FastAnt selects HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press at drupa after large format solution passes 'Pepsi Challenge'

BARCELONA, Spain, 14 May2012 - HP today announced that full-service marketing fulfilmentprovider, FastAnt, has finalised its purchase of an HP ScitexFB7600 Industrial Press to sharpen its service offering and deliveran in-house POP/POS capability to its retail customer base.

Leicester, UK-based,FastAnt, an existing HP Indigo digital press customer and asubsidiary of offset-litho print company, Taylor Bloxham Ltd, madethe investment after reaching a 'critical mass' in the volume ofPOS work it had hitherto outsourced to other suppliers. Thisdependency invariably impacted on workflow and meant that thecompany relied on other parties before it could distributematerials to its clients.

Having submitted artwork tothree manufacturers of large format printers, and viewed up-closedemonstrations of their respective devices, FastAnt selected the HPScitex FB7600 Industrial Press based on its combination of speed,quality and upgradeability.

"We only startedlooking in earnest for an in-house large format printer in March,but made sure that we had thoroughly done our homework beforeapproaching the three short-listed suppliers," said MatthewWennington, FastAnt's managing director. "As a result, we had anextremely clear idea of exactly what we needed.

"I consider it myobligation to focus on making sure we are as efficient as possibleand that we don't have money tied up in equipment unless it'sworking very effectively for us. As a result, we only invest insomething once we are absolutely certain that it will pay dividendsfor us," added Wennington.

As part of FastAnt'sevaluation process, different artwork for different substrates,based on real life customer requirements, was created and sent toeach supplier to print. When the samples were returned, Wenningtonassembled FastAnt's design and POS sales teams to view the results,having first obscured the manufacturer's names.

"This internal 'Pepsichallenge' resulted in the HP Scitex FB7600 consistently scoringthe highest on every printed sample we displayed to our sales team,and as these are the guys that would eventually have to sell, thatwas effectively decision made," he explained.

In addition to the HPScitex FB7600 Industrial Press' high visual quality of printedoutput, FastAnt was impressed at its ability to handle a wide rangeof different substrates - including those generally considered tobe difficult.  During these demos Wennington witnessed the press'performance first-hand:

"One media type that weuse in high amounts is corrugated board," he continued. "I wasstunned by the FB7600 press' ability to handle corrugated material,which proved troublesome for the other devices we looked at andrequired the operator to intervene continually to free it andre-set the printer.

"Part of the sampledesigns we submitted to HP included those printed onto corrugatedboard using the highest saturation level. The FB7600 printed around100 straight-off in about an hour and without skipping a beat, sowe knew if it could handle that, it could handle any substrate wethrew at it," he added.

For FastAnt, the HP ScitexFB7600 Industrial Press' ability to firmly tick the right boxes interms of speed and quality was paramount. This was important and,says Wennington, highlights the capabilities of large formatdigital printing to the company's parent offset printing business,Taylor Bloxham.

"Taylor Bloxham iswidely acknowledged for its focus on quality and colourconsistency, which is underscored by the fact that it prints thecolour cards for three major paint manufacturers," he said.  "Thefact that the group selected HP digital large format technologyreflects our belief that it delivers on the stringent qualitylevels required to go hand with work undertaken for our offsetlitho customers. We believe it will open up opportunities to growbusiness among existing clients as well as attract newones."

Wennington admitted thatother factors helped play a part in swinging the eventual decisionin HP's favour.

"As an HP Indigo press5000 customer, we've naturally become accustomed to the high levelof customer service and support afforded us by HP," he said. "Wehad the assurance that these would be in place around the FB7600was also a significant deal clincher."

The HP Scitex FB7600Industrial Press prints up to 95 full-size sheets/hr(1) inproduction speed and up to 55 full-size sheets/hr with POP qualityon a wide variety of media up to 25mm thick, while a six-colourUV-curable HP FB225 Scitex Ink set provides excellent dot gain andan impressive colour gamut up to 600dpi resolution. In addition, anew edge-to-edge printing feature means that final-size sheets maybe printed, which eliminates the need for trimming, thereby savingsubstrates and reducing product damage through additionalhandling.

Celebrating its tenth yearin business in 2012, FastAnt offers true end-to-end marketingsupport to its wide-ranging base of retail clients. Its serviceoffering comprises POS design and production, direct marketing,marketing fulfilment, eCommerce, digital printing and printmanagement. Taylor Bloxham, established in 1939, is one of thelargest independent lithographic printers in the UK and in 2007received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for Innovation inPrinting.

More information isavailable at www.youtube.com/hpgraphicartsor follow HP on www.twitter.com/hpgraphicarts.

(1) 165 x 310cm (65 x122in)

AboutHP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningfulimpact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world'slargest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio thatspans printing, personal computing, software, services and ITinfrastructure to solve customer problems. More information aboutHP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

Editorialcontacts

Vanessa Ribeiro, HP
+34 682 794 816  

Jonathan Wake
Bespoke for HP
+33 4 79 34 87 71 or
+44 (0)1737 215 200
jonathanw@bespoke.co.uk

HP Sant Cugat
HP Española S. L
Cami de Can Graells, 1-21
08174, Sant Cugat del Valles
Barcelona
Spain
www.hp.com