Roland DG announces first IU-1000F Large-Format UV-LED flatbed printer

Roland DG Corporation announced its first IU-1000F large-format UV-LED flatbed printer designed to meet the diverse needs of sign and display shops with break-through performance. It was unveiled at Viscom Italy this week and will be showcased at and PRINTING United in North America from 23 – 25 October.

According to Kohei Tanabe, the President of the DP Business Division, the IU-1000F boasts break-through speed and quality while also eliminating the need for mounting and drying processes. “It is a powerful solution for the sign and display or print production business that seeks more efficient and faster-turnaround production capability. By offering increased productivity, material compatibility, image quality, ease of use, and all the other aspects of this product, I am confident that the IU-1000F will achieve increased profitability for printing businesses,” he said.

Equipped with 12 high-performance printheads in a staggered 3-row arrangement, the IU-1000F can print up to 635 x 1,800 dpi with variable droplet technology which can simultaneously fire three sizes of droplets at high speed. Printing time for a typical 1,220 x 2,440 mm size rigid board averages about 15 boards per hour in the everyday ‘Standard’ print mode for typical point of purchase display applications. About 10 sheets can be printed even in the ‘Quality’ print mode that provides high image quality.

The IU-1000F employs UV-LED flatbed printing technology to print directly on various material types, including rigid boards up to 2,510 x 1,310 mm size and 110 mm thickness. The exclusively-developed, high-performance UV inks cure immediately, enabling the IU-1000F to print on a wide range of substrates, including acrylic, PETG, PVC board, foam board, PC, wood, corrugated polypropylene board, aluminum composite plate, and even on metal and glass that are generally difficult to adhere to by using primer ink.

Moreover, it features a number of new functions that support efficient performance, including an ionizer that removes static electricity, a flexible flatbed mechanism that can handle materials of various sizes from one large board to multiple small panels, and media alignment pins for easily aligning materials to be printed.

In addition to CMYK, the IU-1000F supports White and Gloss inks to create a wide variety of applications, from producing impressive and highly-profitable sign graphics to custom-designed interior decoration.