The company, whose wide service offering covers the full spectrum of indoor and outdoor graphics arts applications, acquired the machine, which is 3.2m wide and offers an ink collector that facilitates printing on porous substrates and textiles, to help boost its production and maintain capacity across key vehicle-wrapping and window-film accounts.

According to Andrew Wilson, PODI's Co-Director, the printer's water-based HP Latex Inks, width and dual-roll capabilities, deliver invaluable efficiency advantages. He commented: "We undertake a tremendous amount of promotional work using self-adhesive vinyl, including a very large contract to produce high-quality wraps for London taxis that demands extremely fast turnarounds. While output from printers that use solvent ink require a 24-hour gassing-off period, this waiting time is completely eliminated with the latex printer and we can finish the vinyl the minute it comes off the machine."

PODI purchased its machine from CWE Solutions, who particularly recommended the HP LX850 for its wider width. Andrew Wilson explained: "This is a huge differentiator that dramatically drives up productivity, not because our work always requires huge widths, but because it provides us with the capability to print more graphics across the roll. Add to that the fact that we use two rolls side-by-side, instead of just one, and it's easy to see how it boosts the volume of media we can output. We only installed our first LX850 in September, but since then, we have already put over 70,000m2 of substrate through it!"

Importantly for PODI, the fast speed of the HP Scitex LX850 doesn't come at the expense of quality, which Andrew Wilson views as paramount if the company is to continue to serve the vehicle graphic needs of customers. This was also a key criterion for him during his initial discussions with CWE Solutions when determining the best device for the company.

Andrew continued: "The LX850 delivers the best speed achievable at the high output quality we require, and although some UV machines might be faster, they quickly fall down in terms of their suitably for vehicle applications, so it's about fulfilling all criteria - not just one."
 
Equally, the 1200dpi resolution achievable with the HP Scitex LX850 offers PODI the confidence to meet the exacting expectations demanded by the retail cosmetic brands the company also serves. Andrew reported: "Projects undertaken on behalf of prestige brands involve an increased element of stringent, close-visual inspection and the high quality expectation means that we would rapidly lose business if we compromised for a second."

The additional HP Scitex LX850 Industrial Printer complements three other HP latex printers, including an HP Scitex LX600 Printer and further enhances PODI's ability to meet clients' sustainability needs - it has won contracts as a direct result of its ability to meet environmental stipulations.

Andrew Wilson concluded: "The promotional wrapping work we do using London taxis would have gone elsewhere had it not been for our HP Latex Technologies, as the client sought tangible proof that the impact on the environment would be reduced. Happily, HP's water-based inks and the fact that the media can be recycled once removed from the vehicles ticked all of the right boxes."


For further information visit: www.hp.com and www.cwesolutions.co.uk