Commercial Printer Discovers Product Diversity and Dividends with Integrated Roland Printer/Cutter Solution

Commercial Printer Discovers Product Diversity
and Dividends with Integrated Roland Printer/Cutter Solution

London, United Kingdom – Before investing in its SOLJET Pro III XC-540 digital printer/cutter, London-based Woodrow Press had a solid portfolio of clients whose typical requests included lithographic and digital production. The shop's desire to cater to these larger demands and to evolve its services into a one-stop offering has given Woodrow the true hybrid mantle it can claim – and nobody has been more receptive than the clients, who can now take advantage of the company's wide-format, precision cutting capability.

Being able to offer a broader range of output methods means that Woodrow Press has extended its range of chargeable services for customers, who are mostly marketing firms who require campaigns across several formats and media. Extending into wide-format has helped the company improve profits, with its ability to produce indoor and outdoor banners, signs, vehicle wraps, decals and POP displays to a phenomenally fast and accurate standard.

"The Roland SOLJET PRO III XC-540 is an excellent extra source of revenue and has turned out to be a very successful investment," explains Paul Ramsay, who heads sales and marketing for Woodrow Press. "It was a natural extension for us. We’re heavily experienced in digital and offset printing and feel there’s no sense in restricting ourselves to a single output method. On top of that, we have always found that our clients appreciate being able to fulfill all of their printing needs through a single supplier that they trust and have an established relationship with."

Roland SOLJET PRO III XC-540

"The majority of the work we produce on the SOLJET is for point-of-sale purposes and this is where the cutting function really comes into its own," adds Ramsay. "Profile cutting graphics adds a lot of value in the eyes of the customer and the machine will cut virtually any shape." With the print and cut functions integrated on the XC-540, the need to incorporate a separate printing unit is avoided, and has expedited Woodrow's production process.

Woodrow Press has discovered the cost effectiveness of wide-format and its ability to plug in next to existing services, providing an excellent return on investment. Wide-format printing has a lower capital outlay than lithographic and other digital production technology and starts to make its money back immediately – a vital advantage over competitors in belt-tightening economic times.

"The SOLJET PRO III XC-540 has earned its reputation for ease of use and we recommend it as an ideal first wide-format machine for commercial printers," advises Mat Drake, print product manager at Roland DG (UK).

Woodrow Press is one of several XC-540 owners who have taken advantage of a free upgrade to Roland's Intelligent Pass Control™ technology. The addition allows for enhanced gradients and flawless image quality at greater production speeds, lending new versatility to an already gutsy unit. Automatic take-up and advanced media feed can be upgraded with an optional dryer/blower unit, and the printer itself can be supplied as a 5-color model. This configuration equips the SOLJET with white ECO-SOL MAX ink, creating bold white graphics for packaging comps, window graphics and POS purposes.

"Woodrow Press is proof that wide-format inkjet provides commercial printers with the perfect opportunity to increase revenue and move one step closer to becoming a true one-stop solution," offers Drake. "The demand from an established customer base is already there for commercial printers. In an industry where profits are being squeezed relentlessly this technology presents a real opportunity for improved margins through genuine growth rather than stringent cost cutting."

"The output quality is exceptional and the machine has been able to do everything that's been asked of it, with absolutely no hint of any downtime yet," considers Ramsay, whose machine was supplied with Roland’s standard warranty. "The XC-540 has allowed us to offer more to our existing clients and thus resulted in a significant boost in revenue."