provided by: 
It's one thing when you are testing equipment for one location, try testing for 180. That's the challenge that Ted Redmer, national digital technology manager at Signs By Tomorrow faces.
Signs By Tomorrow is a franchise that was founded in 1986 to make the process of purchasing high-quality, cost-effective signs available to everyone. Most of the stores are located in strip malls.
"Our commitment to innovation ensures that each store is equipped with the industry's state-of-the-art sign making technology. With 180 franchise stores nationwide, no job is too big or too small. Our philosophy is simple: bring us an idea or concept that resembles a sign of any sort and we will figure out how to produce it," said Redmer.
"We test equipment at our headquarters in Columbia, MD and then we make recommendations to our franchisees as to whether its worthy of our stamp of approval. The goal is to provide testing in the most realistic, real world environment and provide purchasing options for our franchises. My job is getting the equipment in house and running the tires off of it," he added.
So when the HP Designjet was introduced earlier last year, Redmer put it through the paces. "We immediately liked what we saw when the HP Designjet 9000s printer series came out. The color gamut blows away anything else in this category out of the water," said Redmer.
"In fact, it's the best color gamut of any printer in that price range that we have seen. I would put it up with any printer in any price range."
Redmer said the secret is that the low-solvent inks really make the colors pop. "HP 'low-solvent' inks enable a wider color gamut and produce vivid, durable color prints that last up to three years outdoors without lamination on uncoated vinyl. The inks are part of a total solution from HP that includes low-solvent ink formulations, ink cartridges, and convenient cleaning and maintenance kits as well as guidelines for installation and use that help make HP low-solvent ink printing safe, productive and easy," he said.
Redmer added the 64-inch wide-format printer is truly a production workhorse. "It prints at a very competitive speed. 176 square feet per hour at 720x720 dpi is above and beyond many other printers in this class. In addition, its also one of the easiest printers to train someone on. That comes in handy when training new employees," he pointed out.
"The 9000s offers output providers the means to quickly deliver professional quality, highly durable signs and banners. We run a lot jobs on it. We've used it on variety of rigid, banner and vehicle wraps. We've been very happy with this piece of equipment."
Once Redmer gave the 9000s a thumbs up, more than half of their franchises added to their printer mix of products. "In addition, every new store that opens now comes with a 9000s as apart of opening package," he added.