The PageWide Web Press T4250 HDR and PageWide Web Press T500M HD are industrial presses that use HP’s Thermal Inkjet technology.

The T4250 HDR is a new flagship 42-inch (1.06m) web press that offers up to twice the productivity of its predecessor, the HP PageWide T485 HD, on “the most challenging jobs”, resulting in 20,000 B1 duplex sheets and over 200,000 letter-sized duplex colour pages per hour.

At full performance mode press speed, this machine delivers a duty cycle of 173 million A4 (or 184 million US letter-size) full-colour images per month.

HP said its recirculating technology prints “offset-level vibrancy with captivating hues and incredible print consistency”.

Combined with HP Optimizer, the press is able to maintain high speed and quality on coated and uncoated media with weights ranging from 40-350gsm.

HP said the benefits of its thermal inkjet technology include 8x nozzle redundancy, user replaceable printheads, automated web-wipe cassettes, and on-press colour profiling.

Keeping environmental sustainability in mind, the T4250 HDR uses HP Brilliant B70 ink, which has low VOCs and reduces drying time, with up to 50% less energy use than that of the T485 HD.

Yale Goldis, director of strategy, commercial products and solutions at HP PageWide, told Printweek: “Our engineers have been hard at work with expanding the possibilities and capabilities across all parts of our value proposition.

“The T4250 improves productivity, quality, versatility, sustainability and economics, and I think underlying that is a new inkset and a new recirculating printhead technology that allows for the significant improvements in [those areas].”

Barbara McManus, vice president and general manager of PageWide Industrial at HP, added: “That new printhead technology with the recirculation is enabling us to have a new inkset, and the combination of that printhead and that inkset is enabling us to have faster drying, higher quality, and therefore faster productivity and less intervention.”

Commercial availability for the T4250 HDR is expected in the second half of 2025, although orders are being taken immediately. Pricing has not been disclosed.

The T485 HD will also remain available in the market.

Separately, the new HP PageWide Web Press T500M HD is described as a “purpose-built solution” that enables book manufacturers to meet their clients’ demands for shorter run lengths, tighter turnaround times, and more frequent high-volume orders.

The 54-inch (1.37m) press is a new platform with a new width, with a “proven book production writing system”.

It is designed to use standard offset media and impositions, enabling operators to shift seamlessly between offset and digital print lines, reduce paper inventory, and streamline their labour resources.

“This press fits right into the workflow of book production with 54-inch rolls, it’s the same paper that’s on the offset press so the customer can just decide if they want to print offset or digital, and it depends on run length as well for the customer,” said Goldis.

“It has very simple integration, plus it has all the digital capabilities, so you could have longer run lengths, less paper waste than a fixed cylinder press.”

McManus added: “This was customer-driven innovation. This is something that the market has asked for – a digital solution to replace analogue, especially this size, this width, this speed.

“This product was actually come up with by our customers asking for this capability, and so that is the form factor, the speeds, the output – all of it is customer developed.”

HP said that with a speed of 1,000 feet per minute (305m/min), the press rivals offset turnaround times and throughput by producing finished book blocks of variable trim sizes that move directly to the final production stage, saving time, labour, and floor space.

Sustainability benefits include “dramatically reduced” paper waste at start-up and between jobs with variable cutoffs, an optimised factory floor, and the complete elimination of offset aluminium plates.

Commercial availability for the T500M HD is expected in 2026, with orders being taken immediately.

HP will be sharing additional information on both presses at Hunkeler Innovationdays, taking place at Messe Lucerne, Switzerland from 24-27 February.

While these machines will not be on show at the event, HP said interested parties would be able to see the new presses in action at facilities in San Diego for the T4250 HDR and Germany for the T500M HD.