At FESPA in Berlin this year we saw the new HP Latex 730 and 830 Printer Series for the first time, the replacements for the previous HP Latex 700 and 800 Series models.
As interesting as the FESPA launch was, and the HP stand was indeed consistently busy throughout all four days of the show, a trade show isn’t really the right place to get up close and personal with any new printer.
To dig deeper we needed time in front of these new printers, ideally with a technician not a salesperson. Someone that could answer even our most awkward questions openly and transparently. So “let’s try and make that happen” was our thinking.
Our request to HP was simple: “We have readers who want to understand these new machines properly, not from datasheets and marketing materials, but from a deeper dive into what is new, what is better, and why it is better. Can we come to Barcelona and do that please?”.
I was surprised, but also delighted, when they came back to us with a “Yes, come and see us”, not only because this demonstrates significant HP confidence in their new products, but, I hope, also some degree of HP confidence in us doing this review properly.
So that’s how we got to be standing in front of the new HP Latex 730 and 830 Printers (or indeed HP Latex 730W and 830W Printer Series for the white ink models) in Barcelona, hosted by HP tech guru Francisco Herrada.
Francisco is a very cool guy. His job is Systems Integration Test Coordinator. What that means in the real world is that he evaluates new HP wide-format printer prototypes. This also means if there are problems in any HP printer from the recent past or the current portfolio, Francisco knows those problems (he may actually have discovered and documented them based on his own comprehensive testing procedures).
That is exactly the kind of person we wanted to talk to!
So now the agenda is simple, we ask Francisco to tell us how the HP Latex 730 and 830 Printer Series evolved, and what are the specific improvements that would matter most to a printer service provider (PSP).
The new features that matter most:
1. Pixel Control
According to HP marketing: Deliver stunning prints with uniform colours via precise HP Pixel Control ink mixing and distribution.
Here’s our take on that: Once upon a time most traditional analogue halftone print was printed in layers of C, M, Y & K, one laid on top of the other. With the advent of digital print, we copied that method, that’s why when you look at a print head traversing on a digital printer’s gantry, you’ll still typically see strips of C, M, Y and K being laid down one on top of the other.
HP’s technical experts figured that individual pixels are the true building blocks of digital colour – not sandwiched layers of C,M,Y and K – and as a result, today HP Pixel Control makes direct choices about what colour of pixel to assign to each part of the print, and instead of sandwiching together per ink halftones, it digitally builds print-ready multilinked halftones directly.
It prints pixels in the right colour – no artifacts, no blurring, no layers.
Great, but what on earth does that all mean in terms of what kind of print comes out of the printer?
In terms of real production, it means this: on the HP Latex 730 and 830 Printer Series you can print the same quality and colour density at 8 pass that required the slower 12 pass print mode on the previous HP Latex 700 and 800 Series.
That’s an immediate 33% speed boost in printing like for like output.
Of course when optimal quality remains more important than speed, utilising new HP Pixel Control on 12 pass mode on the HP Latex 730 and 830 Printer Series will enhance and further improve colour consistency, reducing visible graininess for smoother transitions and colour fades, and will all but eliminate banding on even the most difficult to print solid colours (such as historically tough to produce colours like midtone khaki greens and the like).
If you have files that previous latex printers have struggled with, 12 pass mode with HP Pixel Control technology should now handle them with ease – and you will absolutely see the improvement in quality.
Brighter colours, reduced graininess, better colour transitions and fades, and reduced banding – that’s HP Pixel Control in a nutshell.
2. Media Feeding
Media feeding is fundamental to the accurate reproduction of wide-format graphics. If you can’t move the printed material accurately within the printer, you cannot ever achieve optimal pinpoint pixel by pixel colour quality or achieve accurate lengths and final print dimensions – even more so if that entails tiling together multiple drops that must align seamlessly.
This has been a key development for the HP Latex 730 and 830 Printer Series. HP has done everything they can to make the media feeding system as accurate and trouble-free as possible.
The new HP Latex 730 and 830 Printer Series features a new output platen that reduces friction as the media passes over it. The pinch rollers have also been upgraded to provide superior media transport. The new loading mechanism also reduces the possibility of media skew. HP have also developed entirely new temperature correction algorithms within their automated media advance sensors – all of this means improved media feeding, and more accurate panel lengths.
Media loading has also been improved to reduce the waste at the start of a print. You can now start printing at the lead edge of the media, reducing wastage when compared to previous HP Latex models.
Real world? During beta-testing HP had eight different digital wallpaper production companies testing the new machines. Thousands of linear metres of tiled print were produced – all confirmed significant improvements and increased confidence in the new media feed technology.
3. Higher speed on white
Regardless of whether you are using a solvent, UV-curable or HP Latex printer – is there a PSP anywhere that doesn’t complain at how slow white ink printing is?
No-one wants to watch their printers producing at a fraction of their capacity; it’s painful on the eyes, and it can hurt the pocket too.
Good news then: HP Latex 730W and 830W white ink modes are up to 50% faster than their predecessors. A new more efficient drying system with 2 additional fans will facilitate an average of 30% faster print times when printing white under-flood over spot, three-layer and five-layer white ink modes.
Other features we liked:
- Easy double-sided printing courtesy of automatic barcoding and automated media re-registration.
- HP printheads have been streamlined and simplified. There are now only three you need to carry in stock, as opposed to the six SKUs required for the previous generation.
- The HP Latex 730 and 830 Printer Series is even more sustainable than ever, with 40% of the new printers manufactured using recycled plastics.
- 50% longer lasting maintenance cartridge than previous generations.
In summary:
Of course, some things haven’t changed. HP Latex has long been and will continue to be the go-toprinter for any PSP with environmental considerations in mind.
Water-based HP Latex inks carry no hazardous air pollutants, produce odourless prints for even the most sensitive spaces – all of which contributes to the wellbeing of your employees, your business and to customers that are making ever more stringent demands on you to meet their environmental and sustainability criteria.
Taking those established eco-credentials into account, and then also considering these significant new developments, in our opinion the new HP Latex 730 and 830 Printer Series represents a significant upgrade on previous HP Latex models.
Because HP listened to its customers and made the changes that mattered to them.
If you would like to see the HP Latex 730 and 830 Series Printers in action, please click here to arrange a free demonstration.
