Big "L" or Little "l"
When HP launched its Latex series of wide-format printers in 2008, it offered a highly flexible alternative to solvent printers, as Latex units could print on a wide variety of materials, including textiles, in the days before dye sublimation was demystified. The ability to print on vinyls and other rollfed media as well as fabrics gave shops a lot of versatility in the kinds of applications they could produce, and in my interviews with display graphics providers over the years, it was not uncommon to hear one or more Latex machines referred to as a “workhorse.” At the same time, the odorless, water-based inks provided a greener solution to solvent and UV inks.
Last winter, when HP updated its Latex line, they identified the primary Latex application areas they track, notably décor, packaging, soft signage, fleet graphics, retail, events and PVC banners and billboards. So…most everything.
Big or Little “L”
A point of clarification when it comes to terminology, and the difference between “Latex” and “latex.” Wikipedia defines “latex” as the “stable dispersion (emulsion) of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium.” Latex can be natural or synthetic and many plants exude a natural latex. Synthetic latexes are used in gloves, balloons and many other products—like inks. Most readers probably know this by now, but just for the record: latex inks are perfectly safe for people with latex allergies.
Latex printing is virtually synonymous with HP’s Latex (capital L) line of printers, and HP does have the most extensive portfolio, including a relatively new flatbed unit for Latex printing on rigid materials. Mimaki and Ricoh have also long offered latex (small l) wide-format machines, and last year Epson launched its SureColor R Series which uses what it refers to as “resin-based” ink, which is a water-based “latex-like” ink. The launch of the series was meant to offer the same substrate flexibility as latex. Whether the term “Resin” will resinate (resonate) the way Latex did remains to be seen.
Off-the-Wall Ideas
One of the earliest “killer apps” for latex printing was wallcoverings and décor, and many wall décor producers still predominantly prefer latex. One such company is the UK-based John Mark Ltd (https://www.johnmark.co.uk).
“We have always used digital printing HP Latex technology to produce luxury wallcoverings for the design community,” said Matt Fletcher, commercial manager for John Mark. “Since opening, we’ve worked closely with HP to develop the presses that are on market today.”
Founded in 2012 and based in Leyland, Lancashire, in the north of England, John Mark Ltd. specializes in digitally printed wallpaper. Founder John Mark Watson comes from a family that has been making wallcoverings in Lancashire since the 1800s, and he recognized in 2012 that digital printing was ready to compete with legacy processes.
John Mark Ltd. specializes in digitally printed luxury wallcoverings, and is a virtually all-HP Latex shop. (Image courtesy John Mark Ltd.)
At present, the company is a virtually all-Latex shop, with six HP1500s, one HP800 W and two HP 570s for sampling and short-run work. They have orders in for additional Latex units, “including the large-format spot white machine, which will supersede the HP800 W once HP releases this new model, which is due to be available spring 2022,” Fletcher said.
John Mark works with a wide variety of end clients, from world famous home décor brands, interior designers, graduate designers, textile designers, hobbyists, crafters and artists.
“Anyone can try out wallpaper printing, as the costs to have designs produced start from approximately £35 per 10-meter roll,” said Fletcher.
And what they mean by “wallpaper” can include a wide variety of substrates, including domestic grade non-woven wallpapers, foils and lenticular wallpapers, commercial grade vinyl wallpaper, natural wallpapers such as Grasscloths, cork and raffia, and more recently peel-and-stick wallpapers for the rental market.
John Mark Ltd. works with HP on Latex printer development. (Image courtesy John Mark Ltd.)
“What drove John Mark Ltd to HP was the print mark, color gamut, eco-friendly properties of the water-based ink system, and most importantly reliability,” said Fletcher. “Back when John Mark Ltd opened in 2012, the only digital printing options available were UV-cured and ecosolvent machinery which didn’t have the decorative finish of the HP Latex inks, so HP Latex was the only option considered.”
And the company hasn’t looked back since.
“Wallpaper” can include a wide variety of substrates, including domestic grade non-woven wallpapers, foils and lenticular wallpapers, commercial grade vinyl wallpaper, natural wallpapers such as Grasscloths, cork, and raffia. (Image courtesy John Mark Ltd.)
The Nose Knows
Although substrate flexibility is perhaps the biggest advantage of Latex, Fletcher cites another asset
“HP’s eco-friendly water-based inks don’t have an odor/de-gassing like UV-cured and ecosolvent,” he said.
The lack of odor is also a major advantage for The Detroit Wallpaper Co. (https://detroitwallpaper.com), which is celebrating nearly 10 years since its adoption of HP Latex.
“With our emphasis being in high-end interiors, the smell of outgassing ecosolvent inks was problematic,” said Owner Josh Young. “Additionally, not having to vent the machinery, which was never really 100% successful, made our working environment that much more pleasurable for our team and visitors.”
Based in Ferndale, Mich., just outside Detroit, The Detroit Wallpaper Co. was launched in 2012. The company works mainly with interior designers, be they for residential- or commercial-end clients, as well as with business owners who approach them directly.
“We also work with retail clients as well, though some of our lines are trade-only and only available through showrooms,” said Young.
The company also has a fleet of HP Latex machines—two 3600s, two 800s and three 570s—that print on a wide variety of substrates, their main materials being HP PVC-Free Durable Suede and HP PVC-Free Pre-Pasted.
“We also do a lot of matte non-woven wallpaper,” said Young. “We are also known for the luxurious natural fiber grounds we print on, including metallic grass cloth, chunky paper weave and a stunning, textural raw silk. Other specialties include shiny mylars, pearlescent mica-coated wallpaper, artist canvas and linen.”
Again, this is where the versatility of Latex is a boon.
“The ability to print onto amazing natural fiber grounds really uplifts anything printed on them and helps to elevate digitally printed wallpaper from being merely a basic sign shop kind of thing to an aspirational, sophisticated offering,” said Young.
The Parallax View
“We have been using latex since its inception,” said David Clevenger, owner of Parallax Digital (https://www.parallaxdigital.com). “We were attracted to it for its cure time and color gamut. As it has improved over the years, we are still attracted to it for even more reasons: speed, durability and the ability to stretch where other process cannot.”
Founded 25 years ago in Atlanta, Parallax Digital started as a creative and production studio serving advertising and corporate marketing programs and has since evolved into an experienced and versatile signage and graphics print production company, producing, in addition to décor, exterior and interior signage and even exhibit services. They have six Latex units, including a Latex R2000 flatbed. In addition to wallpapers, Parallax Digital also prints on a variety of roll and rigid materials including fabric, vinyl, window shades and film, corrugates, acrylic, glass and wood. The Latex units are complemented by UV and dye-sub units.
“There are a lot of things to consider when deciding a process for a project,” said Clevenger. “We are always approaching the process from customer expectations and the desired end product.”
One feature of Latex that Clevenger especially likes is how the machines print.
“The smoothness of Latex inks cannot be achieved with other processes to our experience. It also allows you to maintain green characteristics if the base media is ecofriendly.”
One project of which Parallax Digital is especially proud is the décor and signage for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s brand-new headquarters, which included more than 70,000 square feet of material, including their proprietary eco-friendly Evergreen material up to 120 inches tall, as well as SEG fabric lightboxes, including a distinctive LED-backlit acrylic historical timeline bar more than 30 feet long.
Parallax Digital recently produced décor and signage for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s brand-new headquarters, which included more than 70,000 square feet of material, including their proprietary eco-friendly Evergreen material up to 120 inches tall, as well as SEG fabric lightboxes, including a distinctive LED-backlit acrylic historical timeline bar more than 30 feet long. (Images courtesy Parallax Digital.)
Parallax Digital recently produced décor and signage for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s brand-new headquarters, which included more than 70,000 square feet of material, including their proprietary eco-friendly Evergreen material up to 120 inches tall, as well as SEG fabric lightboxes, including a distinctive LED-backlit acrylic historical timeline bar more than 30 feet long. (Images courtesy Parallax Digital.)
Parallax Digital recently produced décor and signage for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s brand-new headquarters, which included more than 70,000 square feet of material, including their proprietary eco-friendly Evergreen material up to 120 inches tall, as well as SEG fabric lightboxes, including a distinctive LED-backlit acrylic historical timeline bar more than 30 feet long. (Images courtesy Parallax Digital.)
The Inside Look
It’s tempting to lump wallcoverings and décor in with other forms of display graphics, but Detroit Wallpaper’s Young makes a good point.
“Wallcovering and other interior décor applications used in a client’s home carry an emotional weight that banners or floor graphics or vehicle wraps never will,” he said. “Interior décor applications need to be approached differently than the usual B2B signage mindset. But if the print house can operate at the level it deserves, it’s a wonderful sphere to work in, where technique and design take goods from a commercial printer and elevate them into art.”
Vote for Latex!
During my outreach for this article, I came across one latex user—in this case a Ricoh latex user—that has a unique niche in the market, one which perhaps stretches the definition of décor a bit. They print and manufacture security cabinets—such as are used in pharmacies, health facilities, military bases, election polling stations, music venues, homeless shelters and rehabilitation centers. They can even customize (i.e., wrap) the outsides of these cabinets so that they function aesthetically more like décor than a big metal box just sitting there.
American Security Cabinets (https://americansecuritycabinets.com), based in St. Cloud, Minn., was founded in the 1970s originally to manufacture payment boxes for apartment complexes, which evolved into a full complement of secure cabinetry for banks and retail, RX medication disposal, sharps disposal, flag retirement boxes and, perhaps most notably, ballot boxes. They have cabinets in all 50 states and Canada, as well as on military bases around the globe.
A sampling of American Security Cabinets’ offerings. (Image courtesy American Security Cabinets.)
“Originally, back in the 70s, they started out with little wood boxes, and they turned into metal, stainless steel boxes,” said Kevin Johnson, general manager of American Security Cabinets.
Adding any text and graphics to the company’s boxes was a laborious, hands-on process.
“We had an old-style cutter and vinyl application that was put on the boxes with the old alphabet soup-style letters on there,” he said.
That was the standard until about five years ago.
“We got our first Ricoh printer and started doing wraps and different content, specialized signage, messaging and logos on them for our customers. So it was one of those things that evolved.”
They had originally been outsourcing these kinds of secure cabinetry wraps, but decided to bring the capabilities in-house. The company started with a Ricoh Pro L4160 latex printer, but election season and the demand for ballot boxes required them to add more capacity.
“When the ballots were running hot and heavy last year, we expanded to a second printer, and brought a Ricoh Pro L5160 on board.”
They have also added an EFI Pro 30f flatbed to be able to print on cardboard, coroplast and other rigid materials.
The Ricoh latex unit has enabled the company to add far more text and other content than would have been possible in the old days of vinyl Letraset-like lettering.
“There’s a lot of design that goes into it and the content for all the different products has a different focus as to what's going on in the boxes,” said Johnson. “In the RX world, you’ve got all your dos and don’ts and those kinds of things, and in the ballot world, we’ve had boxes with up to 12 different languages on the side of the box.”
This was a big ballot box project for LA County, which required hundreds of ballot boxes with multiple languages.
“From an application and design standpoint, trying to squeeze all that content on the cabinets in a very limited space was quite the undertaking.”
Like other latex printer users, American Security Cabinets has also been drawn to the flexibility of latex.
“We’re using a higher-end vinyl for the application piece, but the flexibility of that working with our cabinets makes it easy for the end, technician to apply it and get a nice even finish on it.”
And they are firing up the printers in anticipation of next year’s midterm elections.
“It’s gonna kick back up again for sure,” said Johnson.
Conan O’Brien votes using one of American Security Cabinets’ Latex-wrapped ballot boxes. (Image courtesy American Security Cabinets.)
