R and R Images Offers Museum-Quality Book Printing with HP Indigo Press 5500

PHOENIX, AZ—August 28, 2007—HP today announced that R and R Images, a Phoenix, Ariz.-based marketing services provider that also specializes in digital printing, has installed an HP Indigo press 5500 , which it is using to embark on a new level of high-end photobook production. The press, which enables high-definition digital printing in resolutions up to 1,200 dots per inch in up to seven colors, is producing a new line of upscale consumer photo books for a key R and R client, Couture Book.

Launching today, Couture Book features top-quality digital printing coupled with old-world binding techniques and innovative, fashion-influenced designs. The true offset quality of HP Indigo presses and liquid HP ElectroInk , combined with the hand-sewn bindings developed for the line, are designed to appeal to the high-end and professional buyer. Following today’s launch, displays featuring the Couture Book line are scheduled for installation in select department stores.

“The new print application from R and R Images/Couture Book shows an evolution in the print ecosystem where consumers can demand and expect the very best quality,” said Rich Raimondi, vice president and general manager, U.S. Graphic Arts Organization, HP. “The HP Indigo press 5500 is built to combine the offset look and feel essential to high-end books with the on-demand production of custom and dynamic content, such as personal photos, on demand.”

The new line follows another successful HP Indigo-based collaboration between the founders of Couture Book and R and R: CMYK books, a photobook production service for professional photographers. Couture Book co-founder Rodrigo Coelho launched CMYK books in 2004 after seeing the type of digital printing possible with R and R’s HP Indigo equipment.

Toner ‘not an option’ in high-end work

“From the beginning, the other digital presses in the marketplace were not even an option,” said Coelho. “We could not have a high-end book where you look at it from an angle and see toner buildup. The HP Indigo presses match the offset quality you need for a truly high-end book.”