or no make ready. In the overall scheme of things, digital printing is still in its infancy. Even today, there are still major printing companies that are operating with graphic arts cameras and film processing equipment. Eventually, this once standard method of pre-press will be used only for historical or educational purposes. Digital prepress saves time, money and the environment. No longer is there a need for chemicals to process film, and today?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ‚Äö?묢s printing plates are cleaner than ever before ?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ‚Äö?Ñ?? limiting the amount of hazardous materials emitted into our atmosphere.

One of HP?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ‚Äö?묢s presses, the Indigo 5000, is able to print on a wide range of substrates. It can print on papers from 50 lb text to 130 lb cover. This machine also sports automatic duplexing; printing on both sides. The 5000 also has multiple inking stations to provide 5, 6 and 7 colors ?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ‚Äö?Ñ?? breaking away from the standard 4-colors. It?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ‚Äö?묢s a speedy machine, printing 4,000 4-color sheets per hour, 8,000 2-color sheets per hour, and 16,000 monochrome sheets per hour.

Being to print short runs is becoming an important opportunity for small printing companies. The short run printing market is growing, and with that is an ever-expanding demand for this service. To be in a competitive place in this market, you almost have to have either an Indigo or Xeikon 5000 machine. The Xeikon 5000 is a 4-up machine that prints on a web roll and can print 18?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ¬¨?? by almost any length. Printing digitally has never been so easy, or cheap!