UNDER THE HOOD | HP LATEX R530 HP’s water-based Latex ink has been around for quite a while now and can certainly claim to be a tried, tested, and proven inkjet printing technology. The first models were announced at drupa 2008 and the 15-year anniversary was reached in 2023. During that time, both the inks and printers have evolved, with the ink reaching a fourth generation in 2022, adding what HP describes as a non-yellowing white and requiring lower temperatures to dry, which both expanded the range of printable substrates to more heat-sensitive types, and reduced the overall energy requirement. Latex also allows the texture of the substrate to show through, in a way that UV doesn’t. This can suit some applications very well, like printing on wood, increasing the visual appeal – and potentially the profit margin – of this kind of work. The vast majority of HP’s Latex line have been roll-fed printers, typically occupying the smaller end of the wide-format width range (though there are 3.2m models) and suitable for a variety of flexible substrates, where they compete with solvent, resin, and UV machines. HP has always stressed the environmental benefits of its ink, being free of both VOCs and UV photo-initiators, and thus suitable for some applications that UV in particular can’t be used for. For a while, the company also pushed Latex as a suitable technology for fabric and textile printing, before admitting that dye sublimation was a better option, with the introduction in 2019 of its Stitch line. What HP didn’t offer was a true flatbed Latex printer, but to address the occasional requirement for printing directly onto rigid materials without having to print then laminate, it introduced in 2018 the R2000, a 2.5m width hybrid Latex printer that allowed the printing of rigid display boards by adding tables in front of and behind what is still essentially a roll-fed printer, albeit with an adapted feed mechanism for rigid and heavier substrates. This model was swiftly joined by the narrower 1.6m R1000 later the same year; both were updated in 2020 and the refreshed ‘Plus’ models would probably have debuted at FESPA and/or drupa that year had the Covid-19 pandemic not prevented both shows. HP’s rigid printer portfolio rested there, until March of this year, when the R530 was announced. New Kid on the Block The new machine is aimed at small-tomedium sized print shops and although it still offers a 1.6m printable width, it has a more compact design at 2.6 x 1.7m without tables, growing to a depth of 3.2m with the tables deployed. For comparison, the R1000, which is still available, is over 4m wide and 2m deep in roll-only guise, growing to 3.6m front to back with the tables for rigid media attached. The R530 also runs off a single-phase power supply, which will simplify installation in smaller businesses. The printer’s ten printheads support resolutions up to 1200 x 600dpi and allow HP has added a compact new model capable of printing to rigid substrates to its Latex line-up, aiming to give smaller print shops a ‘do everything’ machine. Michael Walker takes a look Taking a Look at the HP Latex R530 Hybrid Printer Michael Walker is a trade journalist, technical writer, and editor with over 37 years’ experience in the print, prepress, photography, and digital imaging sectors, with a particular interest in the digital transformation of processes. In addition to editing Desktop Publishing Today and Digital Printer magazines, he is co-author with Neil Barstow of Getting Colour Right (Ilex Press, 2004) and Practical Colour Management for Photographers and Digital Image Makers (2009, self-published e-book) and winner of a Communicators in Business Gold Award. 30 email: editor@printmonthly.co.uk July / August 2025 - Issue 355
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