Assuming we are talking real machines here, not rubber mock-ups, Latex printers can help designers because they provide several output options, all using the same Latex ink which helps bring down the number of output variables. For the sign and display sector there are currently three HP printers that print HP Latex inks.

They are differentiated according to performance and size, and there are five possibilities starting with the baby machine, the 61" (1.5m) Designjet L26500. A larger option, but with roughly the same performance criteria, is the Designjet L28500 which is 104" (2.6m) wide. The HP Scitex LX600 is the same width but is an altogether beefier proposition, and there are also two 126"-wide (3.2m) beefy machines, the LX820 and LX850. With five options all capable of printing Latex ink, a designer has wider scope for their designs, knowing that the same ink can be used for all formats.

These printers offer different benefits for designers, but it is the characteristics of the ink itself that most interests them. Latex ink has various characteristics that designers can exploit to be more creative. It is for instance suitable for indoor and outdoor applications, so a single design concept can be developed so that the variants of the same idea will work in multiple environments.

This whole idea of developing a suite of alternatives for different environments and media is not particularly new. Designers have for years worked up versions of their ideas for use in banners, logos, signs and collateral materials. It's commonplace in the packaging industry to have multiple iterations of a single idea, each of which is configured for a different delivery mechanism: poster, carton, sachet, bottle and so on.

The thing that Latex offers is the scope to go that much further because it is a flexible ink. So designers can add car wrapping to their lists of possible versions of a given design. They can create thematic concepts where different elements of a visual message are delivered using different print media, such as a POP display, banner or vehicle wrap. This gives designers immense scope to deliver engaging ideas using different graphical formats to encourage consumer engagement. Trails of images across media become clues to a message that they eventually get. Maybe the consumer sees a bit of the message on the side of a bus, then some more on a poster, with another bit on a flag. Gradually the messages make sense.

To develop such campaigns designers need to have the confidence that the production of the final print will not trip them up in terms of colour management, durability or flexibility. And for many designers, Latex is just the ticket.