At Labelexpo Americas 2018, HP Indigo is presenting new solutions for growing and differentiating labels and packaging business with the latest tools for top-quality printing of labels, shrink sleeves, flexible packaging on its wide-ranging portfolio.

The HP booth is featuring live demonstrations from the entire HP label and packaging solutions portfolio, including workflow, printing and converting. HP is also showcasing a range of applications from worldwide converters transforming and growing business with HP Indigo’s Liquid Electrophotography (LEP)-based digital printing.

HP SmartStream Collage, a new twist in automated, variable design for HP Indigo printing, has made its worldwide debut at the show in Chicago. Following the success of HP SmartStream Mosaic, HP SmartStream Collage offers unique designs by manipulating elements randomly for unlimited brand impact using logos and symbols.

The HP Indigo 8000 digital press is printing shrink sleeves and labels at 262 fpm (80 m/m) per minute inline with the ABG Fast track semi-rotary die. Finished products produced during live presentations are being made available for visitors.

The HP Indigo 6900 digital press has new applications and effects while running inline with the one-pass digital embellishments unit, the new HP Indigo GEM. This end-to-end solution allows printing of any label in a simple, more productive and profitable way.

The commercially available HP Indigo Pack Ready for Labels solution is also being displayed. The solution enables production of high-resistance labels for food, household, and chemical applications.

A range of breakthrough HP Indigo ElectroInks for labels and packaging is an additional highlight on the HP booth, with HP Indigo ElectroInk Silver making its Americas debut. The ink supports a wide range of metallic colors and is enabling new, high-value digital applications with cost-effective production.

The enhanced HP Indigo 20000 digital press, for production of labels with high productivity, shrink sleeves and flexible packaging, is running inline with a new 30″ unit designed especially for the press by ABG for coating and slitting. This exclusive end-to-end integrated solution is being shown for the first time at Labelexpo Americas 2018, producing shrink sleeves with finishing by Karlville on end products.

In the security zone, visitors have an opportunity for an immersive experience in the first of its kind Security and Brand Protection Escape Room. In this area visitors can see advanced security and brand protection solutions, including new and exclusive covert serialization with HP Indigo ElectroInks Invisible Yellow and Blue, IR green and taggants, unique layered brand protection with micro-text, anti-copy/anti-counterfeiting marks, track and trace and much more. Visitors can also learn about HP Link technology, which provides brand owners the ability to track each individual product unit through its entire lifecycle by creating and using a unique combination of marking technologies that create an adaptable and secure digital fingerprint.

HP is offering hands-on demonstrations of the new high-performance, modular and scalable print server, the new HP Production Pro for Labels and Packaging, as well as showcasing additional applications to automate production and maximize business opportunities from the cloud-based workflow and automation solution HP PrintOS including the new PrintOS Site Flow for Labels and Packaging, OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) monitoring, EPM Analyzer and the new HP PrintOS Marketplace.

The HP Specialty Printing Systems area features Afinia Label’s L301 and L501 desktop color label printers.  Afinia utilizes HP thermal inkjet technology to offer professional quality, in-store label personalization campaigns in a tabletop sized footprint. The L301 utilizes the SPS SI-850 print engine, which is a very small footprint solution with snap in printheads with dye inks.  The L501 uses the SPS SI-1300 print engine with the swappable printhead that allows end users to easily switch between dye and pigment ink label print jobs.

During the show, HP is hosting three live sessions a day with HP industry experts taking visitors through a journey of growth, new technologies and how to transform business, ending with a live demonstration on how to produce a digital label or shrink sleeve in minutes. Visitors can create a personalized label with their own picture, as well.