HP Latex 315 54" Print and Cut Solution (1LH38A)

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Model Comparison Guide

Latex 315 Review

HP Latex 315 Print AND Cut Solution Review

A clever piece of marketing from HP with a dash of spin or a genuine solution? Well in plot-IT's opinion a bit of both, the descriptive name underlines that you can print AND cut at the same time and HP are at pains to point out that traditional solutions incorporating both a printer and built in cutter within a single footprint don’t allow you to cut at the same time as printing - effectively giving you print or cut only. 

Traditional solvent based print and cut solutions from Roland and Mimaki do have the advantage of small footprints, but for anyone who has invested in this type of device will quickly find that when they reach peak printing demand they can’t be doing both task at the same time effectively stopping their print production, the HP answers this with a cost effective out of the box bundle which suits a multitude of applications from Vehicle wrapping to Wall decoration as well as stickers for outdoor or indoor use.

Two advantages with single footprint is obviously space and secondly cost, these devices tend to be well priced and a good starting point for the first time investor or light user. HP addresses this with an all in one bundled price where you have the advantage of a ready to go system incorporating all the elements that you need for an effective solution with an extremely good, robust drag cutter which is manufactured by a third party but incorporating the HP badge and a few updates such as the addition of USB and of course HP aftercare along with a powerful SAI RIP and most importantly access to the award winning HP Latex printing technology.

Price

We presume that there is a robust licensing agreement in place for the cutter as it is only possible to purchase the cutter as part of the solution, if you buy the Latex 315 printer only then you can't buy the HP cutter separately later which is unsurprising given the bundled price, with an MRP of just £13,900 + VAT (excluding delivery and set up cost) the component parts of the bundle would cost you a significantly more suggesting that HP have bitten in to the cost of the printer to bring a very aggressive and disruptive price to this end of the market. It would be impossible to buy these elements separately at a better price

Media

The other pain point that HP has successfully removed from users is the hassle of profiling, opening up the media range to multiple manufacturers who are able to provide profiles for literally thousands of medias including 3M, Avery Dennison and Sihl to name just 3, when you see the Latex certified logo you know there is a profile ready to go for any Latex machine in the range making life much easier for users.

In addition to Latex certification the advantages of latex inks over Solvent and ECO Solvent (eco standing for economy) inks are environmental certifications meeting a range of multi-attribute, lifecycle based criteria related to human health and environmental considerations such as being FREE from Nickel. GREENGUARD GOLD Certification to UL 2818 demonstrates  low chemical emissions into indoor air during product usage making Latex ideal for applications such as wall coverings.

INK

The Latex 315 has a single difference from that of the 115 and that is simply the size of the ink cartridges using larger better value 775ml inks, which is good for higher volume users who will find the 831c inks for the Latex 315 at a better price per ML, we estimate at this time approx 20% - 30% difference but this is yet to be confirmed.

Like many manufacturers HP do not ship starter inks for this market segment (outdoor graphics) as such it's important when buying to ensure that inks are ordered with the machine if your reseller doesn’t like plot-IT offer a bundle set-up, with install and inks included (we can’t install without inks) 

Install 

We'd argue that this is an out of the box solution, it really needs set up by a trained engineer who has HP certification. you can purchase an official HP install pack or chose an install from an approved trained HP Latex agent, be aware though if you don't do this and decide to do it yourself then online training must be completed by you the customer and the printer must be connected to the Customer Involvement Program or Printer Data Sharing program, enabling the option of sending the printer’s serial number possible.

if you don't do this then you'll find yourself with a limited 3 month manufacturing defect warranty as supposed to a Full 1 year warranty which you'll automatically get with approved set up.

Summary

You'd need to be really tight on space to ignore the HP latex 115 or 315 Print AND Cut Solution over a single footprint print or cut, although more expensive than single footprint devices it offers much better value for money and productivity, with better running cost and importantly a wider spread of applications giving you greater routes to market.

Author: Matthew Perkins Date/Time: 01/10/17 16:25 GMT

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HP Latex Print & Cut Solution:

Printing from HP FlexiPrint and Cut Using the HP Latex Print and Cut Solution:

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