Installed alongside DCS’ existing HP Latex 570 in late April, the new hybrid machine will help DCS tackle valuable solid-substrate work, like freestanding exhibition display boards for shows at the nearby Excel exhibition centre.
At 1.6m wide, the new R530 can print at up to 24sqm/hr for indoor applications, handling media up to 50mm thick. Fitted with two optional roll-away tables for rigid media, the machine uses a 10-printhead configuration with CMYK+Lc+Lm+W colours alongside HP’s Latex optimiser and overcoat.
The decision to invest came down to a need for “increased productivity and efficiency,” according to Barry Page, managing director of DCS, who bought the firm in 2020 along with co-owner Dave Gibbons.
“We are proud to be able to say we are the first UK business to invest in this device,” Page told Printweek.
“The decision to purchase the Latex technology was in part driven by our clients’ needs, to ensure they reach their sustainability targets – plus DCS’ own ethos of buying the most environmentally-friendly equipment on the market, in line with our ISO 14001 Environmental Management system.”
The machine is the latest in a series of investments made since Page and Gibbons’ acquisition of the company, which now employs 25. Since the purchase, the company has installed two Xerox Iridesse six-colour machines, several small-format Ricoh presses, and VPress web-to-print software, and acquired Croydon digital printer Scanplus in late 2023.
In early 2024, the firm acquired Greenwich display printer Mirafield London from liquidation, strengthening its large-format portfolio, which now has a Canon ImagePrograf Pro-4000, Epson Surecolor SC-80600, Epson Surecolor SC-T7200 and Mimaki UJV55-320 along with the Latex machines.
The latest purchase, made through HP supplier Papergraphics, will expand the firm’s offering further, Page said.
“We have carried out a lot of work to be able to offer ever improving environmentally responsible operations and the range of recycled and recyclable materials that we offer. We clearly see this investment as the next step of this ongoing process,” he said.
“We expect that this machine will primarily be used to produce freestanding exhibition display boards and anticipate considerable expansion in that area, but it also increases our capacity in the office décor and window manifestation that we currently supply.
“We will have an improved offering to our existing clients as well as attracting new ones thanks to the quality and sustainability we can now provide.”
