Low Solvent, Large Format

When 2006 Sundance Film Festival sponsor (and official graphics provider) Hewlett-Packard offered to print hanging banners for the annual 10-day event, durability was a key consideration. After all, Sundance is held in January's dead of winter in Park City, UT, near the western Wasatch Range of the Utah Rockies. The area is a skier's paradise, with a 30´ average yearly snowfall. So, the banners' vinyl substrate had to be tough enough to withstand winds whipping down from the mountains.

HP called on Propaganda Prints, a digital printer in Barcelona, Spain, to produce the 120 two-sided banners. (The OEM's commercial inkjet division is located nearby.) The customer, which specializes in point-of-purchase printing for international customers such as Adidas, Dunkin' Donuts, Nike and Tropicana, had just spent six months testing the new Designjet 9000s large-format printer. Developed with partner Seiko I Infotech, the 6-color, 64´´ production printer uses HP low-solvent ink technology to produce the durable outdoor signage. The Designjet 9000s is a cost-effective outdoor option, outputting at speeds up to 176 sq.ft. per hour at 720×720 dpi (220 sq.ft. at 540×720 dpi). The images for the Sundance banners were printed at 360 dpi.

The new large-format printer has allowed Propaganda Prints to accept more low-budget orders that it was previously unable to fulfill for cost reasons related to media, finishing processes and labor. “Its wide range of media, PVC and screen banners, vinyls, or coated and uncoated paper, enables our clients to benefit from new products and solutions at a very competitive price,” says Joan Sallent, Propaganda's technical manager.

The Designjet 9000s also has expanded Propaganda's productivity and reduced response times.

“Now we can offer a cheaper and faster solution with high image quality for outdoor jobs,” adds Sallent, noting that the company is saving between 30% and 35% on materials and labor. “For us, now it's just print and deliver. That has resulted in a 25% to 30% increase in orders produced in the same period of time.”

The low-solvent inks found in HP 780 and HP 790 print cartridges include a 6-color system that produces a wider color gamut than 4-color printers, as well as superior image quality on a variety of media—HP Universal Scrim Banner, HP Premium Scrim Banner, HP Premium Self Adhesive Vinyl, HP Backlit Film and HP Universal Photo-realistic Paper. These new outdoor media provide best-in-class image quality, reliability and value.

Additionally, the ink formulations provide reliability, water-fastness and fade, smear, scratch and crack resistance, allowing images to last up to three years without costly lamination—even on economical uncoated media.

To keep productivity high, this printing system and its high-capacity ink cartridges (1000 ml) allow users to change a cartridge without interrupting the print job. The printer's intelligent self-maintenance system reduces user intervention and critical downtime.

Already an HP customer, Propaganda Prints has three Designjet 5500 Printers that it uses for indoor prints and close-up, short-term outdoor applications that are laminated or encapsulated. Hardware also includes two Designjet 5000 printers, one 1055 and an Indigo 5000 Press for printing marketing collateral. But integrating low-solvent pigmented ink technology into a non-solvent shop would be a challenge for any digital printer, and this one was no exception.

Propaganda Prints had explored alternative solvent ink solutions, but found that these ultimately were unable to compete. Other solvent printers not only require a large upfront investment, but require investment in adapting premises, training and maintenance. The Designjet 9000s Printer with the HP Air Purifier System meant that low-solvent ink technology had a minimal impact on Propaganda's working environment. This printer also includes an optional ONYX PosterShop 6.5 for HP Designjet RIP.

The manufacturer provided guidance from initial product selection through work area preparation, product installation, use, safe handling and disposal of waste materials. The Designjet 9000s also maximizes unattended printing via a take-up reel with four winding modes and an easy-to-operate, optional high-speed dryer.

In addition to the large-format promotions, HP technology was used to print Sundance marketing communications materials. Prior to the event, Rastar Digital Marketing of Salt Lake City printed the festival's official pre-event postcard mailer on an Indigo digital press. The company's fleet consists of a 5000, a 3000 and an s2000. Rastar also was one of the first beta sites for the web-fed, 7-color w3200 model, which it uses primarily for personalization. (The printer also employs Xeikon digital presses.)

As the official graphics provider of the independent film showcase, HP also used its Scitex (formerly Scitex Vision) products to reproduce other aspects of Sundance's print promotion.

The large-format printers allowed Sundance designers “to visualize and invent our thoughts by bringing the elements within our environmental graphics system to life,” says Kelly Schaefer, the festival's graphic design manager.