So, first a few details about this jumbo device. It prints 600 ft. per minute in colour, handles a substrate range from 40 to 200 gsm (with optional 350 gsm); and has a duty cycle of up to 140 million letter pages per month. In addition to MICR support, add ons to the press include a vision system that reads test patterns to gauge the life of the print heads; a zero-speed splicer that reduces time to change a roll; and a turret rewinder, currently under development, that can unload a roll without stopping the press. The installation at O’Neil is a Beta site, but HP is taking orders now for an expected six-month delivery time.
 

Though the HP press line-up is not the only available range of high-speed inkjet presses, the introduction of this particular device is illustrative of trends that have been expounded on for some time. Think of it. This press, can produce mass customized documents at faster speeds than we’ve seen before; this is new high-volume territory for digital printing. And those capabilities will change the game of printing in publishing, marketing and direct mail to start.
 

To coincide with the release of the T400, U.S. based research firm Infotrends released a white paper that analyzed the press, but also discussed the market trends surrounding it. One is that toner-based black and white print volumes are declining, with those pages shifting to colour. The second is that offset is declining as shorter runs and targetted pieces are now being done digitally. Nothing radically new there.

More interesting however, are Info­trends’ predictions for production inkjet. The first says that production inkjet devices will account for more than a third of global digital colour pages by 2014. In 2009 inkjet held 12.4% of digital pages to toner’s 87.6%. In three years, the forecast is that inkjet will claim 37% of digital pages to toner’s 63%. The overall global digital market will grow from 204 billion pages to 459 billion pages.

The reason is that inkjet presses are much faster than electrophotographic presses, even though they don’t match the quality of toner. But that won’t likely prove to be a barrier to their growth. 
 

This particular trend is being played out inside O’Neil’s too. At the LA operation, a large data-driven mostly digital shop that will soon open a new, large, all digital location in Dallas, Texas, the T400 replaces the work done by five roll and 34 cutsheet toner digital presses. In fact a slice of the work usually done on Indigos is going to inkjet, it was reported during a tour. The quality of the inkjet press doesn’t match the Indigo but neither does the price. Jobs on the Indigos can be five to six times that of inkjet, making the quality compromise a very attractive proposition to most print buyers.
 

Not so long ago we were talking about when we’d hit the tipping point for digital print. Devices like the T400 have driven home the point that we’ve hit it full on, and things can only accelerate from here.