Imagine Roland

Date: 25 - 27 May

Venue: Melbourne Exhibition Centre

Sydney, Australia, February 15, 2012 – Roland DG Australia, a leading provider of wide format print solutions, 3D milling and engraving technologies, have announced the regional winners of the Roland Creative Awards. 

Beginning in September 2011, the global competition attracted more than 1000 entries worldwide, and over 100 entries in the South Pacific region. Showcasing their best work produced on a Roland device, entrants were competing for prizes including iPad’s, a trip to Japan and the worldwide grand prize of Roland device of their choice.

Regional winners were chosen by an experienced judging panel made up of VISA President, Mark Tailby, ASGA President, David Hay, Roland DG Managing Director, Marc Margetts, Roland DG Sales Director, John Wall, and Roland DG Business Development Manager, Conrad Birkett. Each entry was judged based on three specific criteria - Creativity, Innovation and Execution.

“The quality of entries was generally very high, and I was impressed with what can be achieved with Roland devices,” said David Hay. “Everyone knows you can print a fantastic vehicle wrap with a Roland, but there were some other very unique and specialised applications that I never imagined would be produced on a Roland.”

The South Pacific regional winners are:

• Regional Winner (1st place): Whites Law Bindery - Mahogany Room Menu Folder’
• Honourable Mention (2nd place): Signs QLD – ‘Shane's Autoglass VW Transporter’
• Honourable Mention (3rd place): Signrite – ‘Holyoake Captiva’

Marc Margetts commented “Thank you to everyone who entered and shared their creative work with the world. Congratulations to Whites Law Bindery for their amazing ‘Mahogany Room Menu Folder’ that was executed perfectly and clearly demonstrates how Roland technology can work together to produce innovative and creative works”.

Whites Law Bindery have won a trip to Japan to compete against regional winners from across the globe for the worldwide grand prize – announced on the 17th April 2012. 

To view the winning entries and over 1000 more creative works from around the globe visit www.rolandcreativeawards.com.

** ENDS **

Developed and fine-tuned by experienced Roland DG product specialists, these full day courses provide detailed lessons on how to use both the standard and advanced features of VersaWorks™. Elements covered include:

• Colour management
• Advanced media & production tips
• Managing and tweaking profiles
• Workflow Automation
• New features in the latest version of VersaWorks™
• Important maintenance that will help extend the life of your Roland printer.

The Academy courses offer an excellent opportunity to expand your knowledge with the most up to date skills, improve business productivity and commercial performance, or cater for new staff as they enter your organisation. The training sessions also benefit prospective clients who attend training sessions, enabling them to see how easy it is to use solutions and hear real-world feedback from other students. 

The courses are on offer throughout Australia and will commence in Sydney and Melbourne as below with dates for Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth to be announced shortly. Don't miss out, register today and mark these dates in your calendar:

• 29th March - Sydney
• 17th May - Melbourne
• 12th July - Sydney
• 30th August - Melbourne
• 4th October - Sydney
• 22nd November - Melbourne

To register, or for more information on Roland DG Academy visit  www.rolanddg.com.au/academy or contact Roland DG on (02) 9975 0000.

RolandClinic

In addition to Roland Academy training courses, Roland DG has been running Roland Clinic days at their Sydney office since 2008.

Roland DG is excited to announce that these Clinics will now also be held in Melbourne every Friday commencing 17th February 2012 - bookings are essential. Product Specialists will be on hand to assist with any specific issues that customers may be facing in their day to day work.

There is no charge to attend the clinics, and they are open to the public with non-Roland users also welcome to attend. Materials, tooling and files are encouraged to be brought along.

To register for Roland Clinic visit www.rolanddgcare.com.au/rolandclinic or call Roland DG on 02 9975 0000 for further information.

Roland DG Celebrates 30th Anniversary with the
ROLAND DG CREATIVE AWARDS

HAMAMATSU, JAPAN, September 21, 2011 - To celebrate the company's 30th anniversary, Roland DG is inviting customers worldwide to participate in its first ever global awards contest.

"We owe our success to our loyal customers and are excited about the opportunity to share their creative achievements with the world through the Roland DG Creative Awards 2011," said Kevin Shigenoya, executive officer and general manager, Roland DG Product Marketing Department.  "Thirty years is a true milestone and during this time our customers have produced some amazing creative work."

The 2011 ROLAND CREATIVE AWARDS are open from September 21 through December 31, 2011 to all users^*1 of Roland equipment around the globe. All entries will be showcased live online at www.rolandcreativeawards.com where anyone, Roland user or not, can participate by voting for their favourite entry to determine the monthly People's Choice winner. For the major prizes, official judges will select winners based on Creativity, Innovation and Execution in each of 14 regions representing 123 countries worldwide. Prizes awarded including:

• Monthly People's Choice Awards - One top entry per region will be selected each month (September/October, November and December), with prizes varying by region
• Honourable Mention Awards - Two honourable mention winners will be named in each region with prizes varying by region.
• Regional Winner - One regional winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for two (2) to Japan^*2 to celebrate 30 years with Roland DG and compete for the global grand prizein April 2012.
• Worldwide Grand Prize - The contest's top entrant worldwide will win his or her choice of a Roland machine -- a VersaCAMM VS series 42"printer/cutter, an EGX-360 gift engraver, a JWX-30 jewellery model maker or an MDX-40A milling machine.^*3

To participate in the ROLAND CREATIVE AWARDS, Roland customers must submit entries online by December 31, 2011. For more information visit www.rolandcreativeawards.com or contact Roland DG Australia on 02 9975 0000.

*1 The contest is not open for some regions or countries. For a complete list of participating Roland DG locations, please visit www.rolandcreativeawards.com/region-list
*2 Trip to Japan includes: Roundtrip airfares, 5 nights accommodation (3 star or similar), transfers, meals and sightseeing for the regional winner and his/her guest.
*3 Prize for the Worldwide Grand Prize may be substituted with an alternative if restricted by the winner's region/country's laws.

Sydney, Australia, September 6, 2011 - Roland DG, a worldwide leader in wide-format inkjet technologies and 3D engraving and milling technologies will be displaying a full range of innovative equipment for the signage, display and graphics industry at the upcoming Visual Impact Image Expo in Melbourne.

On display will be the new VersaSTUDIO BN-20 and VersaUV LEJ-640, which since their release earlier this year, have been in hot demand. "Many sign shops have shown great interest in the LEJ-640 as an alternative to the standard flatbed device," said John Wall, Roland DG Sales Director. "The hybrid LEJ-640 allows roll to roll or rigid substrates up to 13mm thick and also offers amazing special effects that can provide a point of difference for sign writers in today's competitive market."

Roland has also been receiving some good feedback and reviews for the new devices including the VersaSTUDIO BN-20, which is proving popular for smaller signage businesses, startups and custom apparel shops. Standing behind their products, Roland DG believes that people will agree with all the positive feedback they have been getting, and as such are running a unique promotion at this years show - Review, Fly & Win!

Roland DG are asking for a review of these new products, or in fact any Roland product that people have had experience with. "We've had some great feedback on our new machines and we think people will agree with them," said John. "We believe in our products and are keen to find out what people think, whether it's suggestions for further improvements or satisfaction with products, it helps us to know what we've done right and how we can do things better."

As an incentive to participate at the show, Roland are offering a $500 gift voucher, but not for the best comment - "We've come up with a unique idea to gather feedback at the show and also have some fun!" said John "You'll have to come to the show to see how you can win... just check your show bags!" In the meantime, visit www.rolanddg.com.au/features/reviews and leave your feedback.

VIIE will also be the launching platform for the 2011 Roland Creative Awards. After being postponed earlier in the year due to circumstances with the Tsunami in Japan, Roland DG is excited to get the awards program back up & running - "This is an exciting contest to share and reward creativity amongst Roland users and we are looking forward to seeing some amazing creations come in" said John. The Creative Awards starts on 21st September 2011 - visit www.rolandcreativeawards.com for more information.

Be sure to visit the Roland DG stand at VIIE for all the latest Roland products, to get free advice at RolandClinic and for your chance to win a $500 Roland voucher.

The Graphic Arts Services Association of Australia (GASAA) announces Roland DG Australia has become a Bronze Sponsor for the Printovation Awards 2011. The presentation evening will be held in Melbourne on Tuesday September 13.

GASAA has announced that Roland DG Australia, a major supplier of solutions to the Graphics Arts, Design and Technology industries, has become a Bronze Sponsor for the second annual GASAA Printovation Awards being held in September this year. As provided last year, Roland DG will also support the event with significant wide format printing and signage for parts of the event.

“We are delighted that Roland DG Australia has made the decision to continue to work with GASAA in its ongoing support for the 2011 Awards” said Garry Knespal, Executive Officer of GASAA.

John Wall, Sales Director at Roland DG Australia, added “Roland DG is proud to support events such as Printovation which showcase and reward innovative and creative printing to the industry.”

The Printovation Awards 2011, organised by GASAA, will be held in Melbourne on Tuesday 13 September in conjunction with the GASAA PrintCom Expo 2011. Entries are now open for the awards that will cover print works completed between 30 June 2010 and 1 July 2011. More details are available on the website www.gasaa.asn.au.

About the Awards

The Printovation Awards have been developed to recognise innovation, creativity and high quality in print. These awards celebrate and reward Australian print professionals pushing the boundaries of print at a consistently high standard across five categories including wide format, offset/web, digital (non-variable), digital (variable) and general.

The Printovation Awards are organised by the Graphic Arts Services Association of Australia (GASAA), a not-for-profit business association for firms in the graphic arts industry offering creative and print services and supplies. This year’s judges are: Scott Telfer- Managing Director, Southern Colour NSW, Marcus Piper- Joint Creative Director, one8one7, James Cryer- Managing Director, JDA Recruitment, Jackie Connor- General Manager, Digitalpress. Chairing the program is GASAA Executive Member, Theo Pettaras, Digital Press Sydney.

Latest Digital Wide Format Solutions and New Partnerships

Sydney, Australia, May 18, 2010 - Roland DG Corporation, a leading worldwide provider of wide-format inkjet printers and printer/cutters, will be exhibiting at IPEX 2010, held at NEC, Birmingham UK from May 18 through 25, 2010. Visitors will see demonstrations of the latest digital print solutions from Roland DG at booth Hall 12, Stand C-140.

Some significant developments to be revealed at IPEX - the global event for print, publishing and media are several new strategic technology partnerships between Roland DG and digital proofing and Colour Management System companies. These partnerships combined with the Roland VersaUV LEC-330 UV-LED printer/cutters and exciting new Metallic ink solutions with the VS-640 and XC-540MT, will bring leading edge technologies to the graphics industry.

Strategic Partners and Color Management Systems:

• CGS (CGS Publishing Technologies International GmbH): ORIS Color Tuner // Web with ScreenDot halftone option
• EFI (Electronics for Imaging, Inc.): Colorproof XF and Web Control Center
• EskoArtwork (Esko NV): FlexProof and Color Engine
• GMG (GMG GmbH & Co. KG): FlexoProof, and ColorServer

"Integrating a Colour Management System from our strategic partnerswiththe Roland VersaUV series gives our customers more flexibility and a greater capacity to produce labels and packaging prototypes", said Conrad Birkett, Roland DG Business Development Manager. "Using a VersaUV and the CMS will save time and be more cost effective, while maintaining uncompromising quality." "We look forward to the opportunities created in the printing industry from these partnerships."

Colour Management System (CMS)

CMS is a system used to achieve a closer colour match between devices that have different colour gamut, such as offset and inkjet printers. By adopting the CMS into the print workflow, highly accurate and precision digital colour proofing is achievable. Connecting the Roland VersaUV series with the CMS will make it possible to establish a more flexible and accurate colour-proofing system.

Roland VersaUV Series LEC-330

The 30" wide VersaUV series prints on an unprecedented range of substrates and features Roland's renowned Print&Cut technology, which enables precision printing and contour cutting and perforated cutting of graphics all on one device through one seamless workflow. In addition to CMYK and white inks, VersaUV prints a clear coat which can be layered to create gloss and matte finishes, unique textures and special effects. Roland ECO-UV inks exclusively developed for the VersaUV series, offer an expansive color gamut and remain flexible to support the production of packaging samples and short-run high-quality labels and stickers.

For more information or contact Roland DG Australia: 02 9975 0000 - sales@rolanddg.com.au

Roland DG Corporation is a leading worldwide manufacturer of inkjet devices, milling and engraving machines, vinyl cutters, 3D scanners, a jewelry wax model maker and photo impact printers. Roland pioneered the development of Print&Cut technology and today is the number one brand of Print&Cut devices with more than 73,000 sold worldwide.* In addition, the company markets software and other components that provide professionals with complete solutions. Roland DG's "Digital Value Engineering" (DVE) employs the latest digital technology to improve the company's business workflow processes. Integral to DVE, Roland DG has replaced its conventional production lines with a digitally-controlled system entitled Digital Yatai. Roland's Digital Yatai production technology features guided on-screen instructions and other automated systems that enable individuals to produce Roland inkjet printers and other products in an unassisted manner while preventing human errors. Roland DG is ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 9001:2000 certified. The company strives to preserve environmental protection while maintaining the highest quality standards.