Inkjet printing pioneer Domino is going some way to answering a long-standing question with its introduction of a book and transpromo press this week.

After installing the hundreds of printheads used on newspaper presses for lotteries and promotions three decades ago, the UK manufacturer has been largely absent from the media segment.

Now a press launch at the Hunkeler Innovation Days event in Lucerne, Switzerland (February 23-26) goes some way to answering 'what kept you?'.

The new K630i from Domino Printing Sciences is only single-colour, but uses the same technology as presses producing as many as seven colours. An evolution of the MonoCube product Graph Tech (Switzerland) launched in 2012 just before Domino bought out the company in which it already had a share.

In fact Domino has been "getting there" quietly: The company introduced a digital module (the K600i) in 2010 and a four colour digital label press (N600i) which it has since developed to seven colours, two years later.

The monochrome K630i is based on the same technology, and four presses have been installed in Europe and North America, with another five presses on order.

The Hunkeler event will mark its entry into transactional, direct mail and book printing applications, which digital printing solutions director Philip Easton sees as "a natural progression".

The K630i - which prints up to 558 mm wide webs at up to 150 metres/minute, simplex or duplex, is now being backed by Domino's global service structure and additional inkjet expertise. Aqueous pigmented ink and high-gloss UV ink options are being offered.