PARIS, France, September 24, 2008 – HP today unveiled the HP Scitex XP2300 Printer, the latest addition to its broad portfolio of large-format solutions, at VISCOM Europe in Paris, France. The HP Scitex XP2300 Printer is the first 3.2m UV roll-to-roll press that is designed specifically for the outdoor signage market where reducing variable cost is key to business success.

Along with the new HP Scitex XP2300 Printer will be the HP Designjet L65500 Printer and the HP Scitex TJ8500 Printer. Together, these printers offer choices of flexible and rigid output with high quality, high speed, low production costs and environmental innovation.

"HP is the only company with such a comprehensive portfolio of large-format solutions meeting the specific needs of sign and display print service providers," said Santi Morera, vice president and general manager, large format printing, Imaging & Printing Group, HP. "With HP's latest graphics solutions, including the new HP Scitex XP2300 Printer, we are further strengthening our position as the one-stop-shop for all large format printing equipment and helping our customers extend their application range and grow their business."

Introducing the HP Scitex XP2300 Printer

With a low ink consumption of 180 sqm print out of one liter ink realized at a top speed of up to 233 sqm/hr at a resolution of up to 360 dpi, the HP Scitex XP2300 Printer is ideal for billboards, building wraps and other high volume outdoor signage applications.

The HP Scitex XP2300 Printer is a four-color UV press with 16 piezoelectric printheads, each with 256 nozzles that can image uncoated PVC, self-adhesive vinyl, mesh, woven Polyethylene, and other substrates common in the outdoor signage market.

The HP Scitex XP2300 Printer enables customers to cut operating expenses and increase profits and features an array of integrated productivity features that reduce variable costs. A streamlined production workflow enables RIPped files to move directly from the prepress department to the printer, and an integrated on-core collector allows users to take off printed output while the press is printing. An integrated automatic elevator adjusts the height of print heads to ensure a constant distance between media and printheads.

With over 300 HP UV roll-to-roll installations worldwide, the HP Scitex XP2300 Printer enables print shops to depend on industry-renowned technology, designed specifically for 24x7 operations and backed by HP support.

Environmentally-responsible large format printing

Also on display at VISCOM is the recently introduced six-color HP Designjet L65500 Printer, the first printer to feature HP Latex Printing Technologies and an example of the solutions HP is bringing to the sign and display market that are designed to reduce the environmental impact of the printing process.

The 104-inch HP Designjet L65500 Printer offers sign and display print service providers a versatile system that can produce a broad range of applications – from point-of-purchase displays, transit signage, wall murals and exhibition graphics to vehicle graphics and fleet marking, and a variety of exterior and interior event signage – on a wide range of materials, including most low-cost, uncoated, low solvent-compatible media.

New water-based HP Latex Inks provide many of the benefits of low solvent-ink technology without imposing the typical environmental, health and safety considerations. Prints produced with HP Latex Inks emit extremely low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). No special ventilation is required1, facilitating an improved printing environment. HP Latex Inks are not classified as hazardous waste2 and are non-flammable and non-combustible.

High-speed UV printing with versatility

Since their launch, the HP Scitex TJ8300 Printer (solvent) and the HP Scitex TJ8500 Printer (UV-curable) have become established industry workhorses. For high-speed production of exhibition graphics, outdoor banners, POP posters, back-lit posters (on film or paper), vehicle graphics, billboards and double-sided banners, these solutions offer sign and display PSPs the ability to respond to a wide range of customer requests.

On the stand at VISCOM Europe is the HP Scitex TJ8500 Printer, a six-color UV piezoelectric printer capable of printing up to 66 156 x 366cm sheets per hr (equivalent to 400m2/hr) at up to 336dpi. In its "high quality" mode, the printer achieves resolutions of up to 448dpi and prints up to 200m2/hr, with sharp, 8-point text, suitable for POP/POS and other close-viewing applications. For even higher quality, the "best quality mode" can achieve up to 600dpi (apparent) at speeds of 100m2/hr. These different modes enable sign and display PSPs to offer customers production capabilities not before possible on a single printer.

With roll-to-sheet and sheet-to-sheet semi-automatic material handling, the HP Scitex TJ8500 Printer can handle a wide range of substrates including untreated materials such as offset and screen papers and uncoated synthetic materials as well as films, coated papers and synthetics, and self-adhesive vinyl.

HP at the VISCOM Conference

HP is also participating in the open VISCOM conference, "Take a Green attitude! Towards a sustainable and responsible future in visual communications." The conference takes place on September 24 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. local time in the Conference Area of the show, within Hall 7,2.

François Martin, marketing director, Graphics Solutions Business EMEA, HP, will speak at the conference, which will be chaired by Jean Poncet, editor of Signal' Etiq'. The session is aimed at advertisers, communication agencies, specifiers, creatives, manufacturers and suppliers, who recognize the importance of a green attitude in all areas of the production chain. From the primary materials through to the communication support, the obligations and part played by each will be examined. Further conference information is available from the VISCOM website, www.viscom-paris.com.