HP Designjet L65500: Green credentials of new HP Designjet opens up new markets

ArtSystems Ltd has just launched the latest HP Designjet, the L65500 - the first of a new category of large format signage printers with HP Latex Inks that reduce the total impact of printing on the environment.

The new Designjet is one of the greenest printers around for indoor and outdoor signage. The latest, non-toxic, odour free Latex Inks emit extremely low levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) so no special ventilation or hazard warning labels are required. The inks are non-flammable and non-combustible, meaning operators can handle supplies with confidence in an improved printing environment.

A crucial advantage of Latex Inks is that they are completely cured inside the printer. A durable film is formed on the print medium and prints come out of the machine ready to use, finish, and prepare for dispatch.

These features are attracting huge interest at ArtSystems' demonstrations and open days promoting the new Designjet.

Andrew Edwards, Manager, Sales and Graphics Division at ArtSystems, explains: "The vehicle graphics guys were especially excited by this. Usually they have to wait after printing before they can laminate and apply the vinyl to a vehicle. Also the vinyl can get damaged at this stage, which wastes more time and eats into their profits, but with the new Designjet the vinyl is ready for the next stage of production as soon as it's printed."

Equally significant as the new Designjet's green credentials are its print quality and speed. The six-ink printing system (cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, light magenta) outputs up to 1200 x 600 resolution, delivering rich, saturated colour on applications 104 inches (more than 2.5 metres) wide at impressive speed. Outdoor-quality prints are output at speeds up to 79 sq.m./hr (800 sq.ft./hr), and indoor-quality ones at up to 34 sq.m./hr (400 sq.ft./hr).

"Visitors at the demos and open days were absolutely wowed by the combination of quality and speed together. We're used to seeing printing for outdoor applications with low quality at speed, and indoor applications at high quality but slow speed; the Designjet L65500 produces high quality at high speed," says Andrew.

Outdoor prints from the Designjet L655000 achieve display permanence up to three years unlaminated and up to five years laminated. The prints are scratch, smudge, and water resistant, with performance comparable to that of solvent-ink technology, says HP. Indoor prints achieve in-window display permanence up to five years unlaminated and up to 10 years laminated. The great results are produced across a wide range of media, including most low-cost, uncoated, solvent compatible media.

A proprietary new HP media surface-treatment technology contributes to the new Designjet's versatility when used with Latex Inks. A wide colour gamut and sharp, vivid image quality with good durability can now be achieved on materials that don't typically print well with solvent inks, using two specially treated media, HP Tyvek Banner and HP High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Reinforced banner.

"This printer opens up many new, non-solvent markets in retail, health, schools, local governmentand other locations where solvent printing just isn't used, and for worldwide brands demanding an environmentally sound print option It's an ideal investment, both for large production concerns using grand format printers with solvent inks, and for smaller firms that have a solvent printer and want to grow their business but feel another low solvent printer will do little to open new markets," says Andrew.

"In addition, the Latex Inks are priced very keenly; they're notably cheaper since some of the competition increased their ink prices recently."

Go to www.artsystems.co.uk for more information or telephone 0870 224 3612 / 0760 to book your place on ArtSystems' open days on the 4th and 11th March, and 9th April, or to arrange a demonstration.

For a complete overview visit www.hp.com