HP has refreshed its Latex wide-format range with the addition of four new roll-fed models that offer up to 50% greater productivity, plus ink and sustainability improvements. It has also enhanced its Latex print-and-cut offering and added to its line of PageWide printers for office and CAD applications.
The new models are the Latex 700, 800, 700W and 800W. The W suffix denotes support for white ink, the first time HP has made this available in its roll-fed Latex line. Originally debuted with the hybrid R2000 in 2018, the white latex ink is said by HP to be ‘the whitest white ink on the market that does not yellow over time’; the latex inks can be used to print to a wide variety of substrates, supporting applications as diverse as window graphics, canvas and wallpapers, vehicle graphics and textiles.
The four machines are all 1.63m roll-fed printers, able to handle rolls up to 55kg. The 700 series print at up 31sqm/hr at ‘outdoor’ (i.e. more distant viewing) quality and 21sqm/hr for ‘indoor’, and have 1l ink cartridges; the respective figures for the 800 series are 36sqm/hr, 25sqm/hr and 3l. The print resolution is not stated in HP’s literature but the company says it has updated its printheads with more nozzles and this results in ‘finer image and text details’ which would imply a resolution increase.
In addition to the ‘green’ benefits of the water-based latex inks – chemically ‘cleaner’ than solvent or UV but usually with a bigger energy demand to dry-off the water – HP has improved the sustainability of the ink supplies with the Eco Carton, a cartridge made with cardboard-based material which reduces the plastic usage by 80%.
Guayente Sanmartin, general manager, Large Format Business at HP, commented, ‘The new Latex 700 and 800 portfolio will allow PSPs to win big by navigating customer challenges in the next normal and embracing more ambitious projects – safe in the knowledge their work will deliver.’
HP has also updated the Latex print and cut range, a series of stand-alone roll media contour cutters that can be linked to its Latex printers. The Latex 700 series printers can be connected directly; the 800 series require a Rip upgrade. The new cutters improve accuracy through an enhanced Optical Position System which reads position from black inner lines along each job, as well as via barcodes with job identification information. Increased cutter downforce for heavier media is now supported on some models.
The updated PageWide XL printers for enterprise in-house use or PSPs serving architecture, engineering and construction customers offer multifunctional capability helped by a large screen from which to preview scans and carrying out a range of post-scan tasks. For corporate users, a number of security features are also included.
All the new printers announced are available immediately.
