Eighteen months after drupa 2024, HP has announced sustained customer momentum across its HP Indigo and HP PageWide installed base worldwide. Accelerated customer investment, rising production volumes, and deeper adoption of automation and software are reinforcing a structural shift in the print industry toward industrial-scale digital manufacturing. The industry has witnessed a growing need for shorter runs, faster turnaround times, increased variability, and more resilient data-driven operations.

“drupa 2024 marked a clear inflection point for the industry,” states Haim Levit, SVP and Division president, HP Industrial Print. “What we have seen since then is not incremental adoption, but a fundamental rethinking of how production is designed and operated. Customers are unlocking profitable growth powered by nonstop digital printing, investing with confidence in high-productivity, AI-enabled digital platforms that deliver consistency, predictability, and scalability. That confidence is translating into faster growth, smarter operations, and structurally stronger businesses.”

Globally, customers have expanded deployment of HP Indigo LEP and LEPx technologies alongside HP PageWide high-performance Thermal Inkjet platforms. Increasingly, these presses are implemented as part of an integrated, AI-enabled production ecosystem. HP supports them with HP PrintOS and intelligent workflow solutions. Together, hardware, software, and data create a connected digital foundation that is redefining productivity, quality control, and operational intelligence.

Industry validation

The acceleration of digital printing across commercial print, labels, and packaging reflects a broader industrial shift toward flexible, software-driven manufacturing. Demand for shorter runs, increased SKU complexity, faster turnaround times, and measurable sustainability benefits is pushing converters to standardize on digital platforms capable of delivering industrial productivity with consistent quality at scale.

In labels, digital printing continues to expand beyond short-run applications. HP’s business increasingly supports a digital-first production model capable of absorbing core label volumes. SKU proliferation, regulatory variation, brand versioning, and faster product refresh cycles are reshaping label manufacturing requirements. The trends favor platforms that combine speed, uptime, and automation with consistent quality. HP Indigo is accelerating this shift with the HP Indigo V12, powered by LEPx technology. This setup delivers industrial-level productivity, high availability, and end-to-end automation in a digital label press. HP enables converters to transition larger, traditionally analog workloads to digital at scale. HP accomplishes this with the HP Indigo V12. The press represents a pivotal step in making digital printing the default operating model for high-volume label production, the company says.

Flexible packaging growth

At the same time, flexible packaging has become the fastest-growing segment in the print industry. Brand owners’ needs for agility, personalization, sustainability, and shorter product lifecycles have driven the trend. HP continues to strengthen its leadership position in digital flexible packaging. The company has gained market share through the scalability, repeatability, and material versatility of HP Indigo LEP and LEPx technologies.

What began as pilot deployments has increasingly matured into full-scale production. Meanwhile, digital flexible packaging is now embedded in mainstream manufacturing strategies alongside, and increasingly in place of, analog processes.

“Our 2025 IDC MarketScape reflects these dynamics clearly,” says Tim Greene, Research Director, IDC. “HP continues to set the pace for industrial digital print. Its LEP and LEPx technologies, combined with one of the industry’s largest cloud-connected installed bases, give converters the productivity and consistency required for high-speed digital environments. Platforms such as the HP Indigo V12, delivering speeds of up to 117.5 m/m, demonstrate how digital performance continues to advance. When paired with HP PrintOS, customers gain the data visibility and workflow intelligence needed to reduce waste, maximize uptime, and modernize operations.”

Partnering with RRD

As global print demand shifts toward high volumes, faster turnaround and greater efficiency, another best-in-class example is HP’s work with RRD. RRD has notably continued to accelerate its digital transformation with HP.

Following the strategic collaboration announced at drupa 2024, RRD has expanded installations of both HP PageWide and HP Indigo platforms across multiple regions. These deployments support growth across direct mail, labels, packaging, and commercial print, including installations of the HP PageWide T4250 HDR. Through high-definition recirculating nozzle architecture, efficient drying technology, and data-driven production capabilities, the HP PageWide T4250 HDR enables RRD to increase productivity while reducing waste and energy consumption, strengthening cost efficiency at scale.