With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is the world's largest IT company.
According to Singapore based APJ Industrial OEM sales manager, SPS Gavin Zau, HP prioritises investments in the graphics art printing markets by providing a wide selection of solutions for the industrial and commercial printing environment.
“Within the Imaging & Printing Group, Specialty Printing Systems (SPS) licenses HP’s thermal inkjet (TIJ) technology to OEM partners, who develop package coding solutions,” Gavin Zau explains, “while Indigo provides label and flexible packaging printing, and Scitex offers packaging printing on corrugated media.”
For decades, HP has worked to manage its environmental impact, adopting environmentally responsible practices in product development, operations and supply chain.
“Our company strives to be a global leader in reducing its carbon footprint through limiting waste and recycling,” Zau says.
“In April 2007 our efforts earned the company recognition as one of Fortune Magazine’s ‘Ten Green Giants’.”
HP’s SPS reinforces the company’s commitment to environmental responsibility by leveraging company processes with OEM partners.
“Our OEM partners, including those in Australia, have developed a variety of solutions for package coding applications,” Zau says.
“Initially they focused on porous applications like secondary case coding, cartons and boxes, but recently, they have been successful in non-porous applications for plastic wraps, cable wires, wax papers and more.”
“Customers are also asking for the ability to track and trace products back to the production line,” Zau says.
“This occurs by printing important data like serial numbers, 1D/2D barcodes which help manage quality issues, prevent diversion and product counterfeiting.”
Gavin Zau says the SPS OEM business model has been in existence for about 10 years, allowing OEM partners to tap into the commercial success of HP thermal inkjet technology.
“OEM partners integrate specialty ink and HP’s thermal inkjet technology for the package coding requirements of their customers,” Zau says.
“HP supplies are easily installed and removed by the operator without the need for trained technicians on-site. This increases production line productivity."
"Effectively, you get a new printhead whenever a cartridge is replaced, refreshing the printing system and contributing to overall system reliability.”
“HP inks stay contained within the print cartridge and aren't re-circulated during operations, so solvent evaporation is minimal,” Zau says.
“This improves the work environment and reduces the chance of solvent contamination.” “In addition, there are no ribbons, ink spills or spare parts to handle,” he says.
“This ensures that people, products and premises stay clean, which is particularly important for food and pharmaceutical manufacturing. It also keeps costly downtime under control.”
HP also enables the recycling and easy return of Original HP printing supplies through the HP Planet Partners program on a global basis.
“In Australia, HP has joined forces with Planet Ark in a unique environmental program called ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’,” enthuses Zau. “Free of charge and easy to use, the C4PA program is nationwide.”
In terms of new products, Gavin Zau points to the HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press targeting label and packaging converters, which will be available worldwide towards the end of the year.
“This machine can print up to 7 colours and includes an improved white ink for printing on metallic label stock as well as flexible packaging,” he says.
“It’s is driven by the HP SmartStream Labels and Packaging solution and powered by EskoArtwork, which includes a new version of digital front-end.”
Zau says HP Indigo press print-on-demand technology drastically cuts the waste of paper and supplies as well as storage costs.
“This technology not only produces less waste and fewer emissions than conventional offset printing, but also reduces power consumption by 25 per cent per printed label and gives consumables a longer lifespan,” he says.
In February, HP Australia announced the first recycling program for its Indigo ink canisters, in partnership with Currie Group targeting Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
In an industry first announced in January, HP has also developed an engineering breakthrough enabling the use of post-consumer recycled plastics in the production of new Original HP inkjet print cartridges.
“More than 200 million cartridges have been manufactured using this process so far,” says Gavin Zau.
“HP used more than 5 million pounds of recycled plastic in its inkjet cartridges last year, and the company is committed to using twice as much in 2008.”
“This is an unprecedented, closed loop plastic recycling system,” Zau explains.
“It results in HP utilising inkjet cartridges with 70 to 100 per cent recycled content that still meet the company's high-performance standards.”
In recognition of HP’s inventive approach to using recycled content, the Society of Plastics Engineers, a trade organisation for plastics professionals, presented HP with its most prestigious environmental stewardship award at the Global Plastics Environmental Conference in March 2008.
Add a comment