The new Scitex 9000 Industrial Press essentially uses the same chassis, HDR 300 printheads, bed size and High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology as the Scitex 11000, but with less automation and a significantly lower price point.
Prices start at around €850,000 for the 9000 compared with circa €1,150,000 for the 11000, which has three-quarter automation.
“Customers can start with the 9000 and upgrade to the 11000 if they want to as their production increases,” said Isaac Meged, worldwide marketing manager, HP Scitex Industrial Presses, GSB.
“It’s field upgradable [to the 11000 specification] involving adding automation, software upgrades and new print modes. It takes about a week to upgrade it.”
The 9000 has a maximum engine speed of 450m2/hr, although due to its manual handling the “true productivity” is nearer 300m2/hr – compared with 650m2/hr for the highly automated 11000.
It features a 1.6x3.2m bed and can handle substrates up to 45mm thick weighing up to 40kg.
Like the 11000 the 9000 features six colour channels: CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta. However, it benefits from an inkset tuned specifically for the 9000, the new HP HDR245 Scitex Inks.
“The new ink is optimised for 9000, it offers high quality and high productivity. It is low odour and has an excellent environmental profile. It also combines excellent flexibility and high surface durability, which is very important,” said Eyal Duzy, marketing segment manager, HP Scitex Industrial Presses.
The six-colour inkset has UL Greenguard Gold and AgBB accreditation and can match 86% of Pantone colours. It is lightfast outdoors for up to two years.
While the 9000 was announced at Fespa Digital yesterday, HP is only showing samples in Amsterdam. The machine won’t get its first public outing until Drupa, by which time HP will have installed machines in at least three beta sites – two in Europe.
It will become commercially available in June.
“We think the 9000 will be extremely popular, because we think we have identified a niche in the market where printers are looking for an industrial press on one hand, but with a lower total cost of ownership on the other,” said Meged.
“It’s perfect for mid-volume printers that don’t yet require automation, but will as their business grows, and the 9000 can grow with them.”
HP is also using Fespa Digital to show the latest incarnation of its WallArt Suite, its web-to-print platform for SMEs in the decoration space. Developed for Latex users, it’s the first HP web-to-print platform to integrate everything from design to quotes to customer orders.
HP is running a wide-range of machines at Fespa Digital, including four Latex machines, 310, 360, 370 and 3500 models, its flagship PageWide machine, the XL 8000, a Scitex FB750 industrial printer and a brace of DesignJets – all running a wide variety of applications.
