Looking back since its purchase of a Roland wide format VersaCamm just over a year ago, Cubic Digital says it has been able to expand its product offering.
The Southampton-based print shop has been in operation for 15 years. The business has built up a reputation for providing high quality promotional products, such as posters, flyers and booklets, to bars, beauty salons and churches around the country. Starting off life as a traditional commercial printer the company has integrated cut-sheet digital printing to its portfolio eight years’ ago.
It beefed up its armoury again last year, installing a Roland wide format VersaCAMM VS-540 printer/cutter alongside a Heidelberg B3 litho press and Konica Minolta digital press. This has enabled it to further expand its product offering, and move confidently into new markets and reduce its dependence on outsourcing wide format work.
Owner Stuart Joseph said, ‘The investment in the Roland was to ensure we had a more robust and versatile printer that would reduce outsourcing, and in turn help the company increase profitability. The VersaCAMM is a great complement to our litho and cut sheet digital presses and means we can offer our customers a complete portfolio of printed products under one roof.’
The printer replaced an Epson inkjet printer, which was not giving the company the freedom and flexibility they needed from a wide format machine. Mr Joseph said, ‘With the old machine, the types of graphics and applications we could print were fairly limited, as were the materials we could print on. To maintain the viability of the business, we needed a more productive, long-term solution. We researched the market when we looked to purchase a new wide format machine and the Roland brand and its technology stood above the rest.’
The printer can handle a wide range of substrates, including adhesive vinyl, and can use Eco-Sol Max inks, which comes with a metallic and white option.
The team now produce banners, point of sale displays, vehicle graphics, window graphics and signage for shop counters, all of which are new offerings to customers. The white ink has been a particularly valuable asset for the company, allowing it to create opaque accents on signage and posters.
The printer is available in four different sizes of 30, 42, 54 and 64 inches wide and has a choice of four ink configurations. It is an easy to use unit for creating visually stunning applications. The VS series also benefits from additional features such as unattended printing, which gives users the option of carrying on with other duties safe in the knowledge the printer will send an alert to their computer or smart phone once it has completed the print job or if ink is low.
Also included with the VS series printer/cutter is Roland’s VersaWorks RIP software. Mr Joseph concluded, ‘The estimated ink use feature in the VersaWorks software is great, as it means I can make more accurate quotes to customers. I also renewed the Silver RolandCare warranty after the first year. The unit has been very reliable so I haven’t had to use it that much but it’s a brilliant safety net to have and on the one occasion I had to call out an engineer he was very helpful and got us back on track straight away.’
