News

HP is investing nearly £2m in a European demo centre for the graphic arts market.

The £1.7m ($3.5m), 3,000sqm Barcelona site will be staffed by a 12-strong team to offer pre-sales support and operator training for the firm's Indigo digital press range and Scitex and DesignJet wide-format inkjet machines. The King of Spain will officially open the new site in February 2008.

Opening the demo centre is one of several initiatives the firm is using to get closer to its commercial print customers as it prepares for its European graphic arts business to hit the billion-dollar mark in 2008. Wide-format, and signage in particular, form a significant part of that £484m market with revenues of £145m predicted for the sector in 2008 and 15% annual growth.

HP's other initiatives to get closer to customers in this market include the recently launched Go Large community of European wide-format printers. This forum for discussion of market needs and wide-format print applications has now topped 300 members.

The forum is made up of HP customers and users of rival machines and is designed to ensure the firm's R&D is targeted to meet customer needs and foster customer loyalty and acquisition, in the longer term.

Its other wide-format activities include the sponsorship of the Fespa Digital Print Awards for the second year running. Entries for the awards close on the 31 January and the results will be announced at Fespa Digital 2008, which takes place in Geneva from the 1-3 April.

Click here for more on the awards.