Photo-specialty printing with HP Indigo presses

Best practice guide

Executive summary
The photo industry has gone through several transitions over the past
decades. In the 1980s, the traditional model of consumers taking films
for processing changed dramatically with the advent of the mini-lab.
Dropping off films for processing no longer required a trip to a
camera shop and an often-lengthy wait for the return of prints. The
wholesale photofinishing concept suddenly had a clear alternative.
More recently, photography has been forever transformed by the
arrival of digital cameras and digital printing technologies.
Today, home printing, instant printing at kiosks or retail outlets and the
use of the internet to send digital files for printing have further
redefined business models for the photo-printing market.
The use of HP Indigo digital presses for printing is opening new
possibilities for photo-specialty products (such as photobooks,
calendars and greeting cards), as well as new opportunities for photo-
finishers and commercial printers to drive new revenue streams.
Alongside the digital printing with HP Indigo presses, HP offers end-to-
end solutions enabling the smooth, efficient and profitable production
of high quality photo-specialty products.
The use of a digital offset press to produce photo products is
revolutionary and as the customer profiles of several market leaders
below illustrate, it is a successful means of production that offers many
benefits and opportunities.
The changing face of photography. Affordable technology for printing photo prints at home
came on the market with high quality desktop photo-
Digital technology has changed the world we see.
printers, inks and user-friendly software for photo
Desktop colour inkjet printers and laser printers are
manipulation and printing. Photo-quality paper and inks
technologies where HP played a leading role, feeding
became available in supermarkets, further encouraging
the appetite for colour printing. In the commercial
the home photo-printing market.
printing industry, during the early 1990s, Indigo
revolutionised printing with the introduction of the first The ability to print images, on-demand, at home, was
digital offset printing systems. an attractive notion and proved popular. Ordinary
desktop printers and all-in-one scanner/copier/printers
In the consumer world, parallel to these developments
became capable of outputting high quality prints that
was the development of digital cameras, first at the high-
were under direct control of consumers. Inks and papers
end, but quickly followed by affordable cameras that
have continued to evolve to facilitate the process and
produced images of a high enough quality to make
feed the market.
consumers discard their 35mm cameras.
The increase in the total number of digital pictures taken
Digital data storage and output became the next focus
has resulted in the development of new opportunities for
for development. While viewing images on a computer
photofinishers and commercial printers seeking a new
or television screen filled the need of those people who
specialist niche for business expansion.
preferred transparencies, it was not a universally
accepted solution. Affordable ways of transferring
images from digital data to something that could be put
in albums, pinned to a wall or carried in a wallet were
needed.

The move from analogue to digital is not yet complete,

though all the signs point to the demise of the use of film
in consumer markets. Retail outlets offering film
processing, using mini-labs, are able to accept images
for digital printing via a variety of formats (memory and
flash cards, CDs, and mobile phones), and even those
offering analogue film processing now supply CDs of
images as well as processed negatives and prints.

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“The capabilities of the HP Indigo press 5000 have
set us apart from our competitors. We are able to
offer personalised, innovative products, on demand
and at affordable prices. Substrate versatility, speed,
flexibility, and offset quality are the key factors that
triggered the purchase, and make us so reliant on the
HP Indigo press 5000 today. HP Indigo technology
has enabled us to constantly remain a step ahead of
our customers’ requirements.”

Michel de Guilhermier, founder, Photoways

The demand for hard copy

While the ease and versatility of digital photography Photoways is based in Sartrouville, Yvelines, France
has transformed the photographic market, there remains
an almost primal requirement for hard copies of
photographs. Digital technology has made duplication
and distribution of photographs easier than ever before,
and it has given rise to an array of new photographic
products and possibilities.

Photobooks are an example of a completely new

product that consumers are quickly adopting as a new
medium to print and share their photos. Digitally printed
photobooks, which can be produced in elegant hard-
cover versions, or less elaborate magazine-like soft-cover Typical Customers: consumers
versions, fulfil the traditional desire for photo albums
with hard-copy pictures. However, the ease and Typical products: Photos can be sent on CDs or
affordability with which multiple copies of photobooks uploaded online, to produce photo books, mouse pads,
can be produced enables pictures to be shared in a way playing cards, greetings cards, watches, mugs, clothes,
never before feasible. bags, caps, puzzles, teddy bears, crystal objects.

The market for photobooks is fuelled by a number of Photoways is the leading European Internet photo
factors: printing service provider

• The traditional demand for albums
• New ways of sending image data for printing
• More cost-effective means of production
• Greater selection of products
• Instantaneous results, satisfying the “now” society
• An expanding base of digital photography
Founded in 2000, Photoways offers a range of online
photo printing services and innovative products. Since
the merger with the UK-based PhotoBox, the Photoways
group is expecting a €30m turnover in 2006, with over
one million customers.
Michel de Guilhermier, founder, Photoways:
“I was passionate about digital photography and
realised in 2000 there was a niche in the photo printing
market. The limitless opportunities digital photography
offered enabled us to grow our business and capture a
new, emerging market. In 2004, we decided to
purchase a 4-colour HP Indigo press 3050. For a small
company, this was a considerable investment, but we
were soon producing 1,000 calendars a day.

“No other technology enables us to print short-run or

even individual products, which meet the standards of
conventional printing, cost-effectively. The ROI was such,
that we subsequently invested in four HP Indigo press
5000s.”

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“The HP Indigo press 3050 and HP Indigo press
5000 enable Albumprinter-Quantes to offer our
customers fast, reliable photo-printing with superior
quality and excellent value. We receive thousands of
orders a week and because our work is
predominately seasonal (photobooks in the summer
and calendars in the winter), the presses allow us to
change seamlessly from different sized, formatted
and colour applications.”

Andre Grimbergen, President of Albumprinter-Quantes

Just as the desire for albums continues, the film-based

model for photo-printing has remained nearly
unchanged over a century of mass-market amateur Albumprinter-Quantes BV, The Netherlands
photography: take pictures; deliver media for
processing, and collect prints.

This procedure has been adapted and modified, but

remains essentially the same today. Media delivery can
now be to a supermarket, via the post, or the internet,
but the basic process remains the same: printing photos,
gifts and photo-specialty products remains a
professional operation.

Since digital technology did not replace the desire for

prints, the paradigm for obtaining prints has not been
changed, but merely supplemented by the home printing
option.
As the generations that grew up with computers and
digital photography mature, these models may yet
change, but for the foreseeable future, processing and
printing by professionals will remain the dominant
means of obtaining prints.
Typical Customers: Photofinishers, print service providers
Based in Rijswijk, Netherlands, Albumprinter-Quantes
BV was founded in 2004 when print service provider
Quantes BV joined forces with Albumprinter to develop
a photo book fulfilment service. Albumprinter-Quantes is
a market leader in photo book production in the Benelux
region and Albumprinter is a worldwide leader in the
licensed installation of its photo-based software:
Albumprinter Production license and the Self-Production
license. Using an HP Indigo press 3050 and two HP
Indigo press 5000s, the company produces photo
books, calendars, diaries, posters and photobooks.

Andre Grimbergen, President of Albumprinter-Quantes

“The decision to join with Albumprinter came when we
realised the opportunities available by combining our
services. We have been using digital printing for many
years and have found HP Indigo technology to offer a
superior service than any other we have used. We
asked a Dutch photo retailer what was most important to
their products and without hesitation they said the
quality of the photos had to be perfect. The HP Indigo
press 3050 and HP Indigo press 5000 provide us with
perfect photos every time.

“We have increased our ROI with the two HP Indigo

presses while managing to increase our customer
satisfaction by providing customers with a complete
printing solution.”

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 Digital albums printed worldwide

Digital Albums Printed Worldwide

(units x 1,000)
30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
From Online From Home
Excludes cameraphones ©2005 Photofinishing News, Inc.

The shape of the market

The total number of pictures taken is estimated to grow
from 145 billion to 350 billion from 2005 - 2010 with
prints showing a similar growth from 37 billion to 87
billion prints produced - the balance being stored
digitally or discarded. During that time, prints made
from digital data are expected to grow at a Compound
Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19 percent, while the
number of prints produced from film is set to fall by 10
percent CAGR. (For the purpose of these figures, a
“print” is 4” x 6” or equivalent.)
The share of images being processed through retail
outlets to prints is expected to grow from 28 percent in
2005, to 48 percent in 2010.
The growth of photobooks has been, in part, stimulated
by the popularity of “network albums.” These are web
sites that offer free or premium opportunities for people
to upload their images and share them with friends
around the world. A growing number of these sites is
offering the means of formatting album pages for
delivery to photo finishers or commercial printers - often
using HP Indigo presses - who produce and deliver
copies of the album in the desired style.
Growth of these products is expected to rise from a
current base of c. 5 million, to more than 25 million by
2010.

This means that for photo-printers, the growth to be

captured is a 13 percent CAGR rise in the number of
prints made from digital data.

At the same time that the photo print market is growing,

the demand for photo-specialty print products (e.g.,
calendars, photobooks, greetings cards, etc.) is
expected to exceed 5 percent of the total prints
produced, or 3.75 billion printed images.

Photobooks are a key area of development. These are

personalised books of images that may be ordered and
be produced as one-offs, or in small numbers to enable
participants in events to share and retain memories of
the occasion. Birthdays, anniversaries, trips, business
and civic events, exhibitions, openings and all such
occasions are the perfect opportunities for the
production of high-quality, value-added, retainable
digitally printed photobooks.

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“We offer our customers a complete digital service
printing books and photo albums alongside each
other with the highest quality guaranteed thanks to
the HP Indigo presses. The ability to print a single
copy of a photo book allows our customers the
ultimate flexibility and though the print runs are
small, production is cost-effective, and demand for
these products is rapidly increasing.”
Peter Schmidkonz, managing director, Buchbinderei
Schmidkonz GmbH

What are “photo-specialty

products”? Buchbinderei Schmidkonz GmbH, Germany
Digital photography and printing has accelerated the
expansion of the traditional photo-gift products,
including mugs, T-shirts, mouse-pads, fridge magnets
and so on.

It has also fuelled the demand for a new category of

products that can be digitally printed: photo-specialty
products including “photo albums, photo calendars,
photo greetings cards, post cards, and more.

The market for all of these things is now firmly

established and is moving towards rapid growth. Typical customers: Authors, publishers and photo-book
providers
The photo-specialty product printing Based in Nittenau, Germany Buchbinderei Schmidkonz
opportunity with HP Indigo digital produces photobooks on its four HP Indigo press 5000s.
Employing 70 people, Buchbinderei Schmidkonz has
presses provided bookbinding and printing services since 1936.
HP Indigo digital presses offer photofinishers and
In 2005 it embraced digital printing to open new
commercial printers complete solutions enabling them to
markets and to offer customers a fully personalised, fast
generate high quality products to meet the requirements
turnaround digital service.
of their markets.
In July 2005, Buchbinderei installed two HP Indigo press
HP offers an end-to-end solution with its partners
5000s and a year later two six-colour HP Indigo press
providing systems and equipment for:
5000s were added to the production line.
• Photo product design (by consumers) and order
Peter Schmidkonz, managing director,
fulfilment (backend operations workflow) through
Buchbinderei Schmidkonz GmbH
partners' software solutions.
“Our customers send us their data via FTP and we can
• Ripping through scalable ripping solutions
then send those files directly to the HP Indigo press
• Printing with HP Indigo digital presses
5000. Minutes later that data has been turned into a
• Finishing with various partner solutions
beautiful, high quality book.
At the heart of HP Indigo digital photo-printing is a
“Since the HP Indigo press 5000s use methods similar
choice of powerful digital presses, each with unique
to an offset press, the accuracy of the printing, quality of
abilities to deliver high quality prints to be used for
the images and handling of large amounts of data
production of photo-specialty products. In the HP Indigo
made the choice to invest in HP Indigo technology
product portfolio, the HP Indigo press 5000 and the HP
obvious. We are transforming ourselves from a
Indigo press w3250 are the primary choice for photo-
traditional book binding company to a comprehensive
related production.
manufacturer of the highest quality photobooks and
short run digital print production. Our HP Indigo
technology makes all our customers demands feasible.”

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 The HP Indigo press 5000 is a high performance
solution for profitable digital colour printing, with press
speeds of 2,000 4-colour or 8,000 monochrome A3
sheets per hour on coated or uncoated substrates.
Three large paper trays enable paper reloading without
stopping the press, and the possibility of carrying three
different paper stocks for on-the-fly changeovers to suit
specific applications. The combined capacity of the trays
for standard weight print substrates is 5,630 sheets (120
g/m2).
The HP Indigo press w3250 is a web press that can print halftone dots and fine type characters, due in part to the
up to 2,000 4-colour A3 duplex sheets per hour, on a
broad range of substrates thanks to its inline priming
unit.
Being a web press, the HP Indigo press w3250 can be
configured for in-line or off-line finishing to suit customer
requirements.
Both presses use the well-established HP ElectroInk and
both can print up to three additional colours or
varnishes in addition to the standard CMYK colours. HP
ElectroInk is a liquid ink that creates vibrant images with
lifelike colours that accurately reproduces colours with
exceptional consistency. The Seybold Report (Vol. 5, No.
7, July 6, 2005) stated that the HP Indigo press 5000
had a ∆ deviation of 0.51 over a run of 250 copies.
This level of stability puts the press in a leadership
position for digital presses.
This ability to reproduce colour accurately - as well as
match colours across digital output devices - makes HP
Indigo presses exceptional platforms for printing photo-
specialty products.
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Overview of the printing technology
The three core technologies of the HP Indigo “Digital
Offset Colour” process are:
• HP ElectroInk
• thermal offset transfer technology
• on-the-fly colour switching
HP ElectroInk forms much sharper images than
xerographic dry toners - they are even superior to offset
lithographic dots at equivalent resolutions. The
sharpness is particularly noticeable at the edges of
small size of the ink particles, but also to the way these
particles are transformed when they are on the press.
HP Indigo presses come equipped with an on-line
densitometer, assuring colour consistency, dot gain
compensation and accurate repeatability. Also, the
presses are automatically calibrated for colour fidelity
between jobs, and a sophisticated colour matching tool
allows the operator to fine-tune the colour density and
dot gain of the 50-percent dot, even during printing.
This ability to alter colours on-the-fly further contributes
to press productivity, while maintaining the highest print
quality possible.
With the optional capacity to use the off-press ink
mixing system to mix special colours on-site for the 5th,
6th, and 7th colour systems (complementing the
standard CMYK process ink set) the benefits of virtually
limitless colour variations quickly become evident.
“After comprehensive testing and analysis we found
HP Indigo technology to be of the highest quality,
providing the best ROI and with incredibly fast print-
ing times. The HP Indigo press 3050s have enabled
us to broaden our photo printing services to our
customers, we now offer greater flexibility on the
design and layout of photobooks and can produce
single copies of the products quickly and cost-
effectively.”
Reiner Fageth, managing director and head of R&D of CeWe
Color

The HP imaging technology and the HP ElectroInk

application process are essentially the same for all HP
CeWe Color AG, Germany
Indigo presses. However, the HP Indigo press 5000 and
the HP Indigo press w3250 employ the advanced Series
2 printing engine based on enhanced technology called
Binary Ink Development (BID). BID does not spray the
ink on the photo imaging plate (PIP), but applies it to the
PIP via a development roller. Also it uses a separate
developer station for each colour, rather than one for all
colours. This enables higher speed development for even
higher speed products in the future.

HP ElectroInk colours are contained in sealed canisters

that can be replaced without stopping the press. No
only does this contribute to press throughput, but it
ensures a clean working environment where the
possibility of ink damage to labels on the press is
eliminated.
Special features for photo-printing
with HP Indigo presses
• HP Indigo Scalable RIP solution offering centralised RIP
farm, completely automated workflow, and high
performance RIP for high-volume, short-run, photo print
production
• HP Indigo Photo colour conversion table specially for
photo-printing applications giving more saturated
greens, blues with more cyan, producing better
shadow details
Typical customers: amateur photographers
Based in Germany, CeWe Color began investing in
digital technology in the mid- 1990s. Today CeWe has
20 high-tech photofinishing companies, employs 3,400
employees in 14 European countries, and serves 60,000
retail outlets.
CeWe Color has a total of 11 HP Indigo presses,
comprising both HP Indigo press 3050s and HP Indigo
press 5000s, and produces photobooks and calendars
for the amateur photography market as well as
photobooks for professionals, such as wedding
photographers. All products are fully personalised with
photo book lengths ranging from 26 pages to 98
pages, and using different covers, such as hard-cover,
soft-cover and linen-like covers.

• HP Indigo Photo Image Enhancement – this external
and automated image enhancement module offers
sharpening tools, contrast correction, and shadow
detail enhancement. It also features jpeg artefacts and
noise reduction capabilities to ensure the best results.
• New HP Indigo Light Cyan and Light Magenta inks
make use of the 7-colour capabilities of the HP Indigo
press 5000. The additional inks have been developed
to provide a smoother image, better tone transition,
and reduced granularity to produce an image quality
closer to that of silver halide.
Reiner Fageth, managing director and head of R&D of
CeWe Color:
“The HP Indigo press 3050 and 5000 are unique in that
they are highly reliable and require low levels of
maintenance. For a company as busy as CeWe, we
cannot afford to waste time having our presses serviced
between jobs or slowed down by heavy use during
shifts. HP Indigo technology has provided us with a way
to produce personally compiled fun products for our
customers, ensuring quality consistency and colour
accuracy, and without compromising on time or money.”

• New HP Specialty Media – HP extends its provision of

high quality media for digital imaging with media for
the HP Indigo photo-printing market

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“Digital photo-printing has transformed the industry,
and we are now able to offer bespoke products to
our customers, which go beyond photography. The
HP Indigo press 5000 enables us to deliver vibrant
photos and photo products that surpass our
customers’ expectations. Whatever the technological
developments, our aim is to protect and enhance
people’s memories.”
Stéphane Morin, CEO, Photo Service

The photo-printing world of HP

Indigo presses Photo Service S.A, Roissy, France
Finishing partners
As part of HP's end-to-end solution for photo-printing
with HP Indigo digital presses, leading suppliers of
finishing equipment are able to integrate their solutions
to deliver finished photo products that will delight your
customers. Among the finishing equipment from HP
partners are solutions from Duplo, Horizon, and
Morgana.

Choosing your business model

Photofinishers, commercial printers, and other
companies (such as album manufacturers) have different Based in Roissy, France, Photo Service employs 2,000
reasons and approaches to entering this new business. people and has a €170m turnover.
For photofinishers, the objective is typically to cross-sell Typical customers: consumers
photo-specialty products from traditional prints that are
produced with silver halide process equipment. The Typical products: photobooks, greetings cards,
opportunity is to increase overall profitability as the calendars.
margins on traditional photos have become very slim.
Founded in 1981, Photo Service was the first French
For commercial printers, adding photo products is an
photo-printing company to print photos within an hour.
additional application alongside the traditional print
Photoservice.com is the online division of the company
applications such as brochures for example. For others
and the most profitable part of the business.
it typically implies capitalising on existing channels to
consumers to address the rapidly growing market for Stéphane Morin, CEO, Photo Service:
photo-specialty products. “In 2004, we became aware that to continue to develop
and grow our business, we would have to address the
There is no one solution for a photo-specialty business
digital printing market. We found the solution we were
using an HP Indigo press, as flexibility is critical when
looking for at the Intergraphic exhibition in Lyon: the HP
starting the business. The HP Indigo solution and partner
Indigo press 3050. We had benefited from a very good
offering is therefore versatile and can be configured to
image for the previous 20 years, and we were adamant
your needs.
that we should maintain our reputation for quality photo-
After careful consideration of the strategy, HP Indigo's printing.
Sales and Solution Architect team will assist in selecting
“Following the purchase of the HP Indigo press 3050,
the right press, software solution and finishing
we created an online service, which enabled our
equipment from HP Partners to ensure compatibility and
customers to upload their digital images to
that the solution you have chosen is best suited to your
photoservice.com. We were soon producing 300 photo
objectives.
albums a day, and we subsequently purchased an HP
Seeing the whole picture is important, and knowing Indigo press 5000.”
what services operate is key. Naturally, in addition
careful consideration of the production and go-to-market
strategy is vital to build success. The there are several
options available to a photo brand today. It can choose
to use direct or indirect sales channels, or it can choose
to outsource production or keep it in house.

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“Both the HP Indigo press 5000s in use at our two
labs have the capacity to print five colours duplex
which means we can produce single photobooks,
already sorted, made up and ready to be bound.
Optimum efficiency with HP Indigo technology!”
Marino Roncone, CEO, Rikorda Group
Capturing the photo-specialty
market
The future is of photo-specialty printing is bright!
For photofinishers moving into digital print production,
or commercial printers moving into the photo-specialty
products printing market with HP Indigo presses, HP
offers a comprehensive range of solutions to ensure you
are able to achieve your goals. By providing end-to-end
solutions with established suppliers, HP helps to you flat-
ten the learning curve as much as possible.
The development of the digital photography market so
far has shown that an ability to be flexible and respond
quickly is critical to leveraging market trends. The versa-
tility of HP solutions, and HP's expertise in digital data
transfer, processing, storage and output, will ensure that
your have access to leading technology and advice.
Rikorda Group, Italy
Typical customers: consumers
Typical products: Online customers, amateur photogra-
phy market and over 6,000 photo shop partners all over
Italy.
Based in Italy, the Rikorda Group has five photofinishing
labs across the country with two of them operating a HP
Indigo press 5000, producing up to 500 photo albums
a day
With over 35 years’ experience in the photographic
industry, the Rikorda Group has developed an
innovative service aimed at photo enthusiasts. This serv-
ice is successful largely owing to the exceptional photo
quality and application versatility available with the HP
Indigo press 5000.
Marino Roncone, CEO, Rikorda Group:
“For years we have been a leader in traditional film-
based photo-printing but with the efficiency, productivity
and ROI advantages of digital printing it is impossible to
deny the opportunities available for your business. We
produce high quality, fast-turnaround photobooks for our
customers, competitively priced together with traditional
photo-printing.
“Though the majority of our business comes from the
production of photobooks, we also use the HP Indigo
press 5000 for photo calendars, greeting cards and
technical and promotional brochures. The versatility of
HP Indigo technology enables us to use the same press
for a wide range of services.”
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