The Japanese-owned corporation, which also has substantial market-share in the music technology sector, launched its 32.6sq m/h Texart RT-640 dye-sublimation printer to take advantage of substantial growth in demand for soft signage and textile print-based display products such as backlit light boxes and exhibition systems.

“We built this machine to answer user demand for a high production sublimation printer that’s affordable, reliable, efficient to run, and easy to operate,” says Mark Elvidge, Roland DG product manager.

He continues: “One of the Texart RT-640’s major innovations is our new ink. Previously, colours sublimated to fabrics could look distorted with dull blacks, missing greys and fuzzy details. The RT-640’s variable droplet technology in combination with new Roland Texart dye-sublimation ink displays bold, vibrant colours and rich velvety blacks, as well as subtle gradations and fine details.

“Adding orange and violet inks increases the colour gamut and allows for exceptional reds, oranges, deep blues and purples, while light cyan and light magenta provide subtle gradations and beautiful skin tones.”

Top Brass

The news comes as Roland DG reveals the outcome of a substantial capital investment into a new headquarters and Creative Centre in Clevedon.

A key player in one of the sign and wide-format print industries most competitive sectors, the substantial new premises and showroom was opened by the global president of Roland DG Corporation, Masahiro Tomioka. 

“We’ve had a very successful few years of growth here in the UK, and this state-of-the-art facility gives us everything we need to ensure we can continue to grow and serve all our customers in a manner they deserve and are accustomed to,” says Jerry Davies, managing director, Roland DG (UK).

The new Texart RT-640 and the variety of products that can be created on the machine form a core part of the new Creative Centre, which is billed by Roland DG as, “a unique space, showcasing the vast range of applications possible with Roland’s machines and highlighting the markets that customers can sell into including signage, sublimation and textile, retail, personalisation and promotional items, 3D printing, milling and engraving, interior decoration and an array of fun, creative and new applications you wouldn’t expect. “

Key to the new space is a photo opportunity wall, where visitors can investigate an incredible range of items which have been given the ‘Roland treatment’, including a fridge, games machine, mini motorbike and helmet, drum kit, piano, skis, skateboards, wedding albums, 3D printed functional parts, and even a yacht.

Davies adds: “This truly is an outstanding facility and one we believe to be unique in the industry in terms of both its size and scope of what it offers customers. We look forward to welcoming visitors to our new home.”

Creative ambition

Having diversified into wide-format flatbed and hybrid print technology in recent years, the new dye-sublimation technology on show at the Creative Centre highlights the scale of Roland DG’s ambition, moving progressively out from its solvent roll-to-roll printing core.

Indeed, the Texart RT-640 is a strong statement of intent as it incorporates a gold-plated, anti-static print head capable of printing seven different droplet sizes to maximise output quality.

It also features a newly designed feed adjuster, combined with a powerful fan and an included take-up system, which reportedly ensures added stability. The new technology from Roland DG also features a bulk ink system that uses two 1l airtight-sealed pouches and a switching system that allows for uninterrupted printing.