During the print process, successive plate changing between two job runs is time consuming and eventually increases the overall makeready time. Under current recessionary times, higher productivity levels are essential to meet the stringent deadlines of demanding consumers. Shorter runs, hard-fought prices and increasing demand for quality require the flexibility of quickly changeable printing systems. Engineers at manroland AG are conducting stringent comparative test runs on Roland machines under identical job conditions to measure the makeready time of individual presses and their productivity levels as well.

The study revealed that under identical job runs, the Roland 700 DirectDrive was the most productive press with the shortest makeready time. It is equipped with ‘Directly driven plate cylinders’ and fully ‘Automated plate changing system’ (APL) allowing printers to change plates simultaneously in up to twelve printing units.

These unique features in the Roland 700 DirectDrive can reduce makeready time by up to sixty percent as compared to a conventional sheetfed offset press, thus making every printer multi-tasking capable. One of the biggest advantages is that all the plates in the press can be changed in only one minute regardless of the press configuration, thus in effect no time at all is needed for plate changing (zero time plate change) making it the fastest press clearly ahead of the competition. The revolutionary technology of this press was also honoured with the 2007 German Printing Industry Innovation Award and is an important component of manroland’s ‘Value Added Printing’ strategy.

“This Roland 700 DirectDrive is ideal for processing multiple job runs across paper and cardboard especially with short runs. With its revolutionary DirectDrive technology it can help printers significantly improve production time. We are confident that the product will do very well in the Indian market,” said Neeraj Dargan, general manager (sheetfed), manroland India.

Other unique features of the press are its ‘Quick change’ modules and ‘Electronic print length correction’. Under quick change; the press can start an automated sequence of makeready steps preselected by the printer and stores all previous settings thus functioning without any further operator involvement and increasing productivity levels especially for repeat jobs. The ‘Electronic print length correction’ enables the operator to correct the print length during production which avoids time-consuming addition or removal of underpacking sheets in the printing unit.

Print quality is an enduring competitive advantage in the printing industry and the Roland 700 DirectDrive is uncompromisingly designed to provide unmatched quality standards. Its high performance inking units characterized by fast reaction and a large storage capacity for stable inking over the entire run ensure advanced quality.

The Roland InlineObserver and Roland InlineInspector in this press work together to enable monitoring of sheet travel by using 27 cameras thus ensuring optimal settings and detecting even the smallest faults at full speed. The press is powered by a unique AirGlide Delivery which produces perfectly even stacks at high press speeds, owing to the particularly flat sheet ascent and long sheet stabilisation path. Optionally, the Roland 700 DirectDrive can also be equipped with a single or double coating module for a wide variety of enhancement applications. With the extremely precise chambered doctor blade system, the coating layer is exactly metered.

Flexibility features:

Sheet selection: the Roland 700 DirectDrive offers greater flexibility in sheet selection as compared to regular sheetfed presses. High substrate versatility: in terms of substrate versatility, the press can process 0.04 millimeter thin paper up to cardboard one millimeter thick, as well as PVC foil. Quickchange colour: it provides a re-start sequence reducing substrate waste and flexible ink flow control. Modular concept: the configuration possibilities of the Roland 700 DirectDrive are virtually unlimited, from four to twelve printing units, short and long perfectors, plus inline configurations with coating modules and quality control systems.

Technically, Roland 700 DirectDrive features - maximum sheet format (mm): standard format 740 x 1040 (715x1020 image area) and optional special format 740 x 1050 (730x1030 image area); and substrate thickness range: 0.04 to 1mm.