National fleet vehicle graphics specialist OPG Ltd. has openly praised the impact HP Latex printing technology has had on its business, revealing how it has allowed the company to move into new markets and enhance its sustainable strategy.
Based in Lanarkshire, OPG has been serving the market for more than 30 years, working with leading brands such as Sainsbury’s, NatWest, FedEx, Boots and McDonald’s. While OPG specialises in vehicle graphics, the company also offers an extensive range of branding services to give customers a wide choice of options when it comes to print.
With such high-profile clientele, attention to detail, accuracy and the quality of printed work is of paramount importance to OPG. For this reason, the company works with HP Latex printers, with the technology being the beating heart of production.
Tristan Harrold, Technical and Operations Director at OPG, said the impact of the HP machines cannot be understated. He said such has been the success that OPG has experienced working with HP Latex printers that this is now the technology of choice for the company.
“Whenever we buy a new machine, it will always be an HP printer. That really tells the story of what HP means to OPG; it is pre-determined and decided what we are going to do,” Tristan said. “We really like the HP Latex printers for their ease of use, reliability, and colour repeatability. The machines are also faultless, and I don’t have to worry about them. I always tell my team they are spoilt by how good the machines are.”
Gaining an edge with sustainability
Tristan said an added benefit of working with HP Latex printers is their ability to produce work that aligns with the company’s sustainability objectives. All HP Latex printers run water-based inks, which are significantly kinder to the planet than solvent, eco-solvent and UV inks.
This, Tristan said, fits in with OPG’s wider sustainability strategy, which is to offer customers access to eco-friendly services that cover printed output from start to finish.
One example of this is a recent project with a leading UK supermarket chain, whereby OPG used its HP Latex printers to create 30,000m of vehicle graphics on recyclable materials. After the graphics have reached their end of life, they will be removed and recycled.
“It is a front door to back door recycling process,” Tristan said. “We recycled all the manufacturing and application waste, and also plan to recycle the end-of-life waste. We wanted to do it all ourselves to show customers what we can offer in addition to our print side.
“Any job we take on is printed on a material that can be recycled. Around 90% of what we do can be recovered and recycled.”
Repeat colour, repeat customers
Tristan also highlighted colour repeatability as a key benefit of working with HP Latex printers, saying that their ability to produce the same colours, often years after first printing that colour, is hugely important for OPG’s vehicle graphics business.
He offers the example of producing vehicle graphics for accident damaged panels whereby part of the design is replaced if the vehicle has suffered external damage. The replacement panel graphics need to match with the rest of the wrap or design. Tristan said the accuracy of colour repeatability on the HP Latex printers allows OPG to do exactly this.
Winning with white ink
Finally, Tristan focused on the latest addition to the OPG family in the HP Latex 800W printer, which was purchased to help OPG support customers in a wide range of products and services.
Tristan said OPG selected the machine primarily as it was new to the market and was seen as a good fit. However, since OPG began running the device, Tristan said the company has discovered a host of benefits, many of which are linked to its white ink capabilities.
“The addition of white print capability is something we use a lot in workplace branding projects. We had been using workarounds to create what the HP Latex 800W printer can deliver as a normal feature,” Tristan said. “For example, previously we had to produce white text separately; now we can do it at the same time.
“It has also opened up new markets for us. Prior to installing the HP Latex 800W we weren’t capable of work such as a blockout, double-sided print – but this is something we can now deliver with the new machine.
We approached one customer to say we can offer this type of application; they loved it, and it has led to us securing thousands of pounds worth of new work. We are now providing this service to other print companies, opening up another new business angle in terms of trade print.”
Planning for the future
Looking ahead, Tristan is hugely optimistic about OPG’s growth plans, saying that HP Latex printers will continue to play a major role in the company’s expansion.
“We are going to grow this year,” Tristan said. “That growth will be with HP Latex; we are not going to grow with any other manufacturer.”