The beast is unleashed! Roland has created a monster with the Roland SolJet XF – it’s scarily big, terrifyingly fast and yours for £20,999!
For over a month now we’ve been teased with images of beasts, rockets – messages that it’ll be fast, powerful and red. We can now see all that to be true in every way.
Print speeds go up to an incredible 102m2 per hour! This is made possible by the unique staggered print heads which make it possible to keep the high quality you’ve come to expect from any Roland along with becoming the most productive wide format digital printer Roland have ever released!
At 64” width it offers a wide variety of application possibilities with exceptional print quality. Using the advanced technology of Roland Eco-Sol Max 2 inks, in a dual CMYK format you can achieve a wide colour gamut with a quick drying time and long-term outdoor durability – perfect for banners, vehicle wraps and all other large format print requirements.
Along with additional features such as added pinch rollers and improved grit roller systems, you’ll also receive the fantastic Versaworks, a RIP software created by Roland themselves to give you the best results from your Roland printer. The Roland care warranty is also included within the price to give users peace of mind and support following a purchase.
To see the beast in action or for any other information please speak to one of our Roland experts at 0800 567 7676 (01420 511539).
Roland DGA are going with the “ready to launch” theme on the upcoming Roland SolJet XF – all we have learnt so far is that it’s red and it’s being associated with rockets – suggesting something groundbreaking, exciting and “out of this world”.
Roland SolJet XF – Prepare for launch
Now… Roland DG UK have given us their version of events for the release of the Roland SolJet XF. “Beware the Roland beast”! ”
Roland SolJet XF – Beware the Roland beast
Something is waiting to escape. It’s scarily big and shockingly fast.
Find out what’s coming to get you when it’s unleashed 2 April 2013.
http://www.rolanddg.co.uk
Roland are yet to confirm any further details – so exactly how fast, how big and how exciting it is we’ll have to wait and see…
Stay tuned for the release of the beast on April 2nd 2013!
So far in the UK there has been little speculation on what Roland DG have up their sleeves for this year. Following the launch of the SolJet Pro 4 XR-640 the industry is still effectively launching this machine.
Yet, from Roland DGA we can have a sneak preview of what might be on it’s way… it’s red, it’s Roland and it’s the SolJet XF.
See the latest teaser trailer here:
From looking at the Roland DGA product page we have (from time of posting) 26 days and 7 hours until we can know more. So stay tuned on April 2nd for more info!
2012 – A look back at the year
2012 has been a fantastic year to be in the UK, with a light at the end of the recession tunnel, the high spirit throughout the country following incredible sporting achievements at the Olympic and Paralympics and not forgetting the Queen’s Jubilee earlier in the year. It really has been a great year to be British, but how about being in business? We’ve found it to be a hugely successful year but what has contributed towards this? We’ve taken a look back at our year to take a closer look at some of the highlights.
- January 2012, printMAX became Roland’s most successful authorised dealer for a second year running. This was a real kick-start to the year, becoming the most successful UK dealer once again obviously meant we were doing something right and we intended to continue this throughout 2012. Several years back, the MD at printMAX, Michael Bolton, made the decision to really strip down the business, focusing mainly on Roland products. Roland large format printers are some of the best in the market; they do a fantastic job for our customers and as such are a great product line. At printMAX we’ve focused so much on that specific range that our knowledge is second to none, with skilled engineers and a knowledgeable support and sales team the title of Roland’s most successful authorised dealer was an accolade we had worked hard for and were extremely proud of. Following a successful 2012 we now have to keep our fingers crossed that we’ve done enough to make it a hat trick.
- February 2012, printMAX made the decision to invest in social media and create an on-line network. Back in February there were only a handful of suppliers on the social networks, printMAX realised that the opportunity to connect with customers and other contacts in a one-on-one manner was not to be missed! After taking on a new member of staff to take responsibility of all on-line activity along with the company’s marketing efforts, printMAX’s on-line network has grown substantially with a twitter following of over 1,750 and a 100% increase in some Google rankings.
- April 2012, another April, another Sign & Digital UK. The team headed up to Birmingham’s NEC building to once again showcase the best Roland printers on the market. The exhibition has always been a success for us and 2012 was no exception! With more on-site orders than ever before and a hugely profitable follow up month, Sign UK proved once again to be an event not to be missed. If you’d like to see us in 2013 we’ll once again be at stand F30 next to Roland for the duration of the exhibition.
- Following a fantastic summer of celebrations, starting with the Jubilee and ending with the Paralympics there was buzz building around Roland DG and what they might have up their sleeves.
- September 2012, following a month long teaser campaign it was finally revealed that the new release from Roland would be the long awaited SolJet Pro 4 XR-640. An incredibly fast printer incorporating the new Eco-Sol Max 2 inks (including the brand new light black addition) along with new Versaworks updates. It’s a fantastic printer offering faster printing speeds, higher quality production and more versatility in terms of operation. printMAX became the first Roland dealer in Europe to secure a sale and have since gone on to sell more XR-640’s than any other dealer with countless installs lined up for the new year.
With the year coming to an end we’re looking forward to the next year and what that might bring to us. Hopefully in January, with the announcement of Roland’s most successful authorised dealer for 2012, we might have been able to get the hat trick! With January and February full of XR installs the next big event will be Sign UK 2013 where we’ll once again be demonstrating and advising on the latest Roland large format printers. The major difference to 2013 will be Fespa, in London it will certainly be a ground breaking event as it’s the first year the show has made it to the UK; we look forward to the potential that could offer! As for the rest of the year… who knows?! Perhaps Andy Murray will win Wimbledon, the new Royal arrival should bring another UK celebration and maybe Simon Cowell will come back to the X factor! Hopefully this time next year we’ll be able to look back at another year of growth and success. Until then, from all the team at printMAX we wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Name that Elf!
This year, the printMAX Christmas Card has taken a slightly different turn and we decided to turn the printMAX staff into elves!
For your chance to win a bottle of Champagne all you need to do is name all 7 elves. E-mail your guesses to info@printmax.co.uk and all correct guesses will be entered into a draw at the end of the week
To give you a helping hand we’ll give you the names so all you need to do is allocate them to the right elf!
Your choices are : Cat, Mike, Charlotte, Katie, Simon, Chris and Vicky
Good Luck!
50 shades of grey with the XR-640
The new XR-640 and it’s light black ink allows you to really print 50 shades of grey.
The light black Eco-Sol Max 2 ink has been introduced to enable more accurate grey scaling effects and enhance the quality of skin tones.
It might not be as provocative as E.L.James’ 50 shades of grey but with a pricetag of just £19,999 it certainly is tempting.
For further info on the widest, fastest Roland SolJet to date, visit our website or call us on +44(0)800 567 7676.
We’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have!
Roland SolJet Pro 4 XR-640, we love it.
Since 12th September 2012 printMAX has had the XR-640 on the brain. Everything has been about the new Roland SolJet Pro 4 large format printer. We’ve released press articles on the XR-640, talked to our customers about the XR-640, we’ve even been tweeting about the XR-640! But most importantly… we’ve sold a number of the XR-640 .
At 5pm on the Roland SolJet Pro 4 launch day we were able to announce that we had in fact sold the first XR-640 in Europe. This XR-640 was going to make it’s way to an existing customer of ours who already owns two Roland large format printers.
Why have we talked so much about the XR-640 and how did we sell a £19,999 printer in less than 5 hours without the customer even seeing it? Easy. It’s one hell of a printer.
The eagerly anticipated successor to the Roland SolJet Pro III, the XR-640 certainly doesn’t disappoint!
On seeing the new Roland printer the first comment that most make is all about how fast it is! And it really is. With print speeds of up to 49.1m² an hour. You may think this could compromise the print quality, but you’d be wrong. The colours are as strong as ever along with the fine detailing printers have come to expect from a Roland.
So, you ask, what’s actually new on the XR-640 that we haven’t seen before?
- The XR-640 is both the widest and fastest Roland SolJet printer to date.
- The newly developed Eco-Sol Max 2 ink has been specifically modelled on the XR-640 and the piezo gold print heads, offering greater density, pearlescence and accuracy than ever before.
- The introduction of the light black ink available on the XR-640 allows for more accurate grey scaling and precise skin tones.
- The adaptations in Roland’s VersaWorks RIP software for the XR-640 (but to be available to all VersaWorks users) enable 2 really valuable features that will make everyday printing even easier than ever!
- The Pantone Spot Colour Replacement allows referencing using normal pantone reference tools.
- A pre-print warning if you don’t have enough ink to complete the job.
If you still have any questions on what the XR-640 offers, you can take a look at our website or alternatively give us a call with your questions on +44(0)800 567 7676 or +44(0)1420 511539 .
Paralympic Podium Prices
At the start of the summer we announced our podium prices. A promotion in line with a pretty important sporting event taking place at the time that we’re not supposed to mention. The offer covers our entire line of printers and included freebies finance deals… the usual.
The offer was due to end on 15th August, a few days after the closing ceremony and that would be it for the summer. But then we got thinking, this isn’t the closing ceremony – not for GB anyway! In a week or so we welcome the Paralympics, a sporting event which started in the UK and has come home for the biggest event in its history.
There has been a fair amount of outcry over the Olympic (whoops, I said it) v Paralympics relationship. They are supposed to be one and equal but the nature of the UK’s attitude suggests otherwise.
This thought process started for me when I first received my Olympic tickets, they were printed on a high quality card, nicely printed and it was an ‘important delivery’ which I got quite excited about. I then received my Paralympics tickets in the post the next day or so after. An experience which wasn’t so exciting. The quality of the tickets was severely inferior, the accompanying information severely lacking, even down to the envelope they were sent in. All in all… pretty disappointing.
By the time the closing ceremony came about nearly all the paralympic tickets had sold-out, a huge achievement proving that the interest, enthusiasm and popularity was there. However, again the treatment is so different.
- The BBC is going from 24 hr coverage of the Olympics to passing the baton to Channel 4. (For which channel 4 have done a superb effort, be sure to YouTube the TV ads if you haven’t seen them yet).
- The transport network has not been accommodated for. There was so much doubt and chaos in the lead up to the Olympics, in the end the transport was fine but with no focus being given to the Paralympics even though the events are sell outs this could be a bit of an issue I feel.
- Royal Mail did a fantastic job of championing our gold medallist Olympians, with special edition stamps and gold post-boxes. To then announce that the gold medallist paralympians were to be given a group stamp for every 10 medallists. Fortunately due to public pressure there has been a u-turn and each gold medallist to be given their own stamp and gold post-box in an equal respect to the Olympians.
- Olympic rings have even started to come down across the country. The signage and displays will not be the same.
There is so much more to this, and it’s just a bit disappointing.
So, to reflect our enthusiasm for the Paralympics we at printMAX are extending our podium prices. Yes, it’s additional marketing and yes, it’s great to extend an offer but it’s also the right thing to do.
Olympic printfails – the medallists
Allow me to be positive…
We absolutely loved the Olympics. The atmosphere in the UK was incredible! The crowds, the athletes, the press… everyone was so excited, and rightly so! We’d pulled it off, a great event and to top it all off Team GB were spectacular, their achievements outdoing every prediction going. They really were the greatest team at the greatest games.
I’m starting with all this optimism only to bring it back down, as Brits we have to be able to laugh at ourselves; it’s practically the law, with that in mind… I give to you my favourite print fails of the Olympics – and there were a lot of them.
With the strict enforcement from LOCOG, the nation was walking on eggshells when it came to what we could and couldn’t display/advertise. Turns out perhaps they could’ve spent their time double checking the print work instead.
1.We’ll start with my personal favourite, an understated print fail. Not widely picked up but oh so effective. It’s such a simple error and a case of poor application rather than a printing error. If only they had taken a step back to look at it.
2. The next one is another understated print fail. Not too obvious and quite easy to do – that doesn’t make it ok. When it was announced that the Olympic tickets were to be outsourced to US printers there was disappointment and outcry from members of the UK print industry. But at least we can say they did a fantastic job… oh…wait.
3. This one is not understated, it made the press seconds after the mishap took place. The first day of the London 2012 Olympics and we manage to put up a South Korean flag for North Korean women footballers. Needless to say they were not impressed; it also led to this fantastic ad from Specsavers.
4. There was a fail from one of the key sponsor’s – Visa. With their outdoor promotions stepping up a gear in the lead up, they didn’t quite do their homework and ended up with a billboard mixing up BMX world champion Shanaze Reade and paralympian Stefanie Reid.
5. A mishap noticed quickly by the press in the days leading up to the opening ceremony came courtesy of Westfield’s, located next to the Olympic Park. When they opened their doors to welcome the world to Stratford their signage may have been a little misleading. The banners in Arabic were completely incoherent following a similar error from First Capital Connect train line.
So I apologise for the cynicism, the games were spectacular, memorable and a real achievement. But let’s face it; we do love it when someone else gets it wrong.
As the Olympic torch is finally nearing the end of its relay, marking the start of the Olympic Games themselves we’ve decided to take a look back at the last 7 months of planning and preparation along with the print potential proven by the Queen’s jubilee and the exciting conclusion to this year’s Wimbledon tennis.
As January began, the whole country was overwhelmed by a constant barrage of the events taking place this year – the Jubilee and the Olympics.
The Jubilee was the first event to bring the country to a standstill, months of preparation went into this year’s Big Royal Event. From street parties and carnivals held by towns and villages nationwide, to the London concert and Thames Pageant, the country was celebrating in one way or another. This led to a huge demand of bunting, flags, banners and pictures of the Queen – all things our customers are able to print using their large format printers. There were hundreds of miles of bunting sold in the lead up to the long weekend, DIY retailer B&Q said it had sold 100,000 metres of Union Jack bunting whilst Sainsbury’s reported sales of 364 miles of bunting and 146,000 flags. Sainsbury’s general merchandise director Robbie Feather said: ‘Record sales of flags and bunting were seen in 2011 thanks to the royal wedding but current indications show that the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is set to far outstrip last year’s demand.
It wasn’t just banners and flags though, there were some larger prints used nationwide to celebrate, From window graphics (this Selfridges one was a favourite http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2012/05/30/baf-graphics-helps-selfridges-windows-stand-out-its-diamond-jubilee-celebration) , a commemorative train wrap on the Jubilee Line (http://london-underground.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/jubilee-wrapped-trains-for-diamond.html) along with the giant building wrap seen from the Thames Pageant (http://www.graphicdisplayworld.com/en/categories/wrapping-world/1151-service-graphics-produces-diamond-jubilee-celebration-building-wrap-). The packaging world also went Jubilee crazy, you can see some good examples of this on one of our previous blogs, “2012: The year to be British, so let’s… put a Union Jack on everything we own” (http://www.printmax.co.uk/blog/2012-the-year-to-be-british-so-lets-put-a-union-jack-on-everything-we-own/) .
Once we all came back to work, put the pimms and the union jacks back in the cupboard we thought that was it until the Olympics, however there was the unexpected surprise of doing relatively well in the Euros and then out of nowhere we had our first British Wimbledon finalist for 74 years. So out came the flags, the banners and some DIY “GO ON ANDY” hats for a 4 day wait when the country thought… maybe we can? Unfortunately the excitement ended there and in true British style we woke up Monday and forgot it had all happened.
With only 2 weeks now until the Olympics start the whole country is getting hyped up again. For 56 days now the Olympic torch has been travelling round the nation, bringing Olympic excitement to towns and villages. Our favourite aspect of the torch relay has to be the great Coca Cola beat fleet. A set of vehicles modified and wrapped by Xquisite Automotive UK http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/olympic-games/coca-cola-beat-fleet.html . There’s been some print controversy surrounding the torch relay – mainly LOCOG‘s regulations on the use of Olympic symbols and logos. Alongside this there have been some issues surrounding the printed billboards, one from their sponsor Visa which misnamed the featured athlete left some organisers red-faced http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9358854/London-2012-Olympics-Visa-left-red-faced-over-Shanaze-Reade-billboard-mix-up-with-Stefanie-Reid.html whilst a graffiti’d BP billboard brought up the issue of sustainability once again, http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/vandals-deface-bp-olympics-billboard-200823142–oly.html .
The opportunities for print companies for the games have been rife but all started uneasily when it was announced that the tickets would be printed in the U.S and flown over. A job that could have been sourced within the U.K, however since that debacle there have been many of the UK print industry brought in to install signage, print billboards, even the skins for the iPads used in TV coverage of the games are to be printed by UK company Diabloskinz.
There are a handful of our network that have seen a direct result from the UK hosting the Olympics with official LOCOG printing, those that haven’t, I’m sure, have been able to monetize the opportunities this year with flags and banners.
If you have any examples of UK companies benefitting we’d love to hear them in the comments below.