HP Set To Showcase New Technology This September

Printer company HP will present a variety of new products at the Photokina event in Cologne, which takes place between September 18th and the 21st.

The printing industry is perpetually evolving, ushering in a variety of fantastic new services that will bring more options for companies, helping to boost efficiency and productivity,

Manufacturers are now taking their impact on the environment into consideration when developing products, while the overall quality of print-outs is also increasing in the industry.

HP's new solutions have been produced for a number of different businesses, with its Designjet printer portfolio set to be boast the latest printer inks, substrates and technologies.

The Photokina event will provide the company with a platform to showcase its innovations to the entire commercial photography industry, ranging from labs to professional photographers and print service providers.

A host of retailers and in-home publishing consumers will also be on hand to experience the image quality and versatility of HP's business opportunities.

Among the products set to be showcased at the event include the Designjet L26500 printer, which makes use of latex inks to develop indoor and outdoor graphics that are created to present the minimal impact on the environment.

In addition, the manufacturer will introduce the Z6200 Photo Printer, which is available in the 1067mm and 1524mm models and designed to provide photo-quality prints at a high speed, with exceptional colour consistency and accuracy.

Another option that will be exhibited at the event is the Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer, featuring a 12-ink Qad Black and Chromatic Red printing system for professional photographers.

Ronen Zioni, market development director at HP, said: "The innovative, high-quality photo applications printed by this diverse line up of products on HP's stand is sure to engage and inspire visitors at the show.

"Beyond the high-productivity of the printers and presses and HP's technological developments designed to enhance the printed output, HP is also going to reveal new initiatives to support the photo market and help photo labs, in particular, maximise business opportunities in this sector."

HP will also unveil a selection of Vivid Photo inks, which provide improved scratch resistance, gloss levels and gloss uniformity and a wider colour range, boasting deeper blacks than previous inks.

The equipment's eight-ink printing system also includes HP Chromatic Red Ink, expanding the range of colours available.

At the event, HP will take the wraps off a fully equipped retail photo centre model and an in-home publishing centre, showing how retailers can make use of the manufacturer's web-to-store and in-store assets to meet demand for the printing of personal photos.

Photo printing is set to change rapidly in the coming years as smartphones become more popular in the market.While in the past, consumers were accustomed to uploading images to a desktop computer before sending them to a printer, a higher number of people are now hoping to generate physical copies of their images directly from their handsets.

This opens up a spate of different opportunities, giving customers the chance to print out items more efficiently, saving precious time that would have otherwise been spent booting up a laptop or desktop.

Korean scientists have also pioneered new technology that enables consumers to carry out such a process in a highly effective manner.

According to scientists at Sunchon National University in Korea, a new rectenna device can be used to harness power from radio waves emitted by a mobile, allowing for such information to be converted from AC to DC.

As a result, information can be transmitted to portable devices with a simple swipe.

Gyoujin Cho, an engineer at Sunchon National University, said: "Our advantage over current technology is lower cost, since we can produce a roll-to-roll printing process with high throughput in an environmentally friendly manner.

"Furthermore, we can integrate many extra functions without huge extra cost in the printing process."

Mr Cho believes that the technology could be even more effective in the future, explaining that the possibilities of NFC technology will be "limitless".

Posted by Barry Ashmore.