Technological Developments — More Changes Reshaping the Industry

Mail Table Digital

At the Spring 2007 HP Graphic Arts Summit in Rome, a small three-color (CMY) print engine with six thermal ink-jet heads printing a width of 1.7˝ was demonstrated. The equipment, called the mPrint 1700c, was designed to be integrated with an existing black printer, primarily for use on equipment such as mailing tables and folders. The equipment had a rated top speed of 300 fpm at resolutions lower than its top rated 600 dpi. The interesting thing about this technology was its potential to bring process color ink-jet imaging to envelopes, postcards and solo mailers. Scheduled for U.S. showing at Graph Expo ’07, the mPrint 1700c was a no-show withdrawn at the last minute for product improvement. PrintCom suspects that this product will show up at Drupa ’08. It is worth watching for.