ISA Sign Expo 2025 is not really a printing show. Most attendees are involved in designing, fabricating, installing, and repairing interior and exterior, permanent and temporary signs for stores, offices, hotels, stadiums, theatres, airports, universities, hospitals, communities, and out-of-home advertising agencies.
Although printing is just one element of sign-making, leading manufacturers of digital printing systems showcase the latest models they have developed for everyone from small, start-up sign businesses to national sign franchisees and wholesale or e-commerce sign and graphic producers.
Visitors to ISA Sign Expo 2025 (April 23-25) will see increasingly automated printing systems that can help sign businesses efficiently create visually stunning signage, branded interior decor, and experiential marketing activations. Some of the newest printers at Sign Expo are designed for small-to-mid-size sign shops that have limited floor space, staff, and budgets.
Below are just a few of the printers that attendees will see from industry leaders such Agfa, Durst, EFI, HP, Mimaki USA, Roland DGA, swissQprint, and Vanguard.
Agfa
Agfa will demonstrate two additions to their Anapurna Ciervo family of 6-color (plus white) hybrid UV-LED inkjet printers. The 80-in. Ciervo H2050 (205 cm) and 98-in. Ciervo H2500 (250 cm) complement the versatile, agile performance of the 126-in. Anapurna Ciervo H3200 (320 cm). All three printers can handle a variety of flexible and rigid materials, including banner and vinyl materials, coated textiles, and corrugated materials for packaging and point-of-sale displays.
The printers are driven by Agfa’s Asanti workflow software which integrates the entire production flow, minimizing manual interventions and reducing errors. The browser-based dashboard interfaces with MIS/ERP systems to fine-tune quotes, track production time, and monitor ink and material consumption. Other features include automated job grouping, tools tailored for packaging production, and a dashboard that consolidates key production metrics.
For more information, visit: https://www.agfa.com/printing/products/anapurna-ciervo/
Durst
Durst will be showing the P5 X printer for the first time in America. The upgradeable P5 X printer can be operated as a true flatbed printer in which the printheads move over materials that remain stationary. For more versatility, it can be equipped with roll-to-roll media handling, including the ability to run one or two rolls of media simultaneously.
The P5 X offers 10 color channels that can be configured to meet specific requirements. In addition to using traditional CMYK and white inks, the printer can run light cyan, light magenta, and light black inks (for detailed photographs), or orange and violet inks (for a wider range of Pantone colors used in packaging). The color channels can also be used for Durst Fluo Glow fluorescent pink or yellow inks, primer for optimal ink adhesion to specialty substrates, and varnish for creative surface textures and special effects.
The P5 X was engineered for ergonomic media handling and exceptional print quality with consistent colors, smooth gradients, and sharp details and text. Other features include reverse printing, twin printing, and multi-track printing. The print table includes 12 user-selectable vacuum zones. Automated board loading and unloading systems are available.
The P5 X can be operated with the Durst Workflow, which automates prepress and production tasks.
“Durst’s ongoing commitment to improving and expanding our solutions across segments and pricing tiers makes us the most complete OEM in the market,” commented Tim Sauer, CEO and Managing Director, Durst North America. “The P5 X comes with all the benefits of the Durst P5 platform, and is backed by world-class software and services.” For the North American market, both Durst and Vanguard Digital Printing Solutions (a Durst company) will sell this product.
For more information and the P5 X and the other large-format printers in the P5 Series, visit: https://www.durst-group.com/en/P5/p5-x
EFI
EFI will show the EFI Pro 16h+ hybrid flatbed/roll-fed UV-LED inkjet printer. It has a 65 in. print width and uses CMYK plus 2 white ink channels for high-quality images at production speeds. It can handle five-layer printing in any color in a single pass, which expands the range of applications that can be produced at a low manufacturing cost.
It can print on the wide variety of rigid and flexible materials for retail signage, posters, indoor and outdoor banners, and indoor signs on foamboard, aluminum, acrylic, and styrene.
For more information, go to: https://www.efi.com/en-gb/products/sign-display/hybrid-flatbed-roll-fed-printers/efi-pro-16h-plus-hybrid-led-printer/
EFI also will demonstrate their all-in-one EFI Reggianni ecoTERRA textile printing and finishing system. Using pigment textile inks, the system can be used for on-demand production of custom wallcoverings, personalized accessories, headboards, draperies, shower curtains, tablecloths and more. The system doesn’t require pre-treated textiles or ancillary equipment for steaming, washing, or stentering to remove wrinkles and creases and dry the printed fabric.
HP
The HP Latex R530 printer provides seamless rigid and flexible printing for print-service providers of all sizes. The R530 simplifies rigid printing without the space constraints or high investment of traditional flatbed printers. For fast, economical setup, the printer uses the single-phase power supply that is commonly used in in homes and small businesses. The printer features an intuitive touchscreen, spindle-less printing, and fast transitions between rigid and flexible materials.
The ten printheads hold cyan, black, magenta, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta inks, 2 white ink cartridges, plus HP Latex Optimizer and Latex Overcoat.
The HP PrintOS Production Hub is first-of-its-kind large-format software that integrates order management with remote production control. By centralizing print operations in a real-time platform, PSPs can reduce errors, streamline production, and enhance efficiency.
For more information, visit: https://www.hp.com/us-en/printers/large-format/latex-r530-printer.html
For more information about HP Latex inkjet printing, visit: https://www.hp.com/us-en/printers/large-format/latex-printers.html
Mimaki USA
Mimaki USA will showcase an assortment of digital printing systems, including the UJV300DTF-75 direct-to-film printer. The printer can handle rolls up materials up to 25.6 in. It uses UV-curable CMYK, white, and clear inks to produce vibrant, high-impact UV-DTF transfers. The printed transfers and laminated inline, then can be digitally cut and applied to custom decorate rigid and curved surfaces, such as helmets, lunchboxes, vases, and mugs.
Mimaki will also highlight the Tx330 series of textile printers that use both pigment and dye-sublimation inksets to print on a broad selection of fabrics for soft signage and short runs of interior-design fabrics.
The JFX600 flatbed inkjet printer that handle large sheets of rigid substrates will be demonstrated as well as the smaller JFX200 flatbed printer paired with the CFX-2513 flatbed cutter. \
Also on display will be the Mimaki CJV200 series of print-and-cut solutions for decals and wall graphics and the TxF300 series of direct-to-transfer-film printers for apparel decoration.
Roland DGA
Roland DGA will show the range of technologies it offers for creative signs, graphics, customized products, decorated apparel, and textured interior design elements. Roland equipment on display will include the TrueVIS™ XP-640 eco-solvent printer, the DG TY-300 direct-to-film printer for apparel and textile decoration, and DG UV flatbed printers.
Roland’s flatbeds include the VersaOBJECT CO-300i F2 which can print on objects up to 9.5-inches thick and the EU-1000F high-volume flatbed that prints directly on media up to 96 x 48 in. and 3.75 in. high.
Roland’s state-of-the art benchtop printers include the VersaOBJECT™ MO benchtop printer.
The DIMENSE Dimensor S texture printer can be used with eco-friendly DIMENSE water-based inks and proprietary PVC-free DIMENSE media to create stunning dimensional wallcoverings, wall art, and more in a single, seamless process.
Roland DGA will also host vehicle-wrap experts from Digital EFX Wraps who will use graphics produced on a TrueVIS printer/cutter to customize a Volkswagen ID Buzz minivan.
“ISA is a great opportunity for Roland DGA to show how our technology can make it easier, faster, and more cost-effective to produce everything from eye-catching signage and displays to vibrant customized products and apparel,” said Roland DGA’s President Dan Burmeister.
swissQprint
swissQprint introduced their Generation 5 series flatbed and hybrid UV-LED printers in January. The printers are built with a completely reworked concept that includes software and electronics.
“We have always pursued a combination of performance with high output quality and the new printers are exemplary of that,” said Carmen Eicher, chief sales and marketing officer at swissQprint. The printers use a robust base for benchmark precision and linear motors that make the printer faster and more precise. The latest printheads and a resolution of 1350 dpi provide the outstanding print quality swissQprint printer users expect.
These flatbed printers offer limitless versatility with 10 freely configurable color channels. In addition to CMYK, light colors, and white, users can extend the printer’s range of applications with orange, neon ink or neon yellow, varnish, and/or primer.
The printers are developed and built at the company’s headquarters in Switzerland and come with a 3-year factory warranty.
For more information, go to: https://www.swissqprint.com/us/en/
Vanguard
Vanguard, a Durst Group Company, will show the Harpeth Print-to-Cut workflow solution. It uses an in-line-transport system to move printed graphics from the high-speed Vanguard VK3220T-HS-UV-LED flatbed printer to the Vanguard edition of the Sharpcut digital cutter from Colex.
To see a video of the system in action visit: https://youtu.be/Y_ciczKXCkk
By eliminating the need to unload materials from the printer and reload them onto the cutter, the system reduces costs and increases productivity.
“We are very excited to be at Sign Expo this year. We have a new look, new technology, new talent, and new vision and are growing as a company, as a team, and as an innovator in the industry,” said Jim Peterson, COO and Founding Partner of Vanguard.
Designers Will Be Inspired
ISA Sign Expo makes it a point to attract designers and users of signs to the show. For example, members of the Society of Experiential Design (SEGD) will be attending educational sessions held concurrently with Sign Expo.
When these creative professionals see these printers on the show floor, they will be inspired by the vast range of decorative surfaces, corrugated boards, textiles, window films, acrylic panels, and wrap materials that can be digitally customized and embellished to create memorable architectural interiors, museum exhibits and branded environments as well as custom fixtures, vehicles, and furnishings for experiential activations.