Graphic Dimensions Leaps into Label Market with HP Indigo

PALO ALTO, CA—January 30, 2012—HP today announced that Graphic Dimensions, a U.S.-based printing company headquartered in Atlanta, installed an HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press to expand its business and form a new labels division, Dimension Labels.

As Graphic Dimensions scouted for a way to diversify and grow its business, it saw opportunity in the thriving labels and packaging industry. The company, which traditionally prints business and marketing documents, moved its Atlanta location to a larger 65,000-square-foot facility nearby to make room for supplementary label printing services in November 2012. The new facility is spacious enough to house its current equipment, the newly added HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press, as well as more presses in the future.

"We are expecting the division to increase our sales by 30 percent in its first year," said Bill Reid, director of marketing, Graphic Dimensions. "We have been pleasantly surprised by the response received since launching Dimension Labels and look forward to growing even more throughout 2013."

The web-fed HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press prints at a top speed of 130 linear-feet-per-minute in Enhanced Productivity Mode, generating labels with superior quality at the highest crossover point versus analog for most jobs. The press also supports the widest media range, so Graphic Dimensions can print on a variety of synthetic and paper substrates from 0.5- to 18-points thick.

Along with speed and versatility, another deciding factor for Graphic Dimensions was color quality and registration. HP Indigo matches up to 97 percent of the PANTONE® color gamut with a maximum of seven ink stations on the press. Additionally, One Shot Color technology ensures that each print matches exactly to the next while laying down all color separations simultaneously in a single pass.

"The color quality of our labels is an essential part of our business," said Reid. "The registration using the HP Indigo WS6600 is perfect on every single label with no dot gain. That was a big selling point for us."

Developing a new dimension
With no previous experience in labels and packaging, Graphic Dimensions invested in a robust marketing plan to attract new clients and hired knowledgeable industry veterans to oversee the division. The company promotes the flexibility of digital print and allows the capabilities of the HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press to speak for itself.

Variable data printing on the HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press enables Graphic Dimensions to print unique text, barcodes as well as images on consecutively printed labels without the effort and cost associated with plate changes used in flexographic printing processes. In the first month of opening Dimension Labels, the company received orders with more than 20 different SKUs, which would have been expensive to produce on a traditional analog press.

"The key to gaining new business is educating our distributers on the power of what digital can do for labels," said Reid. "With the HP Indigo WS6600, we have the flexibility to offer just-in-time manufacturing, seasonal labels and the ability to change products as needed to effectively adapt to market conditions."

Graphic Dimensions also leaned on HP experts to help guide it through the uncharted territory.

"We found that HP has a very strong infrastructure," said Reid. "We talked with people from HP throughout the process, from preplanning to marketing and sales support. With HP, you are partnering with the company as opposed to just buying a piece of equipment."

HP business development teams assist customers in every aspect of investment in order to maximize profitability. HP offers educational services and resources, through programs such as HP Capture as well as the HP users group Dscoop, to keep print service providers informed while helping them grow their business. Graphic Dimensions is a member of Dscoop and looks forward to attending the annual conference, Dscoop8, in Nashville this February 21-23.

Additional information about HP Indigo solutions is available at hp.com/go/gsb, on the HP Graphic Arts YouTube channel, youtube.com/hpgraphicarts, or through the HP Graphic Arts Twitter Feed, twitter.com/hpgraphicarts.

About HP
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Source: HP.