The need for speed: Roland DG launches its fastest printers to date at Monza circuit

With the demand for greater production speeds on the rise, Roland DG has responded by officially releasing the TrueVIS XP-640; its fastest large format printer yet. With such a big announcement, Roland invited assistant editor, Benjamin Austin to the Temple of Speed, Monza Circuit in Italy for a special launch event.

The large format print world is highly competitive with manufacturers constantly trying to outdo one another.

Innovation is forever driving these companies, as they push to make their latest products the best in the business.

Standing still is almost a sign of going backwards in this volatile market so the only way to stay competitive is to improve.

A good analogy would be Formula 1. Teams of engineers are always looking for ways to make the cars lighter, faster, more aerodynamic, and better than the rest of the pack.

A fitting comparison and one that hasn’t been missed by Roland which even has a business relationship with F1 team BWT Alpine.

The company drove this analogy home when, last week, it invited more than 300 guests to a launch event at Monza Circuit in Italy for its newest printer, the TrueVIS XP-640.

Little changes go a long way

The XP-640 is the latest model added to Roland’s inkjet printer series, taking over the mantle from the VG3.

It has been designed with speed in mind with Roland boasting it can reach a production pace of up to 80sq m/hr; making it twice as fast as previous models.

Paul Willems, director of business development and product management, spoke at the event to explain how the company has developed the hardware.

He said: “It looks like a TrueVIS but it has been redesigned from the ground up to give speed and performance without compromising on quality.

“We have introduced new print head technology in a staggered setup but we have kept the strong elements of the TrueVIS platform so all the features have been maintained but made a lot faster.”

Going deeper into the F1 analogy, Paul also explained improvements made beyond the printer’s setup.

“Like with any innovations we try to upgrade any component.

“The improvement of heat and the reduction of inks means less outgassing is needed so whatever comes off the printer at any moment is ready to use.

“The new TrueVIS TH inks also have two colour configurations in the products: double CMYK which can reach speeds of up to 80sq m/hr, and a new eight-colour gamut composed of CMYK with white, black, green orange and now red.”

Speed is the key element to this new printer with Roland looking to produce one of the fastest machines on the market.

That’s why the company chose Monza as its launch location; it is known as the Temple of Speed after all.

Staying ahead of the pack

But it also shows the company is reacting to the latest demands from the print industry and is looking to keep up with the fast-paced demand.

Andrew Oransky, Roland’s managing executive officer of global sales and marketing, said: “What we’re seeing as a trend is the square metres of print output continues to rise faster than the rate of machine placements.

“What that indicates to us is print providers are looking for a solution to produce more output with the same amount of equipment so this XP addresses this trend in a way we haven’t been able to before.

“The XP-640 fits a place in the market that fits our customers’ needs that we have perhaps missed and we are very excited to reach the customers who have been asking for this product.”

Paul continued: “Speed hasn’t always been on our forefront but now it shows we want to commit to our customers.

“Our classical applications were with customers who would use us for our variety, now our customers are more into volume and are reducing variability and increasing productivity.”

Other releases were also promoted on the day, namely the TY-300 DTF printer and Roland’s new Dimense series.

The TY-300 continues this focus on speed as it was said it can reach operational speeds up to 45% faster than competitors while the Dimense series was a new concept for interior decoration, embossing patterns directly onto the substrate – Andrew even went so far as to call it ‘unique’ saying ‘it was the only machine of its kind that could do what it does’.

All three were on display for visitors to witness following the presentation and a brief Q&A.

To round out the day Roland set up a tour of the track where guests got a chance to see important areas of the iconic raceway and even got a chance to stand on the podium.

The BWT Alpine cars were on display with special wraps that were produced by Roland and there was a tyre-changing competition which gave visitors a chance to imagine what it is like to be a member of a pit crew.

Success is a group effort

As much as the event was to launch the new kit, it was also designed to promote the relationships between the dealers, Roland, and partners BWT Alpine.

Yes, it aimed to plug the new equipment but the new equipment was designed by speaking to distributors and checking market data to see the latest demands from customers, and Roland was very keen on celebrating that.

The president of Roland DG EMEA, Gregory Bilsen, summed this point up best in his opening statement.

He said: “One of the biggest questions in Formula 1 is what is really the factor for success, the machine or the driver?

“This is a question that for many years people that the answer was 80% the machine and 20% the driver. Now the world is changing and looking at the data, the results in the last 10 years have shifted.

“The main factor is the interaction between the car and the driver. The greater the information from the driver the better adjustments can be made to the car.

“We are the same; the more we work together the better we can create.

“We are a company that would like to build strong relationships with our distributors so thank you so much for being here.”

That’s what the new XP-640, and the other new releases, ultimately represent; the company’s symbiotic relationship with its dealers to produce the most sought-after equipment on the market.

By using the lessons learnt from F1, Roland now hopes its new range of printers will accelerate them into pole position.