At the Photokina 2010 show, HP introduced an 8-ink HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer series with new HP Vivid Photo Inks. The printer is designed for photo labs, digital print shops, ad agencies, design firms, and commercial printers who want to deliver photo-quality output at a speed that is about 50% faster than the HP Designjet Z6100. With a resolution of 2400 dpi and print speeds of up of 1500 sq. ft./hr., the Designjet Z6200 is designed for indoor applications ranging from line drawings to photographs and signage.
The new HP Vivid Photo Inks offer improved scratch resistance, gloss levels and gloss uniformity and a wider color gamut with deeper blacks than previous HP inks. The printer’s 8-ink printing system also features HP Chromatic Red ink, which enables up to 88 percent PANTONE® coverage and greater ink efficiency. According to HP, the Designjet Z6200 will print the same output using up to 44 percent less ink than preceding HP technologies.
“The HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer is a true workhorse, delivering high speed and productivity on every application, including those that demand the best quality,” said Santiago Morera, vice president and general manager, HP Designjet Large-format Printing Solutions, Imaging and Printing Group, HP.
One of the beta customers for the HP Designjet Z6200 printer was Imagic of Burbank, CA. Imagic used the new printer to produce an exhibition of 65 unpublished photographs of aviator Amelia Earhart. The photos were recently discovered by an archivist at Matson Navigation Co. and show Earhart during a two-week vacation to Hawaii in 1934 after which she became the first person to fly solo back to California. Some of the pictures were also taken during her last trip to Hawaii in 1937.
“The HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer was the perfect choice for the production of the Amelia Earhart exhibit because it allowed us to produce high-quality, neutral black-and-white and sepia prints with an exceptional grayscale and high speeds,” said Paul Elmi, owner, Imagic. “We were pleased with the noticeable increase in productivity provided by the HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer as well as the increased control over ink limiting and saturation, which is extremely useful when producing backlit displays or prints with skin tones and shadows, like the Earhart project.”
The exhibition of black-and-white and sepia-toned prints is currently on display at the Royal Hawaiian hotel in Waikiki Beach, Hawaii. In addition to large-format canvas prints in sizes up to 60 x 80 in, Imagic produced eight 30 x 40-in. boards on photo gloss paper to create a timeline of Earhart’s accomplishments.
The HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer series is expected to be available worldwide on Nov. 1. The price for the 42-in. model is expected to be around $8,995. The 60-in. model is expected to sell for $15,995.
