Vitesh K Sharma and Tomas Martin

When it comes to sustainability or green printing, most of the PSPs and sign shops using HP printers produce very high quality graphics for both indoor and outdoor applications. “We as an organisation in the graphic art market believe in sustainability and profitability,” says Tomas Martin. He adds that ‘profitability’ is not about just using cheaper products.

“When you go for a cheaper product, which is not ‘green’, it will pollute the environment and cost millions to control it later. Then there is no point of calling the product economical. “We have seen a lot of machine operators getting ill after working in the solvent-emitted environment, costing huge money to employers. In this respect HP printers are economical,” explains Tomas, adding that HP’s overall idea in this context is to make everything economical from endto- end perspective, whether it could be waste in processing or toxicity in ink.

HP’s product like water-based ink is one of the company’s strengths when it comes to considering eco-friendliness and sustainability. “The type of VOC available in our ink is environmentally safe—which basically means that HP is helping in cleaning the air. Moreover, wastage in process is yet another green aspect. Again, in this, our inks are water based and there is little or no wasting. Processing of waterbased ink is simpler than that of solvent and UV inks that contain a lot of toxic components.”

Growth in India

Ten years ago HP introduced its latex technology with its vision of sustainability and profitability for their customers. “The vision we saw a decade ago has become a reality today. We have completed installations of more than 30,000 latex printers world-wide. Though I couldn’t give the exact figure, India has good share in our global latex installation base,” says Tomas. He adds, “The graphic art market in India is growing in rapid pace. Growth in income of middle class in the country is one of the triggering factors of this market progression.”

HP Latex R-Series

“It’s really exciting to see a lot of HP latex users from India have so far been recognised every year at the HP Digital Print Excellence Awards,” says Tomas, adding that they are planning for a special recognition programme for the winners from the subcontinent in future. When talking about some added benefits they provide their customers in Indian market, Tomas says they offer some buybacks from time to time in the form of schemes on fully recyclable and biodegradable cartridges.

Latest development

When asked about the latest development at HP, Tomas says it’s all towards the company’s water-based inks and technologies. “We are transforming the rigid substrate printing market as we have just announced our HP Latex R-Series,” he asserts. He further mentions that the flatbed printer is ideally designed for those wishing to expand job with glossiest white on new substrates like wood and acrylic. This latex printer brings ‘white’ printing that never happened before. Tomas says the printer has started its installation in Asia-Pacific and it will be arriving soon in the Indian market.

HP’s development is also gaining a new ground on the textile front. “In the environment point of view, textile applications play a sustainable role,” says Tomas, adding, “When it comes to textile printing, our aim is not about soft signage, but an overall coverage of the textile market. HP’s take on textile includes a vast range of applications, which comprise soft signage, wearable garments, home decors and many others.” HP’s line of latex printers is ideal for both backlit and frontlit soft signage applications.

New trends in India

Talking about the trends he foresees in the Indian signage/graphic art market in near future, Tomas comments he would like to put it in three key areas—signage, interior decors and textile. “Signage is going to be grown in India as it has been receiving double-digit growth, which is driven by the growing middle class. Tier II & Tier III cities in the country have higher growth potential. Then interior decors, again, it’s triggered by the growth of middle class in the country.

It’s not only at home or household arena, but also in hotels, spas and restaurants, which keep renovate,” explains Tomas, conclusively saying that textile has much more long-term future vision for sustainability and expansive applications in the country.