Tipografia Vaticana has installed an HP Indigo 12000 digital press, which it is using to upgrade the print services it offers to the Vatican City.

Tipografia Vaticana is a print service provider that has operated as the official printing press for the Vatican City since 1587. Tipografia Vaticana’s work is predominantly commercial, and it carries out print-related activities for Pontifical acts and official documents for the various Dicasteries, Offices of the Holy See, and the Vatican City State. This covers a variety of products and documents, including the Vatican City State’s daily newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, alongside editorial material for organisations connected to the Holy See. It also produces material for the Vatican museums and Vatican Apostolic Library, promotional material on behalf of the Vatican Publishing House, the Congregations, and local children’s hospital Bambino Gesú Paedratic Hospital.

Tipografia Vaticana has traditionally used rotary offset and flatbed printers, although it does operate a small digital printing department, which is primarily used for pre-print and production processes. This has now been bolstered by the addition of the HP Indigo 12000.

Complying with the will of the Vatican State to digitise processes, Tipografia Vaticana has been undergoing a digital transformation project since 2018. The project aims to integrate the company’s existing technology with that of new digital technology, as well as: aid greater operational flexibility, including simpler and more flexible communication; create the ability to print productively with digital offset quality; and use additional colours to enhance applications.

Since installing the HP Indigo 12000 digital press, Tipografia Vaticana has been able to print and produce applications with both flexibility and quality, meeting its aims for the digitisation project. The company is also now able to print on demand, which offers the ability to handle last-minute production requests and reduces waste by limiting the amount of overproduced stock. This in turn reduces inventory costs as the need to store unsold products is eliminated. Short-runs are also now possible for Tipografia Vaticana, as well as customisation, a trend from which it has never before been able to benefit.

Sustainability gains have also been made as the HP Indigo digital press generates no processing waste and ensures ‘significant’ saving energy, whilst also reducing production costs.

Tipografia Vaticana is even using HP’s PrintOS print production operating system, which enables Tipografia Vaticana to remain connected to its HP printer at all times, even via mobile devices, making it easier to check-in on the progress and status of production. To complete its digitisation process, Tipografia Vaticana has equipped itself with HP’s Business Transformation Solution (BTS) training programme, which lasts 12 months, and offers in-depth and accurate training to drive professional growth.