In the past these types of industrial and large format printers have mainly been reserved for businesses rarely available on the consumer market. Despite the fact that oversized prints appeal to a rather small group of target customers, HP has released their Scitex TJ8300 and TJ8500 for anyone who has the money - And the space!

These monsters are capable of printing 140 posters 1.5m X 1.8m per hour, that’s approx 400sqm/hr at 336 dpi or 100sqm/hr in apparent 600dpi. They can print on just about anything including paper, self-adhesive vinyl, banner, canvas and paperback flag. The TJ8500 also prints on uncoated synthetic media (uncoated Yupo, Tyvek, etc.). They print on both coated and uncoated materials up to a maximum size of 165 x 370cm (65 x 145″).The difference between the TJ8300 and the TJ8500 is the ink they use. The TJ8300 opts for high quality, solvent based inks specially formulated for high productivity and high quality printing. The TJ8500 uses environmentally friendly UV inks with an internal dryer that meets regulatory requirements. The TJ8500 also prints on uncoated specialized synthetic media (uncoated Yupo, Tyvek, etc.) but apart from these differences the specifications of both models remain the same.

The Dots per Inch (dpi) can be set to three settings:

• Best-Quality mode: 600 dpi (apparent)
• High-quality mode: up to 448 dpi
• Production mode: up to 336 dpi

At best quality large images can be crisp even a close range, production mode compromises quality slightly in favor of an extremely quick print speed. They also come with a host of features that help increase productivity plus an option upgrade that allows double sided printing.

HP probably could have redesigned these printers with a little less bulk, even with the extremely large print size. But there’s no doubt building an oversized printer that looks like a regular home model is an eye catcher. Be thankful they don’t use conventional ink cartridges; imagine trying to replace one of those over 15 feet wide!