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HP single pass inkjet technology is set to transform wide format printing
The next revolution
Twenty-three years after
developing the first pagewide
inkjet printhead in its R&D
labs, HP has announced its
first large format printer to
feature the technology.
HP believes that when it is
introduced in October 2015,
HP Large Format Page Wide
Array Technology will completely
transform large format printing
for print service providers, copy
shops and CRD departments.
It is announcing it now so that
potential customers are aware
of what’s in the pipeline when
making investment decisions for
the next 3-5 years.
HP says its new technology
has the potential to disrupt
today’s LED-dominated market
by combining the advantages
of Designjet colour inkjets and
mono LED toner printers in one
multi-purpose inkjet device
that delivers colour and mono
printing, with low running costs
and high productivity.
The combination will help
make large format colour
printing mainstream and remove
the need to have separate LED
and toner devices for mono and
colour output.
Essentially, the new
technology offers the same
value proposition as pagewide
inkjet printheads in office
devices, i.e. colour at twice
the speed of toner, with lower
running costs. HP expects it
to have just as much of an
impact as the Officejet Pro X
which, in less than a year, has
captured 12% market share in
its category.
The pre-production model
seen by
PrintIT
is certainly
impressive. Equipped with a
40-inch pagewide array made
up of eight 5-inch modules with
more than 200,000 nozzles,
it prints entire A0 prints in a
single pass in the time it takes
existing Designjet printheads
to go across the page and back
just once i.e. about two seconds.
Inkjet Printing
Output emerges dry and ready
to use.
The new devices are especially
productive when producing
jobs with a mix of colour and
mono pages that today would
be produced on different
devices with separate workflows,
collected and then collated.
It has taken HP engineers
10 years to develop HP Large
Format Page Wide Array
Technology and overcome the
technical challenges involved
in creating an economical,
productive, versatile and reliable
technology for high volume
printing in CRDs and PSPs.
This included the
development of a new
generation of durable, waterfast,
highlighter- and smudge-
resistant inks suitable for a
wide variety of substrates and
capable of producing strong
blacks and vivid colour output
on uncoated bond.
HP also required the
technology to be fully scalable,
as technical innovations are only
successful and long-lasting if
they can be scaled up or down
to meet a variety of needs. HP
says that it has an extensive
roadmap for this technology,
which includes lower volume
solutions for enterprises.
Faster and more productive
As well as whetting the market’s
appetite for HP Large Format
Page Wide Array Technology,
HP has launched a number of
new wide format products and
services based on in-depth
discussions with 800 customers.
Targeted at print service
providers, copy shops and
reprographics companies
that make a living from
printing, as well as traditional
Designjet customers in the
AEC community, the new
developments maintain
HP inkjet’s Moore’s Law-
like trajectory of doubling
performance every 18 months.
They include the:
HP Designjet T3500
Production eMultifunction
Printer:
a productive colour 36-
inch MFP for small repro houses
and enterprises, this will allow
customers to consolidate their
workflow on one device with the
same mono page costs as a low
volume mono LED device and
fast throughput of 21 seconds
per colour or mono print. Two
rolls, an output stacker and
large ink consumables enable
unattended operation.
T7200 Production Printer:
to be launched in November,
this 42-inch printer builds on
the success of the 7100, with
extra memory, faster processing
speeds and more accessories
and workflow solutions. Three
rolls and large capacity ink
supplies provide busy CRDs and
reprographic houses with 600
metre unattended operation.
HP Designjet SmartStream:
This workflow and PDF
management solution can cut
multi-page processing times
by 50%. An embedded Adobe
PDF print engine provides fast
Adobe PDF rendering, while a
Crystal Preview function gives
an accurate view of document
colours and lay-outs.
HP Universal Print Driver
for all
HP Designjets.
HP PartnerLink:
a set of
tools that will enable partners
to move from transactional
to contractual sales with full
service contracts and pay-per-
use options.
HP Designjet T7200
