OUTPUT

Since creating quite a stir when launched at FESPA in 2009, the HP Scitex FB7500 Printer has managed to raise a further eyebrow or two among print service providers (PSPs) seeking to pack some extra punch to their large-format offering. Designed for fast-paced, industrial printing environments, the HP Scitex FB7500 is a versatile UV flat-bed printer designed for high-quality point-of-purchase (POP) and point-of-sale (POS) applications, such as exhibition graphics, signage, back-lit displays and posters.

The ability of the FB7500 to undertake a plethora of applications is based largely on its multi-substrate capability; this allows users to print directly to virtually any sheeted materials including paper, film, cardboard, plastics and foamboard, as well as glass, metal and speciality media up to 25mm (1") thick.

The FB7500 offers maximum speeds of up to 500sq m/hr (5,380sq ft/hr), a low cost per sheet, significant media versatility and an efficient, automated workflow, enabling it to deliver the highest productivity of digital flat-bed printers in its price class. Importantly, the combination of productivity, quality and versatility afforded by the FB7500 provides screen and large-format offset PSPs an easy transition into digital printing.

To aid this transition, the FB7500 includes 312 HP Scitex X2 drop-on-demand piezoelectric ink-jet print-heads. This enables it to achieve high productivity with a 20kHz firing frequency through 39,936 nozzles, which produce the high ink flows required to print high-quality images at high speeds. The result is greater coverage of solid areas, while six colours minimise graininess and provide high definition. Supporting a resolution of up to 500dpi in the HP Scitex FB7500, the new print-head delivers the heavy ink flows required for high-speed, high-quality printing.

In addition, UV-curable inks developed specifically for the FB7500 allow for fast curing and produce very low volatile organic compounds (VOCs), thereby facilitating an improved printing environment. With two-year outdoor durability, the water- and abrasion-resistant UV-curable inks cure with light exposure and do not require large drying systems, which improves workflow efficiency and saves space.

Further efficiencies and productivity benefits are enjoyed by the FB7500's three-quarter automated loading capability, which reduces idle time between sheets by up to 75 percent with only one operator. Where manual loading and unloading of a sheet can typically take 45 seconds or more, the loading mechanism on the Scitex FB7500 printer reduces that time to twelve seconds. Digital printing also results in fewer errors and therefore fewer wasted prints, compared with traditional screen printing.

One UK user of the FB7500 is Bryan Shirley, director of Rotherham-based display specialist Bluetree Design and Print. "The addition of the HP Scitex FB7500 printer has enabled us to move our original screen printing and wide-format digital business into a new dimension where we can increase versatility and output opportunities across all run lengths," says Shirley. "This investment has lived up to its promise, giving us speed and quality in a robust, dependable printer."