The HP Latex R Series printer boasts odourless printing and uses original HP Latex water-based inks, and also offers print-service-providers (PSPs) the ability to print on thicker substrates such as foamboards, foam PVC, solid plastics, aluminium, wood, and glass, and will bring PSPs into the rigid printing sector with vivid colours.

Joan Perez Pericot, general manager, HP large-format graphics business, comments: “With the new HP Latex Rigid Technology, our customers can expand their offering into new, high-value applications while also opening fresh creative ideas and concepts for sign and display that provide their users greater value.”

To avoid settling, the white ink is recirculated, and HP says that for the first time, its white ink will deliver a glossy, true-white that does not change over time, much like some traditional UV-based white inks.

“White ink has been a consistent problem for the industry,” adds Thom Brown, chief inkologist at HP, adding: “Traditionally it uses a bigger and heavier pigment particles that frequently clog print heads, or the opaque mixture becomes separated and settles to the bottom of the ink reservoir.

“Until now, physically shaking the reservoirs often has been the necessary solution. Through HP’s investment in innovation around chemistry and engineering, the white ink solution with the HP Latex R series is an industry breakthrough.”

The HP Latex R Series will make its full debut at the FESPA Global Print Expo at Messe Berlin in May, where a key focus will lie on fashion and textile printing, as well as corrugated packaging printing—two key growth areas for the industry. It will be commercially available in Q3 of 2018.

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