The ROLAND 200: A Versatile Multi-talent
The Best Alternative In The Small Format Class
The ROLAND 200 has been available as a unit-design press for seven years. With its particularly interesting price/performance ratio it provides middle-sized printing companies mainly working with small and very small presses with offset technology otherwise only found in medium- and large-format presses.
Printing companies who need to offer a wide range of products in short to medium run lengths on many different substrates must be flexible, and this is where the ROLAND 200 shines as a genuine multitalent.
A clear sheet size advantage
The ROLAND 200 has a sheet size double that of B3-plus presses (520 x 740 instead of 350 x 520 millimeters) but can be made ready just as fast or even faster than the smaller class. This is because the ROLAND 200 offers automation features that are unique in its category: automated plate changing, automatic remote stock thickness and register adjustment, ink slide presetting via Jobcard or by an optional online link to prepress, remote controlled inking, QuickChange Surface ink fountains with a specially coated surface for fast and easy cleaning, right up to automatic blanket washers. Then there is an inking-up program for even shorter makeready times with less substrate waste. All this permits the very shortest runs to be produced economically.
Big business with small runs
Very short runs can be a good business with this “bread and butter” press as Winfried Bender, Managing Partner and founder of W. B. Druckerei in Hochheim am Main, Germany, confirms: “For little more than the price of a long B3-plus press we got a six-color ROLAND 200 with double the sheet size.” With some run lengths as low as 500 to 1000 sheets and an average run length of 10,000 sheets, this company is more concerned with fast plate and color changing. However, the maximum speed of 13,000 sheets per hour is more than sufficient for the 60,000 runs that are produced from time to time.
Substrate flexibility
The ROLAND 200 can process the widest range of substrates in its class. Short-grain or long-grain is not an issue – negative effects from the “wrong” grain direction are virtually ruled out thanks to the double-diameter impression cylinders and Transferters.
Winfried Bender: “The press has already printed short-grain carton 0.5 millimeters thick without any problems.” The same design as the ROLAND 500, 700, 900 and 900, XXL results in outstanding substrate flexibility. Materials from 0.04 to 0.8 millimeters thick can be printed without any scratching or smearing. Carton printing is facilitated by cardboard wheels on the Transferters, a cover frame at the infeed and the rear-edge guides above the impression cylinders. The cardboard wheels stabilize the carton sheets and prevent them from slapping against the Transferters.
The compact press
When they are looking for a multicolor press, small printers with limited space often opt for the 35 x 50 cm format. However the ROLAND 200 only needs about the same floor space as a 35 x 50 cm format press but has twice the output. It is very compact: the two-color version is 3.6 meters long, the four-color 5.4 meters. To save space the digital press control with remote controlled inking and other operating elements are integrated in the compact delivery where inspection sheets can be placed on the transparent safety glass cover. Even the dimensions of the six-color press at W. B. Druckerei don’t take up a lot of space: 7.2 meters long, 2.9 meters wide and 2 meters high.
“Big press” inking unit technology
The 15-roller inking unit taken over from medium- and large-format presses ensures premium print quality. The timing of the distributor roller stroke and lateral play of the four oscillating plate inking rollers effectively prevent ghosting.
Another measure to counteract ghosting: the three oscillating rollers in the five-roller damping unit. The ROLAND 200 is the only press in its class for which different characteristic curves can be selected for speed compensation in the damping unit. This makes sure that the damping solution film is always constant. With these features the ROLAND 200 offers stable and consistent production and provides value well beyond its price tag.
Added value sheet for sheet
Value Added Printing with the ROLAND 200 as well? Of course: with the five- and six-color versions print varnish can be applied over a four-color job, and inline finishing is possible with a perforating and die-cutting module integrated in a printing unit. Optional IR and UV dryers are avail-able for more complex enhancement and so virtually any need can be met.
Two-to six-color versions
Die ROLAND 200 is available with two, four, five or six printing units. Maximum sheet size is 520 x 740 millimeters, minimum is 210 x 280 milli-meters, and maximum image area is 510 x 735 millimeters. RCI (Remote Controlled Inking) is standard equipment and this can be upgraded with ColorPilot smart to a full color control system.
The ROLAND 200 is the ideal press for small and medium-sized printing companies. On a minimum of floor space it provides high print quality and twice the output of B3-plus presses. It also offers the flexibility to handle unusual jobs with the widest variety of different substrates.
