► Phil McMullin, head of sales for commercial and industrial at Epson UK, expects continuing growth in quick return, ondemand orders “It delivers unrivalled accuracy and sophisticated substrate handling for the high-quality execution of a wide range of applications,” he says, adding: “Its latest generation dual Epson PrecisionCore TFP printheads, working in tandem with new formulation Epson UltraChrome GS3 with Red inks, ensure superb colours and clarity.” Also from Epson is the SureColor SC-R5000, which McMullin says is increasingly being chosen by versatile printing operations because of its ability to produce scratch-resistant results across an expansive range of media. “Its new six-colour water-based, odourless, inks provide reliable colour consistency across the entire length of the print run, avoiding the need for reprints due to mismatched colours,” he says, continuing: “They also enable immediate lamination and same-day delivery.” Pivot in the Market Switching from manufacturers to suppliers, RA Smart offers solutions from several leading brands such as HP. Alex Mighall, operations manager at RA Smart, says the company noted plenty of success with the HP Stitch S1000 3.2m-wide dyesublimation printer in 2023 following a number of installations throughout the year both in the UK and Ireland. “It would appear that the large-format graphics market continues to pivot towards textiles, which are a more versatile and sustainable solution for signage and exhibition work, something we expect to continue leading into 2024 and beyond,” Mighall comments. “The exhibition sector continues to move towards textiles – in particular tension framing systems – to produce high-quality exhibition stands that are quick to erect and reusable. Plus, shipping is much easier as all the graphics can be folded up small. Couple this with a compact and versatile framing system, such as REXframe, and you can save a considerable sum in transport and labour costs.” Mighall goes on to say that another area sign-makers are seeing the benefit of moving to dye-sub is with lightboxes. He explains that the HP Stitch’s advanced ink technology, with impressive colour gamut and density, results in stunning lightbox prints. “The benefit of producing lightboxes with dye-sub, as opposed to other methods such as UV, is that there is no chance of any creases or scratches ruining the print,” he says, adding: “Moreover, finished products can be folded and packed into small parcels cutting down on shipping costs and environmental impact.” While Mighall maintains that the 69 Issue 251 - February / March 2024 email: news@signlink.co.uk TEXTILE AND GARMENT PRINT HP Stitch S1000 would be the ‘go-to’ recommendation for anyone looking to get into superwide 3.2m dye-sublimation print, or even those looking for very high production at 1.6m wide, as there is now the option to run dual roll technology, if space is a premium or you do not require the 3.2m width, there is another option from HP. Mighall says the HP Stitch S500 packs a lot of punch for the money. He describes it as being an extremely capable 1.6m solution that holds a lot of the technology found on its larger sibling such as automatic maintenance and end-user changeable printheads. “Users can still expect impressive production print speeds and still benefit from the ability to be able to choose between printing directly onto substrates or via paper transfer,” Mighall says. “RA Smart is the exclusive distributor of HP Stitch products in the UK and Ireland and would be more than happy to discuss requirements and suggest a solution to best suit customers’ needs.” Direct to Success with DTF Completing our mini round-up is Hybrid Services, Mimaki’s exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland. Sales director Andrew Gregory says the development and adoption of direct-to-film (DTF) printing was a huge trend during 2023 and Mimaki’s entrance into the market with the TxF150-75 was very favourably received. “We already knew that many established garment decorating companies were waiting for a solution from a ‘known’ brand and the first batches of the Mimaki solution were hugely oversubscribed, with demand outstripping supply through the rest of the year,” Gregory says. It would appear that the large-format graphics market continues to pivot towards textiles ▼ RA Smart is the exclusive distributor for HP Stitch products in the UK and Ireland. Pictured: the HP Stitch S1000
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjM0NDIxOA==