Hardware - Wide Format Print

With printers constantly seeking increased competitiveness in an economy yet to enjoy full recovery, Spandex is currently running a promotion which enables large format/sign businesses to receive up to £4,000 (€5,000) for their old printer, when trading-up to the new Epson GS6000 Pro.

Thanks to a new 8-colour ink set, the Epson GS6000 offers the widest colour gamut to date, enabling print businesses to produce photo-realistic colours at 1440x1440 dpi and with a 3.7 pl droplet size for fine art/indoor applications. The Epson GS6000 also offers outstanding outdoor durability and includes a performance guarantee of up to five-years on fleet graphics.

“Quite simply, the Epson GS6000 is the game-changer that allows printers to meet the needs of brand owners and marketers who are always looking to maximise the wow factor of their printed campaigns with stunning off-the-wall applications”, says Leon Watson, Director of Sales & Marketing – Hardware at Spandex. “These superior performance and quality attributes, coupled with such a great cashback incentive, mean that our customers benefit from a win-win opportunity.”

Spandex invites customers to call 0800 77 26 33 or visit www.spandex.com to find out how much their old printer is worth and take advantage of this special promotion, which will run until 31st August 2010.

 

HP today announced that Cuestión de imagen, based in Mérida, Spain, has installed an HP Scitex FB6100 Printer to encourage the expansion of its digital printing services across Spain.

Cuestión de imagen was established in Fuenlabrada, Madrid, in 1994, to service local customers from the architecture, interior design, marketing and advertising industries. As part of the company's plan to extend its services across Spain, it moved to new premises in 1997 and developed a policy of investing in technologies that create new business opportunities. After successfully producing general commercial print items, including digital photo prints and photo-specialty items, the company decided that it wanted to offer its customers an extended portfolio of products. The new applications the company can produce include indoor and outdoor signage; point-of-sale and point-of-purchase displays; billboards; building wraps and display graphics.

The HP Scitex FB6100 Printer is highly versatile. It can print directly onto almost any rigid media, or heavy specialty media, including; foam board, PVC, corrugated plastic, MDO, MDF, glass, wood and metal. Its ability to convert from a flatbed to a roll-to-roll machine enables Cuestión de imagen to print on flexible substrates such as vinyl, paper, mesh and banners. The simple changeover mechanism enables fast and easy switching between the rigid and roll-fed printing modes.

"When we decided to purchase a large format printer we conducted a comprehensive assessment of the different technologies on the market, to find one that inspired trust in not only the printer but also the company behind it," said Pedro Torres, creative manager, Cuestión de imagen. "After visiting HP's demo centre in Sant Cugat, we had every confidence that its after-sales care and support would meet our needs, so we opted for the HP Scitex FB6100 Printer. Our investigation showed that its combination of high-quality and adaptability - printing on an almost unlimited range of substrates - is focused to a versatile production environment such as ours and perfectly matched our needs. We believed that this printer would enable us to win new business and this has already proven to be the case. Now more than 80 percent of our production uses rigid substrates."

The FB6100 enables users switch between four- and eight- colour or six-colour plus white printing, for increased flexibility and cost-effectiveness, depending on the job that is being produced. Designed to maximise productivity, the FB6100 offers Cuestión de imagen fast print speeds of up to 100m2 per hour in four-colour, combined with multi-sheet printing for rigid media such as pre-cut boards with a 3.2x2m table. The printer eliminates drying time, using highly durable UV-curable inks. Printed output can be handled, stacked and finished instantly, for immediate delivery.

"Since installing our FB6100 we have experienced a significant productivity increase," said Torres. "We have worked hard to establish a reputation for finding innovative and creative solutions for our customer's requirements. Many of the jobs we are now asked to produce are urgent, short-run work and by using our new press, we can offer faster turnaround times and high quality. Our customers are delighted."

 

 

Roland DG Corporation, a leading worldwide provider of wide-format inkjet printers and integrated print/cutters, has introduced a new dye sublimation solution for its VersaArt series of four-colour CMYK wide-format inkjet printers. The new VersaArt S series printers deliver rich, saturated colours and exceptional print quality while optimising productivity and performance, all at an affordable price. Two models are available: the 64” RS-640S and the 54” RS-540S.

“Sublimated fabric graphics are becoming increasingly popular because they are light weight, easy to handle, cost effective to ship and environmentally friendly,” said Yuko Seki, Roland DG Colour product manager. “With the VersaArt S series, businesses can easily add sublimation to their workflow to achieve a distinct competitive advantage as well as a quick return on investment. Our new VersaArt printers are easy to operate and deliver unmatched print quality and reliable performance for applications ranging from soft signage and apparel to interior décor items.”

VersaArt sublimation printers are flexible production tools featuring Roland’s proven SBL2 sublimation inks and patent-pending Roland Intelligent Pass Control technology for exceptional print quality in every mode. VersaArt sublimation printers produce vivid colors and image well at print speeds up to 31.8 m2/hr (342.6 sqft/hr.). VersaArt printers are also available as eco-solvent models featuring Roland ECO-SOL MAX ink. All Roland inkjets come complete with VersaWorks, Roland’s professional RIP software for precision color management.

 

 

Officials of Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR) and Mutoh America-a manufacturer of wide format printers- announced today a partnership in which Mutoh will serve as an associate sponsor of RWR in the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series.

As part of that agreement, the RWR facility currently houses Mutoh's ValueJet 1614 Printer-"The Wrappers Choice"-the Mutoh SC PRO Cutter and a Royal Sovereign Laminator.

Noted RWR team owner, Rusty Wallace, "With the 2010 race season in full swing, Mutoh's ValueJet has played a big role in preparing graphics for our No. 66 and No. 62 teams.  Our team has a lot of momentum right now and we're hoping that 2010 will be a record breaking year for our team.  We're proud to be using Mutoh's ValueJet 1614 printer and SC PRO Cutter to produce graphics for our race cars."

With 55 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins under his belt, Wallace knows first-hand what it takes to be successful on the racetrack. As owner of RWR, he has put this knowledge to work even further.  "Ensuring that our sponsors' logos look their best is extremely important to us," said Wallace. "We know and trust Mutoh.  With the prints produced by the ValueJet 1614, the colors and logos on cars really pop."

"Rusty first approached me after seeing our printer in West Coast Customs booth at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas last year.  He was looking for a solution to wrap his race cars fast, without failure and they needed to look great.  After visiting Mutoh America Headquarters he chose our most popular printer for producing wraps, the ValueJet 1614.  This is going to be a great relationship and we look forward to working with Rusty and his team for many years ahead," said Brian Phipps, Mutoh's General Manager.

HP today introduced a Large Format Photo Negative application that allows professional photographers using the HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer series to produce fine-art quality prints or hardcopy image archives.

HP is showcasing Large Format Photo Negatives and prints produced with the negatives for the first time at Les Rencontres d'Arles 2010 in Arles, France from July 3-13, and at ArtHamptons in Bridgehampton, NY from July 9-11.

This application is generated with a free software package and the HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer series, which allow photographers to use a digital file from a film scan or digital capture to produce a photo negative on a transparent substrate. Large-format photo negatives can be used as masters to produce high-quality fine art prints in a wide range of classic, alternative photographic processes.  These include monochrome or color processes, such as cyanotype, photogravure, platinotypes, dye-transfer, gum bichromate and carbro.

"HP's breakthrough innovation gives fine art photography printmakers an easier way to transform their digital files into high-quality, physical originals of their work, addressing one of the key needs we heard from this community," said Santiago Morera, vice president and general manager, Designjet Large-format Printing Solutions, Imaging and Printing Group, HP.  "We're committed to helping professional photographers simplify and accelerate the process for producing, showcasing and archiving their art."

While writing on film from digital data is not new, the Large Format Photo Negative application, developed by HP Color Scientist and photographer Angel Albarran, offers one of the simplest, least expensive and highest-quality options available on the market today. Any professional photographer with an HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer, the correct substrate and the free software package from HP can produce these photo negatives. The software package will be released at Photokina in September.

Photographer Elliott Erwitt uses Large Format Photo Negatives to create new edition of platinum prints

Elliott Erwitt, a Magnum photographer known for his black-and-white candid shots, recently used Large Format Photo Negatives to create limited editions of some of his most famous and iconic photos. With the large-format negatives, he was able to produce 76 x 102-cm (30 x 40-inch) platinum prints of four of his images on cotton paper, including "California Kiss."

"Platinum printing is the Rolls Royce of photographic reproduction and has traditionally been limited to modest dimensions," said Erwitt. "These new large-format platinum prints with their unusual size are a Rolls Royce and Ferrari combined. They are a new and unique way of seeing and experiencing familiar iconic images. The resulting four pilot photographs have a luminosity that is not achievable with any other process old or new."

Erwitt first worked with Gabe Greenberg, famous in the fine art community for high-quality digital prints, to retouch and adjust the images in a digital format prior to printing. Once approved, the digital files were printed on the HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer in the form of large-format negatives with green and black Original HP Photo Inks.

"The negatives we're getting from our HP printer are unparalleled by anything we've done before," said Greenberg, who has worked with noted platinum printmaker Arkady Lvov for eight years, experimenting with various inkjet printers to find a streamlined method to create large-format photo negatives suitable for platinum printing. "The platinum prints they produce have smooth gradations and even gray areas. These are the crème-de-la-crème of prints. We're ecstatic about the new process!"

With the printed negative in hand, Lvov coated cotton paper with a mixture of platinum salts and various other components to make the substrate sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light. The coated paper and negative were then sandwiched together in a vacuum frame and exposed to UV light, causing the reduction of the platinum salt back to its metallic state based on the level of opacity from the negative, forming the images. The final prints offer a superior range of gray levels, smooth tonal transitions, excellent contrast and good separation in shadows, highlights and mid-tones compared to other solutions on the market.

Once final, the platinum print was tagged with ARTtrust, a simple self-certification system from HP that allows artists to provide individual identity to any pigment ink print produced on an HP Designjet Z series printer using Original HP Photo Inks and any compatible media, including HP fine art printing materials. ARTtrust provides traceability and control of authenticity, as well as certified information about print longevity, for each pigment print.

Large Format Photo Negatives at Arles and ArtHamptons

Large Format Photo Negatives and platinum prints produced on the HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer and tagged with ARTtrust will be on display for the first time at Les Rencontres d'Arles 2010 and ArtHamptons. HP will also participate in a conference at Les Rencontres d'Arles 2010 titled Fine-Art Photography and Technology: Revolution and Renaissance? at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 8. Attendees can discuss the latest technology advancements for the photography community and meet with photographers, printmakers, art collectors and galleries while viewing the Erwitt prints.

More information about HP Designjet solutions is available at www.hp.com/go/designjet and on the HP for Designers Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/HPdesigners

 

Following its successful attendance at FESPA, IGS UK has announced that the launch of its Elements green wide-format printing solutions met with unprecedented approval from end users and distributors world-wide. The company’s Atom printers, which incorporate Epson MicroPiezo TFP print-heads, combined with proprietary H2O water-based durable inks, Krypton Eco-Media materials and Chromium RIP, generated high levels of interest as a low-cost highly productive environmentally friendly turn-key system.

Benefiting from low running costs and the ability to be used with a standard electricity supply, the Elements Atom 24 and Atom 44 printers were demonstrated producing output direct to a wide range of compatible materials. Suitable media includes the full gamut of display options up to 1.5 mm in thickness, plus uncoated and untreated aluminium, fabrics, banners, canvases and vinyls.

The Elements H2O inks contain no hazardous chemicals and are completely odourless, with their durability making them ideal for interior and exterior applications. Matched with Krypton Eco-Media, the results on all materials are vibrant and sharp on both coated and uncoated products.

As a specialist international distributor of quality wide-format solutions, IGS UK reports that interest from resellers was exceptionally high at FESPA. Managing director, Nick Wintle, comments: “We knew the Elements family was going to generate excitement at the show with our emphasis on bringing to market an integrated truly green printing solution. Nonetheless, we were amazed at the levels of demand for our enterprising and realistic system.

“Our attendance at FESPA also proved to IGS UK that we are well ahead of comparable technologies intending to move into greener production,” Wintle continues. “The introduction of our Elements range has been timed to come to market at a time where environmental practices need to be combined with more durable output and low running costs – at a very competitive price.”

Based on industry-proven Epson Stylus Pro printers, the Elements Atom range is modified to facilitate the use of Elements H2O’s proprietary outdoor durable heat-cured water-based resin inks. By incorporating Epson’s MicroPiezo TFP (Thin Film Piezo) technology, precise dot placement is matched with high performance criteria and excellent print-head durability.

You can find out more about the Elements printer range at www.elementsps.net