Alongside its impressive 48.5sq m/h production speed, mirrored CMYKKYMC gold-plated Piezo print head, Roland’s new machine is a pioneer for bringing unassisted printing into the 21st century.

For the first time, the RF-640 comes with a remote monitoring app, the Roland Printer Assist, which allows the printer’s status, jobs and cleaning functions to all be controlled from an iPad. The machine also comes with a new Ink Switching System, which allows for a backup cartridge that automatically kicks in when the primary cartridge is empty.

On sale for £9,999, the investment includes a free high speed take-up system as an introductory offer to keep up with the new printing rate and, as the machine is specially designed to use Roland’s low-VOC Eco-Sol Max2 inks, will make ink savings of up to 20 percent compared with earlier machines, with no loss in colour quality.

The new RF-640 is the ideal production tool because it delivers high speed, outstanding print-quality, ease of use, simple maintenance and unsurpassed reliability—all this whilst keeping operating costs low”

Rob Goleniowski, Roland’s sign and graphics business manager, says: “Digital sign makers and wide format printers need affordable volume production solutions that will help them increase productivity and profits. The new RF-640 is the ideal production tool because it delivers high speed, outstanding print-quality, ease of use, simple maintenance and unsurpassed reliability—all this whilst keeping operating costs low. That translates into increased output, satisfied customers and increased return on investment.”

Roland has been keeping the RF-640 tightly under wraps since FESPA 2014, but nonetheless have already landed their first sale.

Hull-based sign-makers Matt Vinyl Graphics have already beat competition to the finish by purchasing the first machine on the market from printMAX.

Matt Vinyl Graphics is the first company in the country to purchase the new RF-640 from printMAX

Luke Nicholson, director at Matt Vinyl Graphics, is eager to test out the new machine’s capabilities, hoping the new addition will help them meet their customers’ growing demands.

He says: “We’re really looking forward to bringing in the RF-640. Our biggest problem at the moment is that we have too much work for our VP-540, not a bad problem but an issue all the same! We’re lucky to have such loyal customers and the RF-640 will allow us to complete more work at a faster rate and also allow us more flexibility in terms of product offering with the added width.”

Unassisted remote technology is becoming more and more popular, and with the arrival of the RF-640, it would seem the trend is beginning to take hold in the press room. The benefits of controlling an entire job and machine’s status from a smart, hand-held tablet device seem obvious in terms of simplicity and productivity. However, it remains to be seen whether the app is more a gimmick than a necessity.

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