Roland DG is continuing to launch commercial versions of the prototypes that it showed off at last year’s Fespa, with the latest being the EJ640 Deco printer.
I’ve already covered the prototype version from last year but essentially this is another printer that Roland Europe has created by using a new inkset on an existing wide format printer made by Roland Japan. In this case, the donor printer is the fairly standard Soljet EJ640 eco-solvent printer, a 1.6m wide printer that uses Epson printheads with 1440 dpi and offers a choice of four or seven colours.
The new Inku Deco ink is a water-based resin ink, with a high density pigment loading, that’s said to be compatible with a wide range of media including coated, uncoated, PVC free and some standard wallpapers. Roland is clearly aiming to compete directly against HP’s latex printers.
The Deco ink comes in a CMYK inkset and is said to have an outdoor life span of two years. Roland says that it leads to washable prints with better light-fastness than Roland’s dye sublimation range. The inks are said to dry quickly with no outgassing so that they are ready for finishing and delivery on the same day. These inks carry the highest AgBB rating of A+ for indoor air quality.
The printer can be used to produce a range of interior décor, such as customised wallpaper, lampshades, blinds as well as posters, exhibition graphics and outdoor display graphics.
The printer comes with Roland’s own VersaWorks 6 RIP. It’s available now and costs £17,999. You can find further details at rolanddg.co.uk.
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