Inkjet & Digital Printing
HP Indigo press 5500 Named Top Digital Press in DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out
Monday 03. March 2008 - HP has received a significant accolade, with the HP Indigo press 5500 winning the 2008 DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out Award for the Digital Press category. Contest winners were announced during the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) International Trade Show.
The DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out Awards test digital printers, ink, media and raster image processors using a challenging target image. Participants were asked to provide specific information pertaining to the equipment and consumables used as well as the production timing. A panel of expert judges voted on the entries, evaluating neutral grey balance reproduction, saturation, shadow detail and quality, overall tonality, hue shift and colour accuracy as compared to a target print provided by PMA.
The winning digital press, the HP Indigo press 5500, provides unmatched image quality for photo merchandise products such as photo books and calendars. It is the only electrophotographic digital press offering the quality of liquid ink instead of toner, and is available with several features designed specifically for advanced photo merchandise production, including:
Six-colour photo imaging using added light cyan and light magenta inks
The HP Indigo Photo Enhancement Server for automated detection and correction of image faults
HP DreamColor Technologies for color management and device-to-device consistency
Scalable raster image processing IT hardware and software for rapid throughput in image-intensive digital workflows.
“Photo merchandise is one of the fastest-growing categories for the Indigo business and the entire digital production printing industry, so we are very honoured to have earned PMAs validation that we are providing the top digital press solution for this market,” said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo division, HP. “HP Indigo has a track record of great success in this market, and many of the worlds leading photo merchandise providers rely on the high quality and reliability of our solutions.”
This announcement reinforces the findings revealed in a 2007 HP-sponsored study in which photo images produced on the HP Indigo press 5500 were superior to those produced by competing manufacturers and on par with silver halide prints.