One of the new HP devices using PageWide technology scheduled for 2015.
On June 10, HP announced the scaling of its inkjet-based PageWide Technology for large-format printing, which means the company now offers devices that can reportedly deliver high-quality prints at faster speeds and lower costs.
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 & white color applications, such as drawings, maps and posters. HP claims PageWide Technology will disrupt the $1.3 billion production printing market currently dominated by monochrome light-emitting diode (LED) printers by providing customers with an affordable option for high-volume prints, shaking up an industry that typically prints in monochrome by providing them with a compelling reason to now print in color without compromising speed.
“This is the result of many years of R&D and we’re excited about bringing out this level of innovation,” observed Oriol Gasch, VP & GM of AMS LF Printing at HP in a conversation with The Week in Imaging. “This printhead will work with pigment inks and provide a better vibrancy.”
One of the challenges HP had to overcome with this technology is drying the ink. The new technology uses a special agent that keeps the orifices of the printhead open so that the ink that’s already been applied to the media is drying as more ink is being applied.
“This offers color at twice the speed of LED with lower running costs,” added Gasch. “We think it’s going to be revolutionary technology. Because it’s mono and color it will provide expanded versatility.”
The technology will also allow for printing on digital types of substrates, expanding applications it can be used for. “Customers will be able to sue this technology for traditional core applications and expand into others,” stated Gasch.
Conversations with analysts indicate that HP is onto something with this technology. However, Terry Wirth, president of Wirth Consulting, points out that this technology really isn’t all that new and HP has had it for a number of years, referencing Edgeline technology. “We’ve tested it and it’s great,” he says about this latest iteration of the technology.
Although he feels that this announcement is a positive one for HP in the wide format space, he’d like to see them incorporate this technology into their lower end printers, however, he thinks there might be some concerns at HP that this might negatively impact sales of its LaserJets.
“Let’s face it, HP has been working on this for some time and if you go back to the Edgeline days, it wasn’t their one and only attempt to displace other technologies with inkjet,” added Keith Kmetz, Program VP for IDC’s Imaging, Printing and Document Solutions Research. “It’s HP’s technology and they’re going to leverage it as much as they can. And they want to use it in all types of applications from a desktop product all the way up to large format and their high speed applications.”
Asked if HP’s claim that this technology will disrupt the market, IDC’s Kmetz opines, “Where there’s potential for disruption is that it takes inkjet to a new level in being able to produce output very quickly. It helps them cut back their alliance, not specifically to wide format, to Canon for laser engine technologies; that’s part of the disruption story. It’s got some speed and cost advantages they like to talk about and they’re marketing the heck out of it as only HP can.”
New Devices and Software
HP is also expanding its existing large-format portfolio with new devices and software designed to meet specific business demands for high-volume, production printing. Note that neither of these new devices offer PageWide technology. The new products include:
The compact 36-inch HP Designjet T3500 Production eMFP requires no warm-up time and features a fast processor and a high-productivity scanner with batch-scanning, multipage PDF creation and scan-to-email capabilities. The device also allows for unattended and low-cost operation, producing monochrome prints at the same cost per page as LED MFPs. For printing jobs requiring high security, it is built with a self-encrypting hard drive, secure disk erase and controlled access printing.
The 42-inch HP Designjet T7200 Production Printer is capable of handling three heavy media rolls. It can produce both color and black-and-white prints on a wide range of media, from bond to glossy photo paper, with a low cost of operation comparable to monochrome LED printers.
The HP Designjet SmartStream software makes print management more efficient by streamlining workflow for highly demanding print environments. It offers true PDF management, along with accurate and error-free prints with the HP Crystal Preview technology. It also can reduce job preparation time by up to 50 percent on multipage print jobs.
For IT managers, HP also introduced a new HP Designjet Universal Print Driver, which allows users to manage their entire HP Designjet fleet with a standardized single driver. This reduces the amount of time and cost in testing and deployment—and in keeping the software across all HP Designjet printers up to date.
Optional hardware accessories and software tools include the new HP Designjet HD Pro Scanner, stacker, and online folder.
According to HP, 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.
Building on the success of its HP PageWide Technology from industrial production to small business printing, HP says that it will offer customers dependable and economical operation for high-quality, large-format printing at high speeds.
With inkjet technologies, the ink vehicle, which carries the colorant to the surface of the printer, is crucial to the stability of the ink, the drop ejection process, and the overall print result, according to HP. The PageWide printhead is built with thousands of identical drop generators that offer uniform volume, speed and trajectory for precise printing. The technology also regulates the speed and penetration of Original HP pigment ink to accelerate drying and to control dot size, feathering and color-to-color bleed for high-quality prints.
Together with HP Thermal Inkjet Technology and HP pigment inks, the new HP PageWide Technology for large-format printers reportedly 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.
Pricing and availability
- Large-format HP PageWide printers will be available in the second half of 2015.
- The HP Designjet T3500 Production eMFP and HP Designjet T7200 Production Printer are now available worldwide with estimated starting list prices of $14,750 and $12,644, respectively.
- The HP Designjet SmartStream Pre-Flight Manager and Controllers are expected to be available worldwide on June 30 for an estimated starting list price of $1,295 and $795, respectively.
With this first wave, Gasch reports that HP’s intent is to become the leader in the low end of this production market.
In spite of the HP hype should resellers give this announcement serious consideration and take a closer look at this technology and these products?
“Absolutely,” replies Kmetz. “All dealers/resellers have at least some knowledge that HP has this technology. It is something they should take a look at. It’s a different approach to the marketplace and if it has the advantages that HP is talking about it, it warrants examination from dealers and resellers that are already squeezed to make money on hardware. If this can do it more effectively, it’s worth taking a look at.”
More information about the latest additions to the HP Designjet production printing portfolio is available at www.hp.com/go/designjet. Videos and updates on the new products are available on the HP for Designers Facebook page, the HP Graphic Arts YouTube channel and the @HPGraphicArts Twitter handle.
Resellers interested in carrying the new wide format devices can contact Jeff Winsor of HP at (860) 918-3792 or via e-mail at Jeffrey.winsor@hp.com.
