Prints you can feel
By Chris Morrison, Kathi Morrison
Because Roland is a leading innovator, we’ve often pondered when it would enter the UV-cure printer market. We questioned if the recent cascade of UV-cure products would cause them to delay, or if it would develop something different.
Roland answered that question at the SGIA ’08 tradeshow show in Atlanta, with the introduction of its new, UV-cure printer, the VersaUV LEC-300.
Specifications
At first glance, the VersaUV LEC-300 resembles a solvent-ink printer that needs Jenny Craig. It weighs 386 lbs.; its width is 86.6 in., and the depth, 32.3 in.; it stands 49.6 in. high. Although it’s big, it’s not that big -- Roland designed it to operate in a normal office environment. The LEC-300’s power requirements are 100 to 240VAC ± 10%, 50/60 Hz (maximum 3.4A), and it draws 320W, when operating.
The five-color, LEC-300 applies cyan, magenta, yellow, black and white ink ; a sixth font holds a clearcoat. The printer features Roland’s new, ECO-UV inks, available in a 220ml cartridge. Further, the LEC-300 accepts media up to .039 in. (1mm); the cutting system’s maximum media thickness is .157 in. (0.4mm).
Media width is up to 30 in. wide
The control panel is both sensible and easy to use. And, similar to Roland’s VersaCamm or SolJet printer/cutters, the controls features a handy, Test Cut button.
The UV-cure difference
Roland targeted the LEC-300 for a particular market, and its engineers knew a traditional UV system, or eco-solvent inks, wouldn’t do the job. The goal? A shortrun, specialty printer that offered owners more market opportunities. Therefore, the machine designers chose an LED-based, UV-cure lamp system and new inks.
UV-cure inks, which don’t require surface penetration, will stick to virtually anything. They also operate with low heat, compared to traditional systems. A filament-lamped, UV-cure printer’s heat may warp some media, and this limits the machine’s versatility. Oppositely, cool-operating, LED-based, curing lamps allow you to print on non-traditional media: plastic sheets, foils, leather, vinyl, metallic or porous media and much more.
White ink allows for printing on clear media and other unique graphics. The clearcoating ink is for special effects. Thus rigged, many items can be prototyped or printed with the LEC-300. Think custom signs as well as specialty markets.
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