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Get the most from wide format technologies
The sheer variety of technologies under the wide format umbrella (print & cut, print only, aqueous, solvent and UV, plus print & cut UV following the launch of Roland's VersaUV LEC-300) means there is virtually no limit to the variety of products wide format printers can offer both core and new, adjacent markets. However, crucial to success in the dynamic world of wide format is workflow: conducting the orchestra of the shop floor.
With optimal workflow in mind, Roland DG has launched its next generation of products, including the world's first print & cut UV machine, the revolutionary VersaUV LEC-300, and its new 64in VersaArt RS-640 printer, with a new version of its proprietary RIP: VersaWorks.
Advanced workflow: right job, right machine
VersaWorks 3.0 can drive up to four Roland DG wide format devices from a single PC. The hub of the production workflow, it can send jobs to the device that can produce it the most cost effectively. A balanced machine portfolio harnessed to intelligent workflow allows printers to direct higher value applications, such as decals and stickers, to a print & cut machine, while producing other types of digital graphics on additional printers.
With VersaWorks 3.0, existing users can expand their portfolio of Roland DG machinery and control it via the same familiar, easy-to-use RIP from a single screen, whereas each machine previously needed its own dedicated PC to drive the RIP.
World's first print & cut UV wide format machine
In addition to RIPs, wide format solutions require hardware, firmware and inks working in unison to deliver performance. Roland DG is unique in that it manufactures and controls all elements that comprise its solutions.
Already a leader in the wide format solvent sector, Roland DG's latest contribution (the ground-breaking VersaUV LEC-300 print & cut UV wide format machine) heralds the company's entry into the UV market. With the VersaUV LEC-300, Roland and its customers can now target untapped markets that are complementary to the traditional print and sign industries, such as proofs, short-run packaging composites and product prototypes.
The 30in VersaUV LEC-300, which prints CMYK plus white and spot varnish, can produce realistic printed textures and patterns, such as faux leather and crocodile skin. It can also print onto a huge range of substrates, such as litho, PVC self-adhesive vinyl, paper, displays, PoP products, PET film, synthetic/real leather, fabric, foils and PE. The range is virtually limitless.
The VersaUV LEC-300's LED curing lamps operate on-demand, without pre-heating or cooling between use. They last approximately 10,000hrs, roughly five times longer than halogen lamps. The LED lamps operate at a safe wavelength and do not generate high heat, which means there's no risk of shrinking substrates.
The VersaUV LEC-300's UV inks also give a new dimension, quite literally, to the type of products it can produce. It can layer clear coats to build up 3D doming and even Braille. Also, because the UV ink is malleable when cured, it can be used for durable colour graphics that can be flexed or stretched around edges and curves without cracking. The ability to create colourful, tactile graphics, coupled with the ability to die cut them to virtually any shape, opens up new markets for printers.
Additional revenue streams, minimal capital outlay
At £10,999 (including VersaWorks 3.0) Roland DG's new 64in solvent printer, the VersaArt RS-640, is unmatched in terms of price and output quality in its space, making it ideal for wide format businesses with print & cut machines to balance their portfolios, or conventional printers looking to develop additional revenue streams for minimal capital outlay. The versatile VersaArt RS-640, which features Eco-Sol Max inks and Roland Intelligent Pass Control technology, supports a wide variety of media for applications ranging from high-end design proofs and photographic reproductions to stunning outdoor signs and banners.
Companies with relatively smaller integrated print & cut machines, like the Roland VersaCAMM SP-300V for example, can now invest in additional, wider, print only machines, like the VersaArt RS-640 and see their profitability soar. The reason is simple.
An integrated print & cut machine, utilising its full functionality, will typically yield 40 per cent more revenue per square metre than a print only machine. However, when that print & cut machine is used to produce graphics that could be printed on a print only machine, the potential return is reduced as it can't be used to manufacture those higher value jobs. By investing in an additional print only RS-640 (and running both with the new VersaWorks 3.0) graphics businesses can produce wide format posters, banners and vehicle wraps cost effectively, and leave their print & cut machines for those higher value applications. It's all about utilising equipment effectively and playing to a machine's strengths.
Big vision for wide format
Investment in wide format technologies requires partnership with a solution supplier that understands how businesses operate and can help identify new revenue streams, rather than simply supply a machine. Successful investment depends on selecting the right machine for the business by taking into account how the new kit will complement existing equipment and drive future development. To prosper, a company's machine portfolio should be considered as a whole, rather than a disparate set of technologies. And a truly integrated workflow gives the business the perspective to see where the profit is.
Just as printers need to look at the whole of their business rather than the sum of its parts, so too does Roland DG. By controlling how all elements within its wide format solutions interact, Roland DG can guarantee enhanced equipment performance. And by extending its vision for wide-format beyond technology to include first class support through RolandCare and training at the Roland Academy, Roland DG helps its customers develop the requisite skills they need to enter and succeed in new markets.
