Launched at Drupa 2004, the Indigo 3050 was an up­dated version of HP's 3000 and one of the manu­facturer's major launches after its £1bn acquisition of Indigo in 2002. Targeted at commercial printers, it fea­tured enhancements to the print engine and RIP.

　　HP’s 1050 was part of its first series of presses and, although they are still sold today, it was a basic model with only one paper feeder. The second series machines, such as the 3050, were twice the speed of the 1000 series and could handle printing in up to seven colours as standard.

　　The HP 3050 series machines were launched in order to provide high-speed, litho-quality offset digital. They are considered ‘the printers’ digital press’ due to the unsurpassed quality and traditional ‘suck and blow’ substrate feeder, says Chris Blanchard, director at The Digital People, one of the few dealers in the UK for secondhand Indigo presses.

　　Draws not feeders

　　There are other Series 2 HP Indigos available, including the 5000 and 5500, and these presses have near identical print engines, but have paper draws rather than a suck and blow feeder, says Blanchard. While the HP 5000 has been replaced by the HP 5500, the 3050 is still available because many customers prefer the feed system.

　　There is an off-press kit, which HP sells, allowing users to mix different pantone colours for spot work. HP presses are the only short-run digital presses to use liquid ink technology rather than toner.

　　As with all Indigo presses, the quality, speed and consistency of the output print are their main strengths, says Blanchard.  It runs SRA3-size substrates, from four to seven colour configurations, with 97% of the Pantone range available for spot-colour printing.

　　Because these machines are ‘offset’ digital presses, they have a plate and blanket, so the paper is not heated during printing. Therefore, the press will run at a constant speed on all substrates, regardless of the weight, compared to other toner-based systems that can slow down when printing, for example, business cards. The machine can take paper weights of 80-350gsm.

　　The plate gets re-imaged every impression, meaning we can achieve full-colour personalisation, and the personalisation software comes with the press, says Blanchard.

　　The machines work by a photo imaging plate being charged with a negative charge, before a laser then discharges on to the area to be imaged. Next, a thin layer of liquid ink is applied to the surface of the plate and adheres to the discharged image area. The ink is then offset to a heated blanket and, following this process, the ink is then transferred to the substrate. This process happens once for every colour being printed.

　　Spares are available to purchase through Digital People and HP, or as part of a service agreement. These agreements can be parts-only cover or fully inclusive. The 3050 is a current model press and HP spares will be available for at least 10 years after the product is discontinued.

　　The secondhand market for these presses is very new, says Blanchard. Most machines are traded back as part of an upgrade and sent back to the HP factory to be remanufactured. Being a current product, the year of manufacture does not make much difference to sale prices.

　　SPECIFICATIONS

　　Speed

　　4,000 four-colour A4 images per hour (2-up)
　　16,000 single-colour A4 images per hour (2-up)

　　Max image size

　　308x450mm

　　Max paper format

　　320x470mm

　　Prices

　　New

　　Four-colour £206,000
　　Five-colour £226,000
　　Six-colour £236,000
　　Seven-colour £246,000

　　Used

　　Prices from £90,000 upwards
　　Remanufactured from £110,000 upwards

　　What to look for

　　• General wear and tear