The HP M500, C500, M800 and C800 Print Modules were announced at HP's pre-Drupa press event in March before being shown on its Drupa stand printing full colour, variable data at 244m/min.

HP already uses Global Graphics' Harlequin RIP to drive its Indigo and T series inkjet web presses and as such it was a logical choice for it to expand its relationship with the Cambridge-based software developer.

The HHR3 RIP, which was also launched back in March, is designed to be scalable, so that more individual RIPs can be added as a users ripping requirements increase. According to Harlequin, there is no limit to the number of RIPs that can be run simultaneously.

In addition, one of the latest features added to HHR3 enables users to speed processing time. Harlequin Parallel Pages allows the RIP to interpret one page while it’s still rendering the previous one, enabling print shops to take maximum advantage of multi-core computers and making page processing around 1.3x faster.

According to Holt Mebane, distinguished technologist at HP Graphics Solutions Business, it was the speed and scalability of Global Graphics' Harlequin RIP were crucial to the partnership.

"The speed of the RIP driving the system is extremely important so choosing Harlequin was an easy decision," he said. "The RIP speed needs to outperform the speed of the press to maximize the efficiency by removing time waiting for jobs to become ready for printing.

"The performance and scalability of the Harlequin RIP technology provides the perfect solution to this challenge. We’ve found another advantage of choosing Harlequin is the color fidelity achieved with the in-RIP color management, which is especially important for printing logos."

He added that HP's Print Stations, which are widely seen as a challenge to Kodak's Prosper imprinting systems, would help customers to produce more effective campaigns, inexpensively.

"If you’ve got a long run with a small amount of variable data it’s cost-effective to use a hybrid system and in doing so you also gain by extending the life of your analogue press," said Mebane.

HP's Print Modules can be placed in-line or off-line, depending on the requirements of the printer's workflow.