The deal currently covers three ranges for HP: Premium Gloss, Premium Matt and Premium Uncoated.

"The situation is that we did have an exclusive deal with Robert Horne but neither of us was satisfied," said HP product manager for media Herrald Vos. "It was a mutual decision."

He added that HP would most likely widen the Premier range within the next six to 12 months.

"We are seeing significant growth in all areas of digital print and the take-up of Indigo machines has been dramatic," said Premier Paper regional director Tony Wood.

Wood added that the firms wanted to encourage dialogue with other Indigo users and a helpdesk was in the process of being set up.

Premium Gloss is a high white, smooth gloss paper available in 100-300gsm, as is Premium Matt.

Premium Uncoated is a specialised product ready to use straight from the pack. According to Premier, the product has no need for surface optimisation and is available in 90-250gsm.

"Paper products offered to this market need to be consistent in specification and guaranteed to meet the demands of each process," said Wood. "To rely upon standard offset paper that may offer some degree of functionality would be a short-sighted policy."

Story by Philip Chadwick