Engineers, architects and construction companies have special needs in regards to wide-format printing. Not only do they need accurate printing, but they also require it on-demand and very often in difficult environments.
Any employee or manager who has ever brought an unprotected blueprint or plan to a construction site knows very well what kind of pitfalls await. Water, dirt and other environmental factors can threaten the consistency of such documents, without which the work cannot continue.
This durability is key while print providers push onwards to develop better ways to create accurate blueprints and drawings. HP technology is actually a forerunner in the race to develop more effective wide-format solutions for companies in the industry.
Some of the HP technologies incorporate state-of-the-art innovations to produce printed documents using inks that can resist water damage and will not fade over time. Also, some of the manufacturer’s hybrid printers can even do better than this, offering colour capabilities usually not available in the construction industry.
How HP technologies create value for architects and construction professionals
Any architectural printer needs to provide a degree of accuracy and consistency not frequently found in regular desktop printers. Moreover, they need to be durable enough to manage high production runs and, when it comes to construction companies, even be brought on-site in certain cases.
The HP technologies include the budget-friendly T-Series and also the more robust Z-Series wide-format printers. If you are a construction firm that needs wide-format printing, picking between these printers can be a challenge for you.
Pigment-based technology
The T-series includes a few of the most inexpensive wide-format printers available on the market. However, these T-series printers use dye-based inks that usually fade over time. Meanwhile, the Z-series inks are in fact pigment-based, and this means they can retain colour depth literally for decades.
This might not be a deal-breaker for certain architects and construction companies. For example, when it comes to wide-format printing for architectural studios and companies, you might not need to hold on to a specific blueprint longer than the duration of a construction project. Your digital prints do not need to last as long, and so you don’t need to worry about dye-based inks fading at some point.
Either way, both printers utilise pigment-based black ink, guaranteeing that your documents will enjoy the deepest and most uniform black available. However, there are other reasons you might want to consider using pigment-based inks.
For example, these pigment-based inks are actually water-resistant. This is indeed very important on a construction site where blueprints are at times exposed to rain, water, humidity or overnight condensation. When utilised in conjunction with the right waterproof media, you will eliminate the need to laminate your work.
Selecting between the HP Z-Series & T-Series
In general, construction businesses will actually get more value out of the T-series wide-format printers due to the reduced cost per page that these machines provide. However, there are exceptions to every single rule. A print expert with vast experience will help you identify exactly which model is the ideal hardware for your imaging requirements.
