HP has used the Dscoop Edge event in Orlando, in the US, to introduce an expansion of its PrintOS Marketplace platform to include more than 50 free projects and design tools as well as a wide variety of paid-for applications.

New apps from both HP and various partners can collectively allow users of HP digital presses – principally though not exclusively Indigo models, as PageWide web presses and various HP wide-format models are included too – to improve their productivity, streamline workflows and develop new print applications.

‘PrintOS Marketplace is an open platform designed to spread innovation and help customers adapt faster to the complexities of the changing print market,’ said Alon Bar-Shany, general manager, HP Indigo. ‘HP PrintOS is empowering PSPs to be more productive, manage higher print volume, and automate and streamline workflow.’

The cloud-based service is designed to give insight into and control over print operations from any internet-connected device, increasing automation and adding specialist tools. Since its introduction at drupa 2016, HP claims more than 20,000 users across its various digital print platforms.

Ready-to-go projects include HP Mosaic and Collage packaging templates, seed patterns, sample files and royalty-free images and icons. Members are also invited to share or sell their print ideas in the store, with the goal of housing hundreds and even thousands of items by drupa 2020. New additions include GEO services based batch tool for customised map production Locr, software from Esko and Hybrid Software for packaging artwork creation and editing, and imposition and related workflow from Tilia Labs, in addition to a range of HP’s own PrintOS applications.