HP has announced two new latex wide-format printers, the FS50 and FS60, though it’s not really clear what the purpose of these new models is. The company also previewed the Live Production software at drupa.
The Latex FS50/60 are 3.2m wide roll-fed printers. However, HP appears to have simply tweaked its existing 2700-series latex printers from 2022 and given them a new name. Apart from the naming, there doesn’t appear to be anything particularly new about these printers. They appear to use the same printheads and the same fourth-generation latex ink and offer the same printing speeds, and they’re compatible with the 2700-series accessories. So it’s not clear what HP was hoping to achieve from dressing these up as new models, other than perhaps a bit of a sales boost from that these are actually new models.
The only noticeable difference between the models is that the ink for the FS50 is supplied in 5L boxes, while the FS60 uses 10L ink boxes. Since they are using the same chassis it seems likely that a simple software upgrade will allow the FS50 to accept the chips associated with the 10L ink cartridges.
One further difference is that the FS60 comes with the 2700-series Jumbo Dual Roll Kit, which allows users to print to two 1.6m wide rolls side by side. This kit, plus the bigger ink cartridges should also allow these printers to be left to run unattended overnight for a longer period than the FS50 to increase overall throughput. The Jumbo roll kit is also available as an option for the FS50.
HP has also limited the FS50 to a one-year warranty though it’s obviously confident that the printers can make it through two years without a warranty call since that’s the period for the identical FS60. It should also be pointed out that while the FS50 is available worldwide, the FS60 is only sold in certain unspecified markets, likely the US and Europe, where productivity is more of an issue.
Otherwise, both machines have the same six-color inkset, including light cyan and light magenta alongside CMYK. There are two further fluid channels, one for the latex optimizer, or primer, and one for the latex overcoat, which increases the scratch resistance and general toughness of the print finish. That makes eight channels, with eight printheads, or one per fluid.
In addition, there are also separate variants for both models that include white ink, which makes for a ninth printhead – in this case HP’s special dual-chamber recirculation variant. Naturally, these are HP’s proven 1200 x 1200 dpi thermal printheads, which means that they should be treated as consumables though HP has got very good at squeezing a decent lifespan out of them. It’s worth noting that the white ink is only supplied in 3L cartridges, regardless of whether you choose the FS50W or FS60W.
HP is claiming a production speed of around 89 sqm/hr – the same as the 2700-series – though this is only when using CMYKlclm with three passes. The speed drops to 54sqm/hr when printing white highlights. The variants with white ink are also capable of three- and five-layer printing for backlit displays.
Alongside these not-so-new printers, HP also released the Live Production software that it demonstrated at this summer’s Drupa show. This is a new module for the Professional Print Service Plans. This allows users to control their printers remotely, monitor printer status and ink notifications and to reorganize their print queue remotely without having to cancel and reset jobs. It can be run from both the desktop and a new mobile app.
Daniel Martinez, general manager of HP Large Format, commented, “These solutions are designed to empower mid-large volume print service providers to embrace the future with state-of-the-art hardware and software solutions, fostering continuous adaptability. By enabling their workflows and equipment to evolve hand in hand with their businesses, these cutting-edge solutions ensure that our customers remain competitive in the ever-changing market”
