Business signage and vehicle graphics provider Signs Express Liverpool & Wirral has invested in a new HP Latex R530 all-in-one printer to strengthen its service offering and enhance its sustainability credentials.
The Signs Express Liverpool & Wirral franchise has been operating since the late 1990s, delivering graphics and signage to customers across the local area. The business changed hands in December of last year, with Ian Furlong and Louise Sergent buying the business from John McEntee, who retired after leading the business for 27 years.
Keen to put their own stamp on the company, Ian and Louise have wasted little time in seeking out new opportunities and ways they can grow. They recognised the need to upgrade the business’s print offering to support their expansion plans and, having previously seen the HP Latex R530 in action at the HP Graphics Experience Centre in Barcelona, identified the printer as the ideal solution.
Running at a top speed of 31 sq. m/hr, the HP Latex R530 is a compact, all-in-one rigid and flexible printer. It can print on boards up to 1.6m wide and 5cm thick, supporting users across work including indoor and outdoor signage and window graphics and décor, while its three-litre ink cartridges allow customers to print in both colour and white.
Another stand-out feature of HP Latex technology is its environmentally friendly credentials. All HP Latex machines run water-based HP Latex inks, which have a much lower impact on the planet than their UV, solvent and eco solvent counterparts. This played a major part in Signs Express Liverpool & Wirral opting to invest in the new machine.
“We both looked at the machine in Barcelona and instantly spotted its capabilities,” Ian and Louise said. “Both of us class HP as being the market leader. We picked up on how the machine can print onto a range of different materials, as well as the quality of the print on these different substrates.
“We also very much liked how the machine could print direct to board, which will help us towards achieving our sustainability goal. This was key for us as being environmentally friendly is important for our forward strategy. Add in that the centre did not previously have a flatbed printer and this hybrid machine was the perfect fit.”
The printer, which was installed at the end of April 2025 by approved HP distributor Papergraphics, has only been in place a short time at Signs Express Liverpool & Wirral, but the company has wasted little time in utilising the machine to grow its offering. The HP Latex R530 is the first to be installed in the UK across the entire Signs Express franchise network but it is not the first HP Latex printer at Signs Express Liverpool & Wirral.
In March this year the company also took on an HP Latex 800W to further support Ian and Louise’s plans for long-term success, while another new HP Latex machine could be in the offing.
“The HP Latex R530 will definitely help the business grow, allowing us to offer different services that we could not previously carry out in such a speedy manner,” Ian and Louise said. “We will also be looking at adding another HP Latex machine in the very near future.”
