At an recently event in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Viceroy Hotel HP Middle East put on display a new breed of Large Format PageWide Technology Printer. More than 170 people from EMEA region were invited by HP to attend the two day event and see for the first time the new technology in action.
HP claims together with HP Thermal Inkjet Technology and HP pigment inks, the new HP PageWide Technology for large-format printers reduces the cost per page and offers the flexibility to use low-cost photo papers for graphically rich applications.
Additionally, the PageWide platform prints the full page in a single pass for decreased turnaround time. The new 40 inch (1,016mm) wide machine will be launched commercially in the second half of 2015.
This technology, which consists of more than 200,000 nozzles on a stationary print bar and spans the width of the page, enables users to produce a variety of black-and-white and color applications, such as drawings, maps and posters.
HP says the PageWide Technology will disrupt the $1.3 billion production printing market currently dominated by monochrome light-emitting diode (LED) printers.
“The machine does not deliver photographic colour quality but it can print POP posters and it can deliver crisp colours. It uses pigment ink suitable for technical drawings which includes fine lines. The ink also offers media flexibility. Something that Memjet technology cannot offer. It’s also faster and less expensive than Memjet printers.” comments Ernest Azzam HP’s Business Manager for Large Format Design- Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa.
In 2013, the first PageWide printhead was introduced. This was an 8.57-inch four-color printhead that is the basis of the Officejet Pro X Series printers.
Neither of these two printhead configurations was well-suited for wide-format devices designed for technical printing. So, enter a 5.08-inch printhead. Unlike its 8.57-inch predecessor, the new head is designed for improved stackability, which allows for scalability up to—at present—a 40-inch printbar.
During the Abu Dhabi event HP also introduced for the first time The HP Designjet T3500 Production eMultifunction Printer (eMFP). HP claims this is the most productive large-format color multifunction printer in its category, ideal for use by enterprises.
The other new product on display was The HP Designjet T7200 Production Printer, a full-color large-format printer built for central reprographic departments (CRDs) and reprographic houses with high-volume print demands. To streamline complete printing workflow HP also introduced HP Designjet SmartStream.
These solutions can handle the volume and diverse print needs of enterprise organizations; CRDs; architectural, engineering, construction (AEC) and design firms; public sector agencies; quick printers and small- to medium-sized reprographic houses.
