Case study from Roland

The Sign Shed has installed a Roland DG VersaUV S-Series printer from supplier Printmax, helping this Yorkshire signage specialist combine the highest quality with a personal touch.

Founded around four years ago, The Sign Shed is establishing itself as one of the UK's leading online suppliers of health and safety signage. It has gradually evolved, doubling its turnover every year and taking on new staff, with an expansion into new purpose-built premises planned for this summer. At the heart of the new space will be a Roland VersaUV S-Series LEC-330S-F200 – an incredibly versatile UV printer able to print onto virtually any flexible or rigid substrate or object up to 200mm in height and 100kg/sqm in weight. This is ideal for The Sign Shed, which was previously printing graphics and letters onto vinyl for application onto signage materials. Now, it can print accurate CMYK, white and gloss directly onto typical signage substrates such as composite aluminum, rigid plastics, Foamex and Corex. By removing the vinyl application step, this makes the sign-making process faster while also freeing up The Sign Shed's Roland TrueVIS VG-540, for work such as sticker production. "We've used Roland printers from the start, beginning with a Roland BN-20," comments Rob Haywood, Director of The Sign Shed. "Roland is a brand we can trust. Our customers expect the best and we want them to be proud of their signage; we're not cheap and cheerful, we rely on Roland to deliver top quality. Our customers also want a fast turnaround and the addition of our new machine has reduced manufacturing times by three-quarters." On choosing the S-Series, Rob adds: "It's important for The Sign Shed to have the most up-to-date technology possible, and the new Roland printer has the latest UV inks. It'll also fit neatly into our new premises!" Based in the heart of the White Rose county, The Sign Shed is proud of its Yorkshire roots and strives to deliver a good, honest, down-to-earth customer service to all its customers, wherever they are. This Yorkshire sensibility is also reflected in its latest marketing campaign, fronted by Hamish and Sid the Safety Sheep. The stars of entertaining but informative animated videos work to eliminate workplace hazards, making Yorkshire and beyond a safer place. It was after launching the Hazards Sheep Eliminate (HSE) campaign that The Sign Shed decided to enter the Roland Hero Awards. "Roland Heroes is all about businesses doing things a little out of the ordinary with their Roland equipment," says Rob. "We saw the competition and thought, 'That's us!' We're offering a quality service from Yorkshire with a little help from our Safety Sheep."