Expand your horizons
While it is true that wide-format print remains a vibrant market with lots of work on offer, the competition among companies is fiercer than ever as businesses battle for the most profitable contracts.
One way to gain an advantage over competitors is to ensure you are running first-class printing kit that delivers high quality results every time. Luckily for those in this sector, the supply of new technology is a seemingly endless one with updated solutions coming to market all the time.
Here, we look at some of the latest launches in wide-format print and pick out some of their key attributes that can help your business get ahead in a busy market.
Proactive investment
Epson is among the leading brands in wide-format print with a whole host of options on offer to the market. Phil McMullin, head of sales for commercial and industrial printing at Epson UK, says wide-format technology, particularly inkjet, has changed massively over the last decade, and therefore new investment is key in order to keep pace with the market.
“Proactive manufacturers like Epson continue to invest huge sums of money every day in research and development leading to substantial innovation in the way equipment performs,” McMullin says, adding: “These innovations create improvements in colour reproduction, productivity, ease of use, flexibility, reliability, total running costs, and sustainability.
Proactive manufacturers like Epson continue to invest huge sums of money every day in research and development leading to substantial innovation in the way equipment performs”
“Individually these improvements can materially impact a business but taken together the results can be incredible.”
McMullin goes on to say that newer technology can offer substantial benefits in many areas over older equipment and proactive sign-makers and digital printers are using these advantages to win more business and help increase the profitability of existing business by reducing running costs.
“The latter includes free-of-charge servicing under manufacturer’s warranty rather than expensive call outs, lower ink consumption due to improved performance of printheads and ink, and in some cases lower cost per ml of ink,” McMullin explains, adding: “Those businesses that do not upgrade risk losing out to their competitors who might have an edge from new tech.”
With this, McMullin draws attention to the latest wide-format print solution available from Epson in the form of the new SureColor SC-R5000 resin ink printer, which he highlights is suitable for both outdoor graphics and decor.
Epson’s new SureColor SC-R5000 resin ink printer can be used for printing both outdoor graphics and decor
“The main advantages of the R5000 are vibrant prints produced by a fully water-based ink set and the ability to print onto uncoated media thus creating recyclable output and minimising your environmental impact,” McMullin says, adding: “In addition, the printer is extremely reliable with a permeant printhead, is very easy to operate, and has low running costs.”
Proof your business
Another leading name in wide-format print is HP. Stuart Thomas, business development manager for large-format printing at HP, says that investment in new wide-format print equipment helps to future-proof a business.
“It enables you to expand your business potential by gaining a competitive edge and standing out from the crowd,” Thomas says, adding: “You can also boost productivity, reduce operational costs and ultimately increase your profitability.
“Other net gains include an improved working environment – courtesy of more eco-conscious solutions – alongside faster print speeds and higher quality output.
“Finally, staff retention. By working smarter and investing in new technology, your staff will be confident that you are a forward-thinking company looking to reduce outdated work practices – for example, replacing the hand cutting of vinyl with more efficient digital cutting.”
Thomas goes on to say that if businesses stand still and do not update their wide-format kit on a relatively regular basis, then they run the risk of competitors overtaking them, as well as missing out on potential new business.
“The quality of printed output may also be poor in comparison to newer technology,” Thomas explains, adding: “Dated printing equipment is not as flexible as more recent machines and may not be able to print on such a wide array of substrates such as acrylic, glass, metal and window films.
“White ink included with the latest technology also opens up many more applications. If you don’t embrace newer technology, you might find it too costly to compete. Finally, reliability is a key reason to invest; downtime increases costs and labour time, ultimately reducing your profits.”
With this, he points to some of the latest technologies available from HP. These include the HP DesignJet Z6 Pro, a 64” printer that runs at speeds of up to 98sq m/hr on plain media and has the ability to handle media up to 1,626mm wide.
Elsewhere and sister model the HP DesignJet Z9+ Pro also has a maximum media width of 64”, along with a top speed of 14.1sq m/hr, while several options are available within the HP PageWide XL Pro Series range.
HP offers a number of options in its HP PageWide XL Pro Series range of machines
The HP Latex 700/800W both offer white ink printing capabilities to the user, while the HP Latex 1500 printer can print on media up to 3.2m wide, as can sister machine the HP Latex 3600.
The HP Latex R2000 has a top indoor production print speed of 28sq m/hr
In addition, the HP Latex R-Series printer range comprises the R1000, R1000 Plus and R2000 Plus models, all of which can handle media up to 5cm thick and can print in white ink.
Pushing print possibilities
Elsewhere and Mimaki has launched a number of new wide-format print solutions in recent months. Duncan Jefferies, head of marketing and business development for Hybrid Services, the exclusive UK and Irish distributor for Mimaki, says adding the latest wide-format kit can help a business gain an advantage over the
competition.
“The latest wide-format solutions incorporate new inks and printing technology that can deliver a broader range of applications, enabling companies to offer more products to their customers,” Jefferies says.
“The versatility of solutions such as the Mimaki UCJV300 LED UV printer/cutter allow many applications to be delivered by the one piece of equipment and with its diverse capabilities – the same machine is capable of producing backlit light boxes, clear vinyl window decals and impactful floor graphics – create greater revenue generating opportunities.
“The wide-format printing industry continues to evolve quickly, with new hardware, ink and software technology consistently being brought to market. Mimaki’s strong research and development ethos has led to a steady stream of new products for the wide-format sector being released in response to customer demand, pushing forward the print possibilities, especially for creative applications.”
Looking at the latest options available from Mimaki and Hybrid Services, Jefferies picks out the new 100 Series, three models built on a common platform that deliver solvent, LED UV, and dye-sublimation solutions.
The new Mimaki 100 Series incorporates the solvent JV100-160, LED UV UJV100-160 and the dye-sublimation TS100-1600. All share a similar chassis, 1.6m print width and Core Technologies, with specific ink delivery and fixation unique to each model.
Mimaki’s JV100-160 can achieve speeds of almost 63sq m/hr
“All are designed to deliver powerful and productive, yet low-cost solutions and they’ve been very well received by the industry since their announcement,” Jefferies says.
The Mimaki JV100-160 is optimised to run Mimaki’s SS21 solvent ink set, a long lasting and Greenguard GOLD certified ink capable of achieving almost 95% Pantone coverage onto a huge range of materials.
In four-colour mode, the JV100-160 can achieve speeds of almost 63sq m/hr, and with production speeds around 20sq m/hr, Jefferies says it is capable of delivering significant volumes of print per day.
Investment in any sort of new kit is often a costly and time-consuming process for sign-makers and wide-format print companies, but in order to keep ahead of the competition and ensure you are offering customers the highest quality services, purchasing new machinery may well be the best way to go.
O Factoid: The global large-format printer market could be worth as much as $10.68bn (£8.09bn) by the year 2026, according to a recent study by ResearchAndMarkets.com O
Having the latest wide-format printer in place means you can utilise the latest technology to deliver quality work across a range of applications to your customers.
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