HP Indigo and the US digital print converter ePac are further expanding their collaboration in flexible packaging printing. HP has announced that the two companies have signed a new commercial agreement worth around 50 million US dollars over three years. The aim is to further scale the digital production of flexible packaging worldwide.
The agreement includes equipment, consumables and services. The centrepiece is the installation of ten HP Indigo 200K digital presses within the global ePac network. ePac currently operates more than 50 HP Indigo printing systems worldwide, according to the company. With the expansion, the 200K platform is expected to account for around a third of the total installed fleet in future.
Expansion of digital production capacities
The new systems will be installed in North America and Europe. According to HP, the HP Indigo 200K is based on the fifth generation of the Indigo platform. Compared to its predecessor, it is said to achieve around 30 per cent faster printing speeds and up to 45 per cent higher throughput. According to the company, AI-supported quality diagnostics and real-time error detection should enable uninterrupted production and reduce waste at the same time.
With this investment, ePac is responding to changing market requirements. Brand owners are increasingly demanding shorter runs, faster delivery times and a greater range of variants. In this context, digital production models are considered to be more flexible and better suited to on-demand concepts than traditional, forecast-based analogue processes.
Structural change in the market for flexible packaging
HP sees the agreement as part of a broader transformation process. Accordingly, the market for flexible packaging is increasingly shifting from analogue, warehouse-driven models to digitally networked, scalable production structures. In this context, HP speaks of „non-stop digital printing“, in which stable printing systems, automated workflows and intelligent control are to ensure continuous production.
According to the company, the partnership between HP Indigo and ePac, which has existed for around ten years, has helped to shorten lead times from several weeks to just a few days and reduce excess stock along the supply chain. With the new agreement, both companies are continuing their strategy of expanding digital printing capacities internationally and further driving change in the flexible packaging market.
Source: HP
