Roland upgrades its ‘magic box’

Imagine you are brand new supplier to the construction industry, not so hard as many of you will be dear readers, and your first port of call needs to be establishing your brand identity.

Well, one of the first things you are going to do is put together a promotional marketing pack to introduce yourself to the industry. But how to keep your brand in people’s consciousness? Well, your choice is actually pretty vast, ranging across branded USB sticks, mobile phone power bars, drink mats, stationary, golf balls, key rings, stationary, and even DIY tools.

This is just one example of hundreds of the clientele that are looking to purchase runs of printed promotional merchandise with runs that can be anywhere from hundreds to the thousands. And that is why sign-makers are diversifying into this sector in their droves and the pace of technology development to supply demand has ramped up significantly.

The latest release comes in the form of the Roland DG’s VersaUV LEF-300 benchtop UV-LED flatbed inkjet printer.

The successor to the ground-breaking LEF-12 and its bigger brother the LEF-200, this new member of the family can tackle objects up to 100mm in thickness. In order to improve its productivity and ability to handle awkwardly shaped and large items, it also has a bed size of 770 x 330mm.
 
Yuko Maeda, division president of Roland DG business development unit, explains what has driven this technology’s development: “We have seen an increasing number of businesses using VersaUV LEF printers to provide custom printing services for smart-phone cases and accessories. This includes e-commerce sites as well as kiosks located within shopping centres, where they provide on-site printing of photographs taken by customers onto various blank goods to create a new shopping experience for their customers. The LEF-300 is perfect for handling the growing amount of tasks.”

Maeda also sees potential in the application of UV printers used in mass production: “In order to accommodate customization and decoration of parts and modules in high volume production lines, the LEF-300 incorporates an input/output system that supports external devices such as warning lights and custom production automation systems. In addition, the LEF-300 is built with precision parts that are not susceptible to changes in temperature or humidity and are designed to maintain accurate high-quality printing even during long production runs.”


Dubbed its ‘magic box’ the LEF-300 certainly has some tricks up its sleeve, as its able to print onto substrates such as PET, ABS, polycarbonate, TPU, and leather.
 
Utilising a vacuum table, four print heads, and two UV-LED lamps, the LEF-300 enables bidirectional printing at approximately 60 percent faster than the first LEF-20. The number of white and clear (gloss) ink nozzles have been doubled for faster printing, increased density and opacity and faster build-up of multiple layers for three-dimensional textures. A new draft print mode also improves overall efficiency for users in need of quick prototype prints.

The LEF-300 also comes equipped with the new Roland VersaWorks Dual software RIP and now supports both PostScript and PDF files for improved file processing and automatic creation of white and clear ink layers. In addition, features like offset, positioning, rotation, and registration of ink layers can be handled directly in the RIP without the need to return to design software.

The LEF-300 also uses new EUV4 ink, Roland DG’s proprietary CYMK, White and Clear ECO-UV inks that reduce odour and the shrinking of thin film materials like BOPP and PET when curing. In addition to a 220 cc cartridge, a new, larger 500 cc ink cartridge has also been introduced which is more economical and requires less cartridge replacements.
 
Maeda concludes: “The growth of digital technology has facilitated the printing of photographs, illustrations and logos onto items that people wear or carry, both as a means of self-expression and as a means of feeling closer to the things they value. The market for on-demand printing onto various articles is expected to expand further still in the future.”

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