HP has signed a multimillion-dollar agreement with commercial printer Consolidated Graphics Inc. for the installation of as many as 36 HP Indigo digital presses.
Press installations are scheduled to begin in June, starting with the company’s Prague, Czech Republic, and Medford, OR, facilities.
Consolidated Graphics has 70 printing businesses and annual revenues totaling approximately $1.2 billion. Last year, it spent approximately $25 million on digital presses and related technology.
“We believe that Consolidated Graphics has the largest footprint of high-speed digital presses in the commercial print industry, both in terms of units and strategic locations,” said Joe Davis, chairman and CEO at Consolidated Graphics, in a statement. “We expect to continue to invest in digital technology to satisfy our customers’ increasing demand.”
The majority of the HP installation will be for a photobook printing operation that will include a number of HP’s new Indigo 7000 digital presses, six of which will be used in direct marketing applications.
Photo specialty printing, which includes photobooks and similar digitally printed products, is the fastest-growing segment of the HP Indigo business. According to IDC, the photo merchandise market will grow 91% from 2007-09, with worldwide revenues expected to reach $2.6 billion by 2009.
