(From Left: Puneet Chadha, HP. Sridhar, Titan Industries. Rana Raychoudhury, HP. Dhirendra Khurana,HP. Thomas Poetz, 3T Inkjet Textile Consulting. Christine Micoud, Ahlstrom. Pankaj Bhardwaj, Avery Dennison)

HP Latex customers during the HP DSCOOP Latex Summit 2013 witnessed a new development of PSP ecosystem through applications and sustainability educations. They experienced workshops focusing on a range of topics right from textile printing to vehicle wraps. Joined hands with HP at the summit were its key solutions partners – Avery Dennison, ONYX Graphics, 3T-Inkjet Textile Consulting, Strata Geosystems and Zund.

Keynote addresses

Moderated by Dhirendra Khurana, country manger, HP Scitex-India, the summit perceived constructive addresses from eminent personalities including Puneet Chadha, director, market development, APJ, HP; Rana Raychoudhury, WW Principal Technical Consultant, HP Large-Format Production; Thomas Poetz, consultant, 3T Inkjet Textile Consulting and others on a range of topics like trends in printing and green printing initiatives, textile applications and evergreen fabrics, etc.

Latex in focus

Combining true versatility and durability with the ability to lower the impact of printing on the environment, HP Latex technology is changing the industry in a way that affects how customers view printing. This technology provides a broad spectrum of size, scope and customised applications for everyone, be it a PSP, technical design professional, brand owner, creative agency and others. Displayed at the summit was HP Designjet L26500 latex printer showing its capability to handle a broader range of indoor and outdoor signage applications with better durability and high-impact POP displays, soft signage, vehicle graphics and more.

HP Designjet L26500 Printer series can print on a broad range of materials, including eco-solvent compatible media and low-cost uncoated options. With new soft signage printing capabilities, customers can produce applications from retail banners to tradeshow signs, interior décor, which are easy to fold and pack, inexpensive to ship, simple to hang and have improved outdoor durability.

Big opportunities

On choosing HP Latex technology, Devang Karia, category manager – LF Pro, HP India Sales Pvt Ltd stressed on the technology's unique advantages in colour consistency and graphic performance at all points which include media compatibility, long-term warranty period which may last up to 4 years indoor and 10 years outdoor. He mentioned about HP's partnership with media partners like 3M, Avery Dennison under which different warranty programmes have been implemented for opportunities and advantages that PSPs can garner innovatively as well as productively.

Solution partners

ONYX, one of the solution partners of HP at the summit, presented its ONYX Thrive software of full featured, scalable PDF Print Engine and optimised for superior performance for all sizes of PSPs. The demonstration depicted ONYX Thrive as one of the most effective print work flow which can optimise print production and reduce cost with its network-based workflow feature.

(From Left: Sanjib Baruah, Zund. Ken Berganthal, ONYX. Santosh Nair, HP. MV Raghvendra, Strata Geosystems. Sameer Bindra, IMC Buzz. Devang Karia, HP. Imtiaz Batkoo, HP)

Citing the fact about efficient production through combination of Zund cutter and HP Latex printers, Sanjib Baruah of Zund demonstrated effectiveness of Zund G3 cutting system which set the standard for digital cutting. "In India the finishing process always goes manually. People commit mistakes rather frequently than machines. And Zund is the solution – the first choice in digital cutting," he conveyed.

Showcasing its line of PVC-free fabrics during the summit, Strata Geosystems impressed the attendees around. "Our PVC-free materials are suitable for a wide range of applications such as interior graphics, banners, POPs and others which can be churned out stunningly only on the HP Latex machines," said MV Ragavendra Pavan of Strata Geosystems. He added that the feedbacks they received from the attendees were excellent.

Thomas Poetz, dipl betriebswirt FH, 3T-Inkjet Textile Consulting reacted satisfactorily to the summit's overall activities and reactions from the attendees. "We present our 100 percent green textile printing materials which are designed in a perfect way to compatibly print on HP Latex printers," he mentioned highlighting applications ranging from outdoor flags, deco graphics to backlit graphics of different kinds.

Worthy workshops

Impressive at the summit included the workshops organised as concluding sessions of the day's programmes. Avery Dennison conducted LIVE vehicle wrapping session which impressed every attendee around. "What we are demonstrating is the use of our high-end material which can generate a stand-out texture and graphics," said Pritha Mitra, product marketing manager, business graphics, Avery Dennison (India) Pvt Ltd. She added that the wrapping was done using high-end Avery 1005 EZRS material.

Citing the quality of vehicle graphics printed on Avery Dennison cast vinyl using HP Latex ink, Rana Raychoudhury referred an instance of Mercedes Benz being wrapped in Denmark in yellow first and rented it out as cab for six months; after that the owner unwrapped it for personal use. "It signified the fact about the superiority of Avery Dennison cast vinyl," he mentioned.

Yet another show stealer during the workshops included Chandigarh-based IMC Buzz, one of the leading integrated marketing communications companies, which showcased LIVE demos of Emerging applications on visit and flexible substrates. This HP Awards-winning company made a buzz at its on-site demonstrations of its outstanding applications.

Among the LIVE demonstrators was French company Ahlstrom which showcased its wall-graphic materials at the workshops. Christine Micoud, sales service, wall-cover, building and energy, Ahltrom Group revealed their materials (certified by HP) being designed particularly for HP Latex printing technology are of synthetic fibre that can be expandable, totally free from contraction.