HP has revealed that the first UK installation of its Stitch 1000 wide-format dye sublimation textile printer is at Manchester Print Services, where it will help service a major four-year contract for backlit display work.
Installed at the end of August by UK distributor RA Smart, the 3.2m printer was launched at Fespa 2019 is designed for high productivity in industrial environments. Manchester Print Services is already an HP customer of several years’ standing with an HP Latex 360 and two Z6100 aqueous printers and chose the S1000 after a visit to HP’s graphic arts experience centre in Barcelona.
Director Lee Egan commented, ‘We were given a full demonstration, including profiling and material changes, and could see that the Stitch could do everything we need it to. We wanted to make sure our new long-term job runs as smoothly as possible, so decided to have the Stitch installed straightaway.
Ease of use has been a key benefit since the installation, according to Mr Egan:
‘It’s easy to load and is very user-friendly. Even a novice could use it, thanks to diagrams that guide you through each step. You really just press the button and it prints.’
He added, ‘The quality is superb. The colours are very vibrant, and the automatic adjustments mean we haven’t seen any sign of banding in any of the tests we’ve run, or the jobs we’ve already completed on it since its installation.’
The unit’s ability to be left running unattended overnight and to print both to transfer paper and directly to textile are seen as benefits, added Mr Egan.
‘We had never printed onto transfer paper using our older machine, so the dual function of the Stitch allows us to make a choice based on what’s right for the job. We’re renowned for our quality so it’s really good to have those options.’ The company also says it has won additional new business from announcing the installation on LinkedIn.
