HP has launched the Latex 3000 Printer, which helps industrial print service providers (PSPs) produce high-value applications with improved productivity, quality and versatility.
The HP Latex 3000 Printer allows a broader range of sign and display customers to shift pages from traditional solvent and UV-curable technologies to HP Latex Printing Technologies. ‘Industrial print service providers constantly battle increasing competition along with shrinking timelines and budgets for big projects in this buyers’ market,’ said Xavier Garcia, vice president and general manager, Large-Format Sign and Display Division, HP. ‘As the leader in large-format printing, HP is offering latex solutions that give our customers a unique advantage to cost-effectively address these challenges with new levels of productivity, quality and application versatility.’
Meeting industrial printing needs with HP Latex Printing Technologies, creating a competitive advantage for high-volume PSPs, the HP Latex 3000 Printer offers broader media versatility, including heat-sensitive substrates, with the HP Latex Optimiser. This new ink solution ensures consistent image quality at high speeds as well as efficient curing at lower temperatures and with less energy than previous HP Latex solutions. Third-generation HP 881 Latex Inks also provide a scratch resistance comparable to hard-solvent inks on certain substrates, making them ideal for applications including retail displays, billboards, tarpaulins, fleet curtains, outdoor advertising, vehicle graphics and interior decor.
The printer’s increased production capacity lets high-volume customers meet tight deadlines, producing 77sqm/hr of indoor applications and 120sqm/hr of outdoor applications. Standard carbon-fibre, dual-roll spindles also help reduce media loading times and the need for operator intervention. The HP Scitex Print Care proactive maintenance scheduler, along with automated diagnostics and alerts, helps customers keep their printers running smoothly. Additionally, bundled HP On-site Uptime Parts Kits, HP Ramp-up Service and HP Customer Care Programmes help assure productivity and profitability.
Delivering odourless prints ideal for sensitive indoor display environments, HP Latex Inks help create a safe and comfortable printing environment for print shop staff. HP Latex Inks are UL ECOLOGO and GREENGUARD Gold Certified(SM), while prints meet AgBB criteria and are A+ rated according to Emissions dans l’air interieur.
HP also announced the rebranding of its HP Designjet and Scitex latex printers and supplies. The new sub-brand for these offerings is HP Latex, demonstrating the strategic importance of latex to the HP Large Format Graphics portfolio. HP Latex Printing Technologies were introduced in 2008 as a water-based alternative to solvent ink technologies. Since then, more than 15000 HP Latex printers have been shipped worldwide and more than 100 million square metres have been printed with HP Latex Inks. HP expects these numbers to triple by 2016, with the number of latex-printed pages growing rapidly while the number of solvent-printed pages simultaneously declines by as much as 33 percent.
