HP is using Hunkeler Innovationdays as a platform only to provide the first European showing of the PageWide 2200 Advantage web press launched in September 2022, but to demonstrate its ability to run at full speed at high quality, plus workflow optimisation tools and colour management improvements.

Thanks to changes in drop size and frequency of firing, plus appropriate adjustments in the drying stages, the Advantage 2200 can now run at its full 152m/min in its Quality mode, up from 101m/min at the press’s launch. Annette Friskopp, global head and general manager at HP PageWide also told Digital Printer that the use of dual drop sizes to achieve this also leads to an overall ink saving, adding that the 8x nozzle redundancy in the black channel and 4x redundancy in the other three channels help to sustain the quality and throughput.

Responding to European energy price concerns, Ms Friskopp also noted that the two-dryer configuration of the press, which uses air cooling for the paper, saves 20% energy compared to the three-dryer water-cooled configuration, though this will limit some types of heavy coverage and/or heavy stock work. Additions to the ColorPro range of dedicated coated inkjet papers developed by various mills and optimised for HP print technology were also shown at the Hunkeler event.

Built-in colour management via an ILS spectrophotometer now makes profiling specific media and print settings combinations much quicker, either using HP’s supplied profiling tools included in its Advanced Color Suite (which includes offerings from CGS Oris and X-Rite) or by exporting measurement data for processing in other software. The inline spectrophotometer is fitted as standard on the Advantage 2200 and is available as a retro-fit option on other PageWide presses.

Overall workflow optimisation can be achieved via the new Smart Workcell Controller, software that batches work across press, finishing requirement and job and media type, allowing for coverage and drying parameters as well as turnaround requirements. It supports all PageWide presses and should help e-commerce sites in particular manage complex and varied workloads more efficiently.