Realistic print prototypes speed up design and production

Published On: August 1, 2014

Hewlett Packard has identified an emerging trend: traditional manufacturers of home fashion and textiles are using HP Latex digital printing technology for prototyping and proofing, printing directly onto production media before going to production.

For many years, proofing has been done using water-based or eco-solvent printers. Proofing with HP Latex is faster and easier for fabricators to make the final decision on design and color because they will see true samples, says Asaf Lavi, decoration segment manager, Large Format Digital Printing at Hewlett Packard.

Also, designers can experiment with design alternatives and get realistic samples during the design process as opposed to the traditional proofing method, which requires printing on graphic paper. They eliminate a lot of risk and accelerate the process for making decisions before printing huge volumes of the final product, typically with analog technologies.

“HP Latex technologies offer very good performance in terms of light fastness and water fastness; however, for prototyping, proofing and sampling, these are not major arguments for using latex,” Lavi says. “The main advantages of HP Latex printing technologies are that they offer affordable, easy to use and extremely versatile printers that allow designers and manufacturers to streamline the design process and get creative with their use of materials and digital print.”