ROLAND 900, XXL: Blockbuster in Large Format
World's largest format-8 press is being assembled
The Schawk company, US provider of media services, is world leader in creating and realizing strong brands. It figures that top printing quality is expected by Schawk's customers in the retailing and film businesses at its printing site, Los Angeles. In future, this will be ensured, in large format, by a ROLAND 900, XXL, with coating unit.
In fact, the press ordered by Schawk is the world's largest in format 8 – eight XXL printing units plus a coating unit, which are now being assem-bled at the MAN Roland factory in Mainhausen, Germany. And it is not by accident that the world-record press was ordered from MAN Roland. What decided the demanding customer was the expertly composed product package encompassing advance consultancy with printing tests at reference-customer plants, a carefully devised chain of processes up to installation, and the comprehensive after-sales service. Top printing quality is the standard required from Schawk: multicolour printing with special colours at high ink density is the order of the day every day in the production of film posters.
Directed by a project manager
At MAN Roland, the task of implementing a press project of such dimensions is entrusted to a central project manager in Offenbach. His counterpart in the USA, in this case, looks after the customer at the site of future installation. This makes for high flexibility in realizing individual customer wishes during the planning stage. In the case of the ROLAND 900, XXL for Schawk, the design and construction of the press is anything but an everyday affair for MAN Roland, as project manager Marc Hinz confirms: "Eight XXL printing units must run without vibration, and print up to 11,000 sheets per hour in true register – this productivity is absolutely on a record-breaking scale. Such performance can only be achieved by close cooperation with the customer, intensive testing and perfectly fabricated components."
Special effects to satisfy customer requests
A project tailored to customer requirements involves many individual specifications. The nonstop delivery of this press, for example, is converted to bundle operation as desired. Each detail is tested, nothing left to chance. For example: cooling devices such as eventually used in the USA have to be specially provided for the tests in Germany. In the end, Schawk itself will test-print the press in Mainhausen. Because high standards of quality and absolute reliability of delivery are of paramount importance – the entire process chain is geared to these essentials.
Happy end is programmed
Competent consultancy, flexible project management and the best in printing quality – like MAN Roland, Schawk has been steering its business successfully by these criteria. Not only Hollywood's film industry but customers in all parts of the United States appreciate this attitude and the highly motivated work of 235 employees. To meet Schawk’s requirements is a real dream part for the eight-colour ROLAND 900, XXL, the largest format-8 press in the world.
