HARMAN TO LAUNCH NEW PRODUCT AT SIGN & DIGITAL UK
UK’s premier visual communications exhibition will offer customers the opportunity to see first new display media from HARMAN technology Limited following its acquisition of Kentmere Photographic
Sign & Digital UK is just around the corner - 28th to 30th April 2009, NEC Birmingham, UK - and 2009’s event looks set to be an especially notable one for HARMAN technology Limited. This year, the leading photo-imaging company will launch its first display media product since acquiring KENTMERE PHOTOGRAPHIC – a brand with an impressive reputation in the wide format market.
Known as HARMAN OPALJET XL, visitors will be able to see if the new product lives up to the KENTMERE legacy by visiting HARMAN’s stand (Stand K10). HARMAN is confident it does. In fact, it believes that by combining its coating expertise and technology with the specialist knowledge of former KENTMERE senior managers, a quantum leap in performance has been achieved with this latest addition to the highly popular OPALJET range.
Garry Hume, Wide Format Business Principal at HARMAN technology, explains: “Over the years, the exceptional performance of OPALJET display media has led to it becoming the industry standard and so the bar was incredibly high when it came to developing this first product under the HARMAN, rather than KENTMERE, banner. As such, we’ve consciously taken the time to ‘get it right’ and there’s no doubt that this new film is a worthy successor to the OPALJET name.”
Designed to maximise the image quality of the latest, pigmented ink, printing systems, the new product is to be offered in two variants - HARMAN OPALJET 125 XL, which is perfect for roller banners, and HARMAN OPALJET 300 XL, a heavier weight film more suited to pop-up displays and freestanding banner stands. Both versions employ many of the innovations already used in HARMAN’s range of professional inkjet papers.
Most notably, this includes a unique nanoporous Alumina coating, which contributes to exceptional image sharpness, an impressive colour gamut and superior laminate bond strength. Image stability is also preserved and enhanced thanks to this technologically advanced coating and to a lightstop, extruded grey backing layer, which does not suffer from edge delamination. As light cannot penetrate the media, displays in mixed lighting conditions remain brighter with more impact.
Aside from this impressive image quality, HARMAN OPALJET XL, which is manufactured entirely at HARMAN’s state-of-the-art production facility in Mobberley, is set to offer other major benefits too.
Specifically, the new film employs anti-curl technology which enhances its lay-flat characteristics and that makes it ideal for use in environments that are subject to extreme variations of humidity. It is also manufactured using a DuPont Teijin Melinexâ polyester base - the highest quality substrate available for portable display applications. Melinex’s dimensional stability is actually far superior to alternatives such as PVC.
In addition, HARMAN OPALJET XL enjoys fast drying properties, which ensure consistent and reliable printer output. Exceptional versatility is another key benefit. Not only is the new film compatible with the latest pigmented inkjet technology and printers such as the HP Z 6100, Canon iPF 9000 and EPSON 11880, but it's also ideal for a wide range of indoor applications – ranging from POS displays to exhibition graphics.
Garry Hume adds: “We are genuinely excited to be attending Sign & Digital UK 2009 and especially considering we are using it as a platform to introduce HARMAN OPALJET XL to the market.
“This is the first display media to draw on HARMAN technology’s R&D capabilities and its expertise of coating with complex layers of emulsions, and to be produced using the solid infrastructure of one of the world’s leading forces in photo-imaging. We know both our customers and the end-users who buy the finished displays are going to be delighted by the image quality, the colour saturation and the lay-flat properties.”
HARMAN will also use Sign & Digital UK 2009 to inform key industry partners about a number of other exciting products currently under development.
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Image: Opaljet PopUp.jpg
Caption: Designed to XL. The eagerly awaited HARMAN OPALJET XL will be launched at Sign & Digital UK 2009
NOTES TO EDITORS –
HARMAN technology Limited is a pioneering imaging specialist based in Mobberley, Cheshire. The company - which was born of the ILFORD formed by Alfred Harman in 1879 - now includes three, separate and well known brands: ILFORD PHOTO which offers traditional monochrome photographic products; HARMAN PHOTO which provides high-end inkjet media for both colour and monochrome prints as well as display media such as HARMAN OPALJET; and the KENTMERE PHOTOGRAPHIC range of black and white film and paper.
The ILFORD range of inkjet products, including ‘ILFORD Galerie’, is not associated with HARMAN technology in any way, and is actually manufactured and marketed by a separate organisation based in Switzerland.
For more information on HARMAN technology and its brands, visit:
www.harmantechnology.com // www.harman-inkjet.com // www.ilfordphoto.com // www.kentmere.com
Melinex® polyester film is a registered trademark of DuPont Teijin Films
For more information on this story, please contact Wayne Mohammed at Manifest on
01484 469601 or email wayne@manifestcomms.co.uk