Environment friendly large format printers to gain popularity in 2009

This year, HP has widened their large format portfolio with higher quality printers at reasonable prices to supplement the continuous growth of the large format printing sector. Among the printers is the environment-friendly Latex-based HP Designjet L65500, which when compared to other eco-solvent solutions existing in the market, the L65500 provides better quality and speed, media versatility and a significantly lower printing cost per square metre, an added advantage for outdoor applications.

"HP is dedicated in giving importance to environmental matters, and we want to ensure that we are providing the best solutions for both our customers and the environment. The HP Designjet L65500 Printer with HP Latex Inks offers print service providers a compelling new alternative that will allow them to expand the variety of outdoor and indoor applications they can offer to environmentally conscious customers while also improving their overall printing atmosphere,"

said Wayne Davey, General Manager, Sign & Display, HP EMEA.

Walid Amin, General Manager, Izumi Solutions, added "Compared to most other eco-solvent solutions that exist in the market today, the L65500 provides much better quality and speed while also being friendlier to environment. The major opportunity lies in providing higher quality printers at more reasonable prices during 2009. With launches such as the Designjet L65500, we are seeing a printer that can print indoor quality but be used for outdoor applications."

During the Sign and Graphics Imaging (SGI) 2009 event, both Izumi and HP had an excellent response on the HP Designjet L65500 with its new synthetic ink technology, the first of its kind ever released commercially by any printer manufacturer in the region. Other printers such as the new 5-metre HP Scitex XP5300, a UV printer designed for printing billboards at 300 sqm per hour as well as the HP Scitex FB950 UV flatbed printer.

"HP is committed to deliver value for money solutions, and we believe that we will achieve our projections for the year. In the last Sign & Graphics Imaging exhibition, customers from Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were very positive in investing on large format printers," Davey added.

Izumi Solutions also furthered that printing on rigid substrates brought by the HP Scitex FB950 is another major trend that will develop in the large format printing industry. "The FB950 is a printer designed for the interior decoration or glass manufacturing segments, an advantage for better creativity to conventional outdoor advertising by combining prints done directly on woods, glass, ceramic tiles or aluminium to conventional outdoor flex or self-adhesive vinyl prints," said Amin.

"HP's several products, such as the Latex-based, UV Flatbed FB950, UV XP3300, Solvent XL1500 and the Turbojet, are a cross section of technologies and broad applications base and hopefully our clients will be delighted with the solutions from HP. We are always coming up with ways to achieve our customers' growing needs of expanding our flat form base, and for 2009, the latex technology is the major release from HP," Davey concluded.

Izumi Solutions is currently finalising several deals from the SGI event brought by various strategic customers from around the region.