Print and CutTag:

Posted on by Jennifer Corn Posted in Technology & Products
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Now Available at LexJet: The HP Latex Family of Cutters

Recently, HP launched the Latex Print & Cut solution by bundling the HP Latex 115, Latex 315 and Latex 335 with cutters, giving print providers the opportunity to trim and cut graphics without interfering with their workflow, saving both time and money.

Realizing that many latex printers were purchased prior to the release of the bundle, HP knew that those users could benefit from the addition of the HP Cutter with the latex they already have in house, so they company released the HP Latex Cutting Solution at the ISA show in March.

The new cutters will give all users of the HP Latex 300 and 100 series printers a true print and cut option, that includes FlexiPRINT and CUT RIP. With three options, there is a solution available to everyone, from beginners to seasoned shop veterans:

  • The HP Latex 54 Basic Cutting Solution is an easy and affordable option for those whose graphics demand don’t exceed 54 inches and has a maximum cut speed of 33in per second (84 cm/sec)
  • The HP Latex 54 Cutting Solution is a great way to grow your business with your 54-in latex in the graphics market. This cutter offers a faster maximum cut speed (44 in/sec; 113 cm/sec) for quicker turnaround times
  • The HP Latex 64 Cutting Solution will accommodate graphics as wide as 62.2 inches (158 cm) with the same maximum cutting speed as the 54 inch model (44 in/sec; 113 cm/sec)

The addition of an HP Cutting Solution or Latex Print & Cut will open up opportunities in applications like labels and stickers, floor graphics, wall decals and window graphics.

If you currently own a Latex 300 or 100 series printer and are interested in adding one of these solutions to your workflow, call one of our LexJet sales specialists at 800-453-9538 or visit us online at LexJet.com.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Promotions & Rebates
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Bundles, Trade-ins and Rebates on HP Printers in September

HP Designjet Z6600HP is offering a variety of rebates, bundles and trade-ins on the HP Latex and HP Designjet printers, including print-and-cut bundles with Graphtec, SAi and Summa.

HP, Graphtec and SAi have partnered on a print-and-cut bundle that provides up to $1,499 in savings with the HP Latex 310 or 330, the Graphtec FC8600 – 130/160 and SAi FlexiPRINT HP Premium Edition Upgrade from HP Basic Edition.

HP and Summa are also offering a print-and-cut bundle with the HP Latex 310 and 330 with a SummaCut D140 or D160 that includes a $1,000 instant rebate and a discount on the RIP upgrade. Both print-and-cut bundle specials are good through Sept. 30.

Either way, you can get a $1,000 instant rebate on the HP Latex 310 Printer and HP Latex 330 Printer with or without the bundle at LexJet. Plus, Upgrade to Latex with the new HP Latex 360 Printer: trade in any qualifying solvent printer or printer-cutter 30″ or wider, 42″ or wider large-format aqueous printer, HP Latex 210, 260 or 280 Printers, or HP Designjet L25500 or L28500 Printer.

HP also introduced a new portfolio of Care Packs and Service Contract options for the new HP Latex 300 Series Printers. Contact a LexJet printer specialist at 800-453-9538 to find out about rebates on Care Packs and Service Contracts.

If you’re looking for a wider print area, HP is also offering $6,000 cash back on the HP Latex 280 104″ inkjet printer when you trade in an eligible solvent or aqueous printer by Sept. 30. The HP Latex 280 allows you expand your offerings to include high-quality grand-format backlits, banners and soft signage.

HP Designjet Aqueous Printer Deals
New this month, HP announces a big ink deal on its new HP Designjet Z-series printers: Buy an HP Designjet Z6800 Photo Production Printer with a full set of HP Original Vivid Photo Inks (773A) and get a second full set free, a savings of $2,100 on HP 773A inks. You can also get the same deal with the new HP Designjet Z6600 Production Printer, with savings of $1,600 on the HP 773A inks.

If you’re looking to upgrade your aqueous inkjet printer, HP has a great deal for you with its HP Designjet Cash In & Trade Up promotion. When you trade in a qualifying printer you can get up to $2,500 cash back.

HP Designjet printers to which you can trade up include the HP Designjet Z6200 42-inch printer (up to $2,500 back), HP Designjet T1500 36-inch Post Script technical printer (up to $1,000 back) or HP Designjet T1500 36-inch technical printer (up to $750 back).

We use the phrase “up to” since you’ll need to provide a serial number and return the formatter board or motherboard for your qualifying trade-in printer to receive the maximum. You can also provide just the serial number for less cash back ($250). The Designjet Cash In & Trade Up promotion runs through Sept. 30.

There is also a $400 instant rebate on the HP Designjet T520 36-inch printer good through Sept. 30. Additionally, LexJet is offering a limited number of the new HP Z-series printers at a special discounted price, including the HP Designjet Z6600 Production Printer and the HP Designjet Z6800 Photo Production Printer.

To find out more, including qualifying trade-in printers, bundle deals on the HP Z5400 and HP Z5200, and for direction on what printer would work best for you, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends, Technology & Products
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Test Driving the New HP Latex 360 with LexJet’s Tech Support Director

HP Latex 360 Printer
LexJet technical support director, Adam Hannig, has been putting the HP Latex 360 Printer through its paces, printing here on LexJet Sunset by Fredrix Gloss Canvas SUV.

Is the new HP Latex 360 Printer all it’s cracked up to be? To find out, we asked LexJet’s technical support director, Adam Hannig, who has been working with the printer daily since it arrived at LexJet’s tech center a few weeks ago.

First, the 64-inch printer is meeting all the targets for quality, durability and production with high quality at high speeds, lower maintenance and a healthier printing environment. HP has also partnered with Graphtec and Summa for a true print-and-cut option. Click here to read more about how it works.

One of the features unique to the HP Latex 360 is HP Custom Substrate Profiling with an i1 embedded spectrophotometer. Hannig says this feature makes it simple to profile substrates, so simple that even if you have no knowledge about profiling, you can make it happen. Moreover, with onboard profiling RIP times are quite a bit faster.

“You lose some of the control you have to really get in deep and tweak a substrate profile, but this method is so much faster. There’s not another printer in the latex/solvent market that can do this,” says Hannig. “The other amazing thing is that it’s not RIP-specific so you can create a profile and it doesn’t matter what RIP you use. When you build a profile on the printer it automatically syncs with your RIP; it’s already built and ready to go.”

Another big time-saver, says Hannig, is the new maintenance cartridge system, which allows users to simply replace a cartridge instead of using a maintenance tank. “Now you only have to replace inks, printheads and the maintenance cartridge, so you’re down to the very simplest of options when it comes to regular maintenance of the printer,” says Hannig.

Hannig reports that start-up time – getting the printer “warmed-up” and ready to roll – is significantly lower with the new printer at only about a minute and a half. “If you do a lot of stop-and-start printing where you print a job and then another job half an hour later, the new system cuts down on the time it takes for it to get ready. It has something called a Latex Optimizer, which holds the ink in place until it gets to the heater for instant-dry printing,” says Hannig.

Another new feature on the printer is the LCD touch screen, but Hannig says that while it’s nice to have and includes a preview of the job that’s currently printing, he’s most impressed with the intuitive menu and the internet connectivity.

“If you go to the Substrate Library menu on the printer you can download profiles and it will install them right there. You don’t have to go to your computer; you do it right from the printer, which accesses HP’s Media Finder,” says Hannig.

Hannig adds that he’s impressed with the image quality and the apparent added durability of the next-generation HP Latex Inks.

“For canvas production, as well as other graphics where you’d like to cut out the coating or lamination step, the increased durability is very important. HP developed a different type of polymer around the ink that makes it more durable. You want that peace of mind when you ship it and your customer puts it up on the wall.”

Stay tuned for a series of videos that detail how to use the new HP Latex Printers.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in News & Trends, Technology & Products
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Print, Cut and Go with HP Latex Printers, Summa and Graphtec Cutters

HP Latex Printer and Graphtec Cutter

At first blush, it would seem that a print-and-cut, all-in-one solution would be the quickest and most efficient way to achieve die-cut prints. However, HP has partnered with Summa and Graphtec to offer an alternative combination that can improve production of cut-out graphics.

HP Latex prints are dry and ready to go immediately; there’s no need to wait 24 hours for prints to outgas and dry before laminating and cutting. And, since latex prints provide excellent scratch resistance and durability, lamination is unnecessary except for specialty applications like vehicle and floor graphics.

Moreover, with printer/cutter combos you typically make sacrifices in speed, quality or both. With the combination of the HP Latex Printer and a Summa or Graphtec cutter you maximize quality on the print side and speed on the cutting side.

Other benefits of the HP Latex Printer and separate cutter combination include:

  • Multiple jobs can be completed even if one station is busy
  • Separate machines allow multiple jobs to run at the same time: print only, cut only, and print and contour-cut
  • If the print/cutter combo breaks down, the entire production line goes down with it

If you’d like to find out more about combining HP Latex Printers and Graphtec and Summa cutters, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.

Graphtec cutters optimized for HP Latex Printers include the FC8600-130 and FC8600-160. Summa cutters include the S Class D Series and S Class T Series. LexJet now carries the new HP Latex 300 Series Printers and the cutters are available upon request.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Technology & Products
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ONYX Releases Version 10.1 of its RIP Software

ONYX Graphics announced this week the release of version X10.1 of its production RIP software products, including ONYX ProductionHouse, PosterShop and RIPCenter. In addition to being a

RIP software for large format inkjet production workflows

maintenance release to fix top reported customer issues, it also includes these enhancements:

  • G7 grayscale calibration support and integration with Curve2 Software, which is a proof-to-print process based on a set of color criteria developed to ensure digital print technology elements – RIP, printer, media and ink – can reproduce a typical offset lithography sheet.
  • Optional JDF module add-on for PosterShop and ProductionHouse for facilitating automated print workflows
  • Native CMYKR support for the HP Z6200
  • Multi-page PDF splitting workflow in RIP queue with Quick Sets where the ONYX RIP-Queue can process each different page size and optimize page nesting for maximum media savings and speed performance since each page can be processed and sent to the printer individually, without having to wait for the entire PDF file to be processed
  • Easy profiling for white-ink printers
  • Added CMYK compatibility mode
  • Print-and-cut media compensation
  • New measurement device support, including low-resolution swatch support for i1, new Barbierie Spectro LFP textile device and Barbierie 8mm aperture for supported devices

This update requires a Version 10.1-enabled key, so Version X10 users that purchased a license on April 11, 2011 or later are already licensed and can download the new version from www.onyxgfx.com. Current ONYX Advantage and ONYX Premium service plan holders, as well as customers with Version X10 licenses purchased after Dec. 1, 2010, can obtain the update for free by contacting sales@onyxgfx.com and requesting a key update.

For more information and help integrating a RIP workflow, contact a LexJet customer specialist at 800-453-9538.