20   Sign Update      ISSUE 190 MARCH 2020

    PRODUCT   Choice

UV printer and latest inks provide colour vibrancy on backlits

Large format print specialist SL Graphics has won an award for an innovative project that combined HP Scitex UV- curable ink technology with HP Latex inks, using a recently installed HP Latex 1500. Around eight years ago the company installed an HP Scitex FB500 UV printer, shortly followed by an HP Scitex FB700. SL Graphics has always relied on HP printing technology, installed by HP supplier   Diatec, to win valuable clients including nearby Dublin Airport for whom SL Graphics produces a range of advertising and retail work including backlit posters. At the start of 2019 Diatec recommended SL Graphics replace a solvent printer with a new HP Latex 1500 3.2m-wide printer, an investment that paid off in the form of a win at the Irish Print Awards 2019. The judges recognised the ingenuity of SL Graphics in an office refit project for blue chip client Deloitte which combined HP Latex and Scitex UV inks on transparent vinyl and awarded the company Bespoke Large Format Digital Printer of the Year. "Many of our competitors were large companies so it was nice for a smaller outfit to be recognised in the IPAs," says director Dave Savage. SL Graphics chose the HP Latex 1500 printer following extensive research into systems that could deliver the same colour vibrancy as its older solvent printer. "I had been looking for something of the quality of our old solvent printer that could

give the same colour balance and vibrancy on backlits," says Dave. "I hadn't seen anything to match it until I saw the HP Latex; when I saw the results on backlit PVC skin and textiles I decided to buy it. "It's a step up for us. The HP Latex 1500 prints in high quality, in punchy colours, at high speeds, with a quick drying time. We benefit from the safety of HP Latex inks.” The cutting-edge technology, quality and reliability of HP printers, together with support from Diatec, has helped to meet customer demand. www.sigraphics.ie

The cutting-edge technology, quality and reliability of HP printers, together with support from Diatec, has helped to meet customer demand

Dave Savage with the HP Latex 1500 printer