(Read the original press release here.)

Last week, HP held a virtual product launch for its Latex line of rollfed wide-format printers, and outlined its strategy for its Latex printing technology, which the company had introduced in 2008. The presentation opened with a paean to wide-format printing that I thought was especially resonant, given the important role that signage and display graphics have played during the Age of COVID. “We believe in the power of large-format printing as one of the best communication tools that our society has,” said Guayante Sanmartin, Head of Global and General Manager, Large Format Printing, HP. “It can help us feel safe in the middle of a pandemic, it can transform walls into art, it can convert fear into fun. Its power is endless and timeless.”

Given the important role that wide-format graphics has come to play in all our lives, HP’s goal said Sanmartin, was to make wide-format printing easy and accessible “for everyone everywhere.” HP has identified some of the latest challenges for print service providers—citing the rapid establishment and growth of social distancing signage as a new product category, online business development acceleration with what HP’s internal research has found to be 130% growth rates, and of course keeping a business running remotely by limiting the number of staff on-site for health and safety reasons.