Global on demand book print business Lightning Source has made the biggest ever order with HP, for 24 PageWide T240 HD presses.
The multi-million dollar deal, over seven years, the largest ever for HP’s Graphics Business, includes five sites across three continents. Shawn Morin, chief executive of Lightning Source owner Ingram Content Group, says, “Our mission is all about helping content reach its destination, while providing our customers with the highest print quality, speed and proficient printer models. By adding HP’s PageWide Web Presses to our global facilities, we will be able to serve our customers with even more options.”
HP says the new order underscores the print industry’s transformation from analogue to digital print technologies.
Enrique Lores, president for HP Imaging and Printing Business, says, “This incredible deal shows that the momentum behind the renaissance in digital printing is not only continuing—it’s accelerating. Last month we announced a 5-year deal with Shutterfly, the leading manufacturer and digital retailer of high-quality personalised products and services, and today we’re announcing a seven-year deal with a leader in the content distribution space.
“Our collaboration will enable Lightning Source to deliver higher-quality digital printing for their customers at the next level of scale, productivity, and efficiency.”
Lightning Source’s Melbourne-based Australian branch will have one installed as parft of the deal.Ricky Moldrich, senior operations manager, Lightning Source Australia, says, “The new press is coming in the next few weeks. It will give us the ability to print in colour on site, which is a huge upgrade, as our colour print was being done overseas. It will also massively boost our capacity and volume, as we are currently running two smaller cut-sheet printers. It is a dramatic improvement which puts our business in good shape, and we are thrilled to have it on board.”
HP says with the new fleet of HP PageWide Web Presses, Lightning Source will be able to produce high-quality inkjet color and monochrome printing on coated stock, deliver faster printing at speeds of up to 500 feet a minute, and offer unprecedented digital productivity and volume growth to their publishing clients all over the world.
