TORONTO—Book printer Webcom has become the first printer in Canada to install an HP T300 inkjet web colour press as part of a new $12 million investment in a new production program for books, catalogues and directories that the company is calling BookFWD. In addition to the web press, which will be installed on October 4, Webcom has also installed an Indigo 7000 and has invested in the Magnum Flexbook system, which will bolt on to the T300. In a press release Webcom said the web press will be used for text pages and the Indigo 7000 for covers.

The BookFWD program is comprised of several models for trade, educational and reference publishers. Programs will be customized for each publisher with modules such as STEPfwd for shorter print runs, FASTfwd for quick turnaround and STRAIGHTfwd for simplified pricing models. 

To date, HP has 16 of the 36" web presses either fully installed or in the process of being installed around the globe. Most of them have gone into book printers, mail producers and publishing operations. A new, smaller model, the T200 will be available next year.