Discus Digital Print in Mount Hawthorne has installed Western Australia's first HP Latex R2000 wide-format hybrid digital printer.
Discus, which has been in business for 25 years, has four HP Latex roll-to-roll printers already, as well as two UV flatbeds.
According to Carl Mendelawitz, director, he invested in the R2000 to stay ahead of the game. "I love new technologies, and when I heard HP Latex had a flatbed press I knew that was the next step. Inkjet technology hasn’t really changed in 20 years – it’s the inks that change, and we try to keep ahead of the curve by investing in the latest technology when it comes out," he said.
Though it is early days, Mendelawitz says the installation was smooth, and the machine is already printing tests after being installed on Monday. "We’re still in the installation process, but I’m impressed with it so far. It’s high quality, good speed," said Mendelawitz. "The white ink is great – it prints white at the same speed as other colours, where our existing white ink machine prints it slower."
Tim Gardner, managing director at supplier Artref which sold the R2000, estimates his company has installed around 90 per cent of the existing HP digital flatbed machines in Perth. He was impressed with the ease of the R2000's install process as well. "We delivered the machine to Discus Monday, and we worked late to get it up and running. It’s Wednesday today, they got some prints out already, and we’re already training the customer, which is quite exciting.
"I was pleased with how well the installation went. We’re learning as well, so we did it in conjunction with the HP technician as well, which helped immensely," he said.