HP Indigo 120K

Unveiled at drupa 2024, the Indigo 120K replaces the Indigo 100K at the top of HP's B2 commercial line — the 100K product page now redirects to it. The formula is unchanged: this is the volume-optimised Indigo, rated at 4,500 B2 sheets an hour in four colours and 6,000 in three-colour EPM — up to 600 ppm A4-equivalent — with true continuous operation: non-stop feeding, non-stop colour measurement and continuous stacking.

Against the 100K, the news is automation and a little more flexibility. An AI-based inline inspection system cuts paper waste, AI predictive maintenance keeps uptime high and service costs down, and Auto-Pallet Replacement swaps delivery pallets without stopping the press. Notably, the 120K gains an optional fifth ink station — light black for photo work and primer for off-the-shelf substrates — which the CMYK-only 100K platform never offered, plus an HD Imaging option at 4876 × 4876 dpi addressability.

The target buyer prints books, photo merchandise, direct mail and high-volume commercial work, and is moving short-run offset volume onto digital. Gripper-to-gripper transport delivers flat, accurate stacks; five paper sources allow job and stock switchover on the fly; operator training takes under a week and a single operator can run several presses — a direct answer to the labour squeeze.

On running cost, EPM boosts productivity 33% and cuts energy per sheet 25%; the new ECO four-colour mode trims the carbon footprint around 11% with a thinner ink layer; and RIO technology recycles imaging oil, reducing waste up to 35%. At a trade-estimated US$2M+ installed, the 120K only makes sense with real volume behind it — but at that volume its cost per sheet is the lowest of any sheetfed Indigo.