Midcomp has announced the launch of three new HP PageWide XL Pro models, including the HP PageWide XL Pro 10000, 101.6cm printer, as well as the 5200 and 8200 models. HP is also celebrating 30 years of HP DesignJet innovation. The new HP DesignJet Z6 Pro and Z9+ Pro deliver best-ever professional photo quality for all photographic, fine art and map printing requirements. This article appears in the latest Sign Africa Journal.
The new HP PageWide XL Pro models help boost productivity with fast printing up to 700sqm or 1000 B1 posters per hour (the number of pages will vary depending on the print mode and application printed). Users can consolidate the capacity of the fleet into a single device that can efficiently print different sizes and output is ready for finishing or delivery right away, with instant-dry prints on compatible substrates. The printer will allow users to take their business to the next level.
The PageWide XL Pro series also features end-to-end cut-sheet workflow with the HP large format auto sheet feeder and versatile high capacity stacker. It also has a workflow to allow users to print two-sided on cut-sheet. It uses a variety of types and sizes of paper, cardstock and boards, from A2 up to B1, and can print on rigid stock of up to 10mm in thickness.
HP PageWide XL Pro Series
With the XL Pro 10000, XL Pro 5200 and Pro 8200 (101.6cm) printers, users can expand into new short-term applications with instant printing; respond faster to customer demands and expand their offering by printing board applications. The printer also helps to increase revenues and cut costs, whilst helping boost profits with a compelling end-to-end solution.
HP DesignJet Z Pro Series
The HP DesignJet Z9+ Pro printer is a perfect fit for professional printers in the photographic and fine art segment and it delivers true life-like, vibrant images with up to 250 years of fade resistance as measured by Wilhelm Imaging Institute. The HP DesignJet Z9+ Pro is the perfect choice for Photographic shops looking for a professional photo quality printer.
Users can create their own ICC profiles for their print jobs and achieve quality prints with consistent and vibrant colour accuracy. Embedded in the HP DesignJet Z9+ Pro printer is an i1 spectrophotometer from X-Rite. Close collaboration between HP and X-Rite ensures customers get a reliable, easy-to-use colour profiling solution that has been thoroughly tested to align with their customer needs. Photographers also have the option to include the HP Gloss Enhancer Upgrade Kit to produce superior gloss uniformity for demanding photographic needs.
HP is offering print service providers (PSPs) and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysts the latest solutions to produce professional photo-quality prints and high precision GIS-generated maps. The DesignJet Z6 Pro is positioned at PSPs looking for quality prints to address their wide spectrum of customers requiring posters, photographs, GIS maps and many other segments. It is the world’s most secure large format printer, promising the best data protection through encrypted communications and Access Control List (based on a comparison of published security specifications commissioned by HP and performed by Sogeti in January 2021).
Both the DesignJet Z6 Pro and Z9+ Pro also feature enhanced efficiency with the fastest media handling, spindle-less and automatic roll feed. For the first time, the new HP DesignJet Z Pro printer series also incorporates HP PrintOS, Service Centre application. This smart cloud-based solution gives users a real-time view of all ongoing print work and is accessible anytime and anywhere.
Other HP products available from Midcomp:
HP Latex R Series
With the HP Latex R printer series, users can transform any rigid or flexible substrate with amazing colours. The new vibrant HP Latex colour gamut on rigid also allows users to transform new substrates to set themselves apart from the competition. Whites that fade to yellow are becoming a thing of the past with white HP Latex Ink, an industry breakthrough. The series allows users to transform their business, all while adding value to new applications.
Advantages:
• Achieve amazing colours and great media look and feel.
• Help increase profitability with higher value rigid and flexible applications with vibrant HP Latex gamut.
• Gain versatility with HP Latex Ink, from indoor/outdoor signage to thermoforming and high-quality decoration. You can also win more jobs with UL ECOLOGO® Certified water-based HP Latex Inks that produce odourless prints.
• Expand your portfolio into a wide range of applications with the glossiest white that resists yellowing.
• There is no waste between white jobs with removable HP Thermal Inkjet printheads stored in an offline rotating chamber. The printer ensures users are always ready to print white because automatic recirculation and printhead cleaning eliminate manual purging.
• Increase your productivity with smart printing.
• Meet production peaks by getting high-speed quality up to 28 outdoor boards/hour with the belt system and smart vacuum.
Users can drive high productivity with multi-board printing, assisted loading and advanced queuing and maximise uptime with automatic maintenance and smart service tools for fast diagnosis and issue resolution. HP PrintOS software tools help maintain control of production and costs.
HP Stitch S1000
The highly versatile new HP Stitch S1000 gives users the option to print directly to fabric or on to transfer paper, simplifying workflows without compromising on results, while native 1200dpi printheads deliver work of the highest quality together with deep blacks and vivid colours.
The latest addition to the HP Stitch portfolio will help PSPs diversify their soft signage and interior décor offerings as well as meet more challenging customer needs. Whether users are delivering jobs in a tight timeframe or printing large volumes during peak periods, they can meet deadlines easily with a productive printer that enables high quality at fast speeds, even when left unattended.
They can also save time with easy operation. Working with an industrial dye-sublimation printer doesn’t have to be complex. Easily load both transfer and textile rolls in 40% less time, get consistent colours across the fleet and control print operations virtually anytime, anywhere with HP PrintOS.
HP Latex 700W/800W range
The HP Latex 700W and 800W series brings a suite of features that enable PSPs to be more agile, tackle ambitious projects and take on the highest value work. The new portfolio also delivers fast workflows that help businesses hit deadlines, while sharpening their sustainability edge.
‘The HP 700W and 800W are what the market has been waiting for. Up until now, white ink on small to medium format printers has only been available in solvent and UV ink machines. With many clients looking at environmental friendliness, their carbon neutral footprint and overall sustainability of the earth, white Latex inks have been the missing piece in the HP jigsaw puzzle. The new white ink, in conjunction with the new HP inks that come with the 700W and 800W, are the 4th generation of HP Latex inks,’ said Darryl Braithwaite, Sales at Midcomp.
‘Apart from being more environmentally-friendly than the previous generation of inks, the new 4th generation of inks will now cure at lower temperatures than the previous inks. This can benefit clients in the following ways: heat sensitive media that was problematic on previous models of machines because of heat needed to cure the inks are now not as much of a hindrance as curing temperatures can be brought down due to new and improved inks and therefore cause less problems with regards to media warping and cockling. Clients will also use less power and energy to cure prints, therefore saving the client money on electricity costs, and also having a less harmful impact on the environment due to less power being needed.’
‘When white is not being printed, the white heads are stored in a rotating chamber within the machine, and this allows for the heads to last longer, white ink not to be wasted when the machine is not printing white and also preserves the lifespan of the maintenance cartridge. The circulation within the 700W and 800W is also of a world class standard, and this allows for white printing to happen on demand without much ink having to be purged and also minimises waste. The 700W and 800W allow for bright and vivid colours, whether you are printing onto a white or a clear media, as the density of white can be set to match the client’s preferences, and also allows for double sided printing.’
HP Stitch S500
The S500 allows users to print with confidence. This all-in-one solution can successfully print on both paper and direct to fabric. The printer is renowned for its ability to print vibrant colours onto sports apparel, namely rugby, football or cycling jerseys, and other apparel of an athletic nature, as well as gazebos and display banners. Enjoy reliable, unattended printing and keep production running smoothly even when unattended or overnight and experience reliable image quality and consistent colours across the fleet.
With symmetrical 2 x CMYK printhead configuration and Optical Media Advance Sensor, this printer allows for saturated and reliable one pass mode for true top speed. Optimise uptime with easy maintenance, save time and money with user-replaceable printheads and reduce manual interventions with automatic maintenance. Simplify and control print operations with HP Service and HP PrintOS.
Midcomp Pay Per Use (PPU) Programme
PPU is a comprehensive and customised programme, created by Midcomp, that ensures users pay a fixed ‘per square metre’ charge for the square metres they print. ‘The PPU programme for any HP machine is the future of print,’ said Braithwaite. ‘It takes out all the guess work as all costs of the running and maintenance of the printer are covered, and it also doesn’t allow for any nasty surprises.
The customer will pay a set rate that will be pre-determined by Midcomp, depending on the machine used, and the amount paid by the client to Midcomp will allow for the supply of all the inks, heads, maintenance cartridges and all other consumables that the machine requires. It also covers all technical costs.’
‘For any parts on the machine that have become damaged or degraded over time due to wear and tear, the PPU will cover the technician coming out to the client, the replacement of said spare parts as well as the labour costs of the technician while he repairs and replaces. So basically, everything is covered from a point of the running costs of the machine. With that in mind, the client has peace of mind and now can easily cost any print jobs within a matter of minutes as the running costs of the machine are known and fixed. All the client has to do is add the cost of the media being printed on to, and they then have a complete cost of what they need to do.’
Here’s what a few of Midcomp’s customers have to say:
‘In the print industry, sometimes calculating the costs can be difficult, as sometimes you can get a print that is filled with ink, and sometimes there is hardly any ink used. But the PPU programme has made it simple for us to accurately work out costs,’ said Mohammed Sheth, director at Navii.
‘The biggest benefit (of the PPU system) will come when our machine needs to have its service maintenance intervals, as these are expensive. With PPU, these service maintenance kits are included in the square metre cost. This avoids large amounts of cash outlays, as you never know what situation you will be in. Cost per square metre is cheaper on the PPU than my cost per square metre on my previous generation of printers,’ said Mathew Wilkinson, director at Mint Wrapworks.
‘A PPU model gives you peace of mind because you have a fixed cost and you know what you are in for. You know the machines’ Delta E and Lab values are always going to be within specification, and it’s a fixed variable moving forward,’ said Orlando de Abreu, Amrod.
‘The unique PPU option that we took when we bought the printer gives you such peace of mind that you do not have to worry about ink, service charges, repairs and parts,’ said JP Pretorius, owner, Print Corp.
‘The PPU programme has also benefited Centrepiece Printing Solution (CPS). Because it helps with production, there are no delays when consumables are required for the machines, and it is more convenient since a user only pays for what they use. There is no need to expend a lot of capital before production starts, in order to receive all your consumables,’ said CPS owner, Jannie Myburgh.
Midcomp and HP are committed to recycling materials and transforming them into new products to avoid unnecessary waste in landfills. You can return your HP cartridges at any Midcomp office nationwide to be part of a sustainable solution and a circular economy.
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