HP snaps up industrial inkjet firm

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has acquired an Israeli manufacturer of industrial wide-format digital inkjet printers for $117.5m (£57.4m).

According to HP, Israel-based NUR Macroprinters expands its graphic arts portfolio of digital presses and wide-format printers.

HP said NUR will also further its Print 2.0 strategy, by digitising analogue prints and extending the company’s overall digital content creation and publishing capabilities.

"NUR is a leading supplier of ultra-violet curable and solvent inkjet printers for display graphics, serving commercial printing companies, sign printers, screen printers, billboard and media companies, photo labs and digital print service providers," an HP statement said.

HP said it would use NUR's technology to offer additional midrange UV platforms and technologies.

"This acquisition marks another milestone in HP’s growth strategy to ignite the transition from converting analogue pages to digital pages," said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of HP's Imaging and Printing Group.

"The large-format print service provider market is growing rapidly, and with the acquisition of NUR, HP is strategically building an even stronger portfolio of products and will continue to drive innovation and growth with our industrial wide-format printers."

In September 2007, HP announced the acquisition of MacDermid ColorSpan, which manufactured wide-format digital inkjet printers.