for standard CMYK, light cyan, and light magenta, two white channels plus HP Latex Optimiser (a primer for certain tricky substrates) and HP Latex Overcoat for scratch and scuff resistance without needing postprint lamination. All inks are UL Ecologo certified in terms of human health and environmental impacts and are supplied in 3l cartridges. Automated white ink recirculation and printhead cleaning are intended to increase uptime and reduce maintenance costs. The cartridges are returnable for re-use and the printer itself uses 25% recycled plastic in the appropriate places. HP stresses the application flexibility of the R530, saying that it can switch between flexible and rigid media quickly and easily, a process that doesn’t require much more than wheeling up the tables and attaching them front and back. This lets the R530 add rigid media capability to roll-fed only sites or to expand it without having to go the dedicated flatbed route in larger businesses. On the roll-fed side the printer handles rolls up to 1.6m wide and weighing up to 55kg, but with spindle-less loading. Suggested roll applications include indoor and outdoor display graphics, backlit displays, thermoformed plastics, wall and window decoration, vehicle graphics, wraps and decals, soft signage, and short-run packaging or prototyping. Rigid sheets of up to 1.6 x nearly 5m can be handled, if the maximum configuration with two sets of extension tables is used; otherwise it’s 1.6 x 1.5m. Media up to 50mm thick can be handled by the printer’s vacuum drive belt, covering a wide range of paper and plastic-based display graphic materials, plus glass, wood and ceramic materials, subject to a total board weight of 68kg. On the software side, built-in HP Pixel Control is claimed to produce smoother gradients and solid colours on all substrates, while HP announced PrintOS Production Hub at the same time as the R530. This is workflow software that combines order management and remote production control in a ‘centralised real-time platform’. It’s not tied specifically to the R530 – it supports all HP Latex and HP Stitch printers – and indeed is possibly outside the scope for many of the smaller print shops that the new printer is aimed at, though as your business grows and more (HP) printers are added, the case becomes stronger. The Production Hub software is available via HP Professional Print Service Plans. In terms of productivity, the R530 hits just under 24sqm/hr in ‘fast’ (six-pass) mode, dropping to 15.5sqm/hr in ‘standard’ (12pass) or 11.5sqm/hr in top quality 16-pass mode. Using the white ink options for undercoat slows things further but does permit three- and five-layer printing for double-sided window graphics or day/ night front/backlit products. While these figures aren’t going to set the world alight for brute force throughput, the premise of the printer is that it’s a neat and adaptable unit that can do everything a smaller print shop might need to turn its hand to, without the investment, training and space demands of separate roll-fed and flatbed machines. That’s got to appeal to a lot of smaller sign shops, as well as to general printers looking to move into wide-format. Print resolution – Up to 1200 x 600dpi Ink types – Water-based HP Latex inks Printheads - ten (2 cyan/black, 2 magenta/yellow, 2 light cyan/ light magenta, 2 white,1 HP Latex Optimiser, and 1 HP Latex Overcoat) Roll size – 18 to 64inch Sheet size - 5.8 x 8.3inch to 63.6 x 60inch (up to 63.6 x 236inch with two sets of optional extension tables) Statistics 31 www.printmonthly.co.uk July / August 2025 - Issue 355 UNDER THE HOOD | HP LATEX R530 Automated white ink recirculation and printhead cleaning are intended to increase uptime and reduce maintenance costs ▲HP inks come in recyclable packing and can be returned for re-use ► Bigger prints are possible thanks to machine's extendable tables
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