A few months ago the Make it in Design team headed to Roland DG’s UK headquarters with a dozen talented designers to learn about the latest print, textile and 3D technologies and exciting surface pattern design applications. Our Sales and Marketing Manager, Lisa Moncrieff who organised the event tells us more…
Watch our Designer Day video!
XT, VG, RF, BN, GX, SV, RT, DWX, MPX, MDX, EGX… these may sound like rare chemical elements in the periodic table or letter combinations you’re left with at the end of a game of scrabble but in fact they are the model names of some impressive products produced by Roland DG.
Roland DG is a fascinating and forward-thinking company. Born out of music (whenever I mention this, and in particular Roland keyboards, people nod and say ‘ah-ha, Roland…’ because the penny has dropped!), Roland is also a leading global manufacturer of wide format digital printer, engravers and 3D milling machines… stay with me – it’s far more interesting than it sounds!
I first heard about Roland DG in 2005 when I was offered the position of Marketing Executive at their headquarters in Clevedon, near Bristol. This was my first introduction to the world of print and no matter where I go or what I do I am always drawn back to it. It’s an ever-evolving and intriguing industry and I love that it pushes creativity to its limits.
The products it manufactures are used by some of the world’s largest, most famous and cutting-edge brands
Roland DG manufacture machines to support all sorts of cool and interesting industries – textile, interior design, greetings, packaging, sports wear, TV & film, jewellery, fashion, sign & graphics, fine art, promotional gift, education, product design, automotive, aviation, dental, engraving, medical, and 3D modeling, to name but a few. The products it manufactures are used by some of the world’s largest, most famous and cutting-edge brands but unfortunately, due to NDAs and other confidentiality agreements, they can’t share details or give away any trade secrets!
I left Roland DG in 2015 to join Make it in Design and it’s been a pleasure to introduce Roland to the design community. If you are keen to manufacture your own products, personalise objects, or push your artistic boundaries and turn your artwork into something new, it’s worth investigating what kind of printing products, 3D and engraving technologies are on the market and exploring how you could use them to set yourself apart from others or take your business to the next level.
It was this that motivated Make it in Design to join forces with Roland DG and put on a ‘Designer Day’ at their headquarters. We invited numerous surface pattern designers from our community to watch Roland’s machines in action and learn about the latest developments and applications with a view to inspiring them to start their own new and exciting projects in the future.
A fun-fuelled, pattern-filled day to remember!
Our Designer Day started with a warm welcome by the Roland DG team in their inspiring Creative Centre – a purpose-built playhouse bursting at the seams with the latest devices and ingenious applications.
Roland printers have many different uses and new markets and applications are emerging all the time. Typically their wide format digital printers are used for outdoor and indoor graphics including: stickers, decals, labels, t-shirt transfers, point of sale displays, photo prints, signs, posters, small format signage and vehicle graphics. Their flatbed printers can print anything flat and directly on most materials, which means that items like tables, furniture or even fence panels can be printed with pattern. Then there are dye-sublimation machines, which are generally used for interior décor, textiles, apparel and fabric signage and their LEF printers can print directly onto objects to custom brand merchandise, promotional items, awards, giftware and much more besides.
We were delighted to have Joe Wigzell, Roland DG UK’s academy and creative centre manager, as our host for the day. I was fortunate to work with Joe for many years and I’ve always admired his ability to see creativity and opportunity in everything. He is a truly inspiring guy, with a great sense of humour, who can spark crazy new ideas with every conversation.
Joe guided our group from machine to machine explaining how each one works and what it’s capable of. We discussed the typical and unique outputs; all the different things designers could take advantage of, such as special effects and ink types, the range of materials that can be used; and markets. Rachael Taylor kindly gave Roland DG access to some of her bold and colourful designs, and these were used throughout the day for demonstrations.
I’ve been in and out of Roland DG’s world for over a decade and it can be pretty mind blowing. Getting your head round all the different product names, types of inks and configurations, finishes and effects, and RIP software and materials can be a challenge. Luckily, as a designer, you don’t necessarily need to know the ins and outs of all this – that’s your printer’s job! What it is useful for you to know though is:
- What kind of printers, techniques and applications are on the market
- How you can use them to get the results you want or set yourself apart from the competition
- What the benefits are
- What the limitations there are and how these could affect your design process and the end result, for example if certain colours are more difficult to achieve in certain print processes on different materials.
- Cost
- Timescale and availability i.e. where can you find a printer who has the equipment to do what you’re looking for (trade shows are great for finding this out) and how long do things take to turnaround.
Surface Pattern Designer Jan Olive, from Jan Olive Designs joined us on our Designer Day and she was impressed by what she saw. “Without knowing how all these print processes work and what types of materials you can print onto, you’re held back a little by your imagination,” she commented. “Today has opened the door to possibility. Knowing what can be done before I start the design process will give me all sorts of new ideas.”
Today has opened the door to possibility. Knowing what can be done before I start the design process will give me all sorts of new ideas.
We made our way round the Creative Centre taking in the patterned applications these machines made possible; tailored suits, snowboards, jewellery, a grand piano, wallpaper, bathroom tiles, stickers, floor mats, window graphics… the list goes on.
One of the highlights for all of us was seeing a car being wrapped in one of Rachael’s beautiful patterns by James Deacon of Bigger Stickers. James is an expert vinyl wrapper and he has travelled the world teaching his craft and attending high profile events to demonstrate his skills. He also runs a vehicle wrap course at The Roland Academy. It was at this point we stopped to do our first ever Make it in Design Facebook Live, which you can watch here:
We were joined by Andy Dudley mid-session who’s a whizz on Roland’s 3D and engraving machines. He kindly demonstrated Roland’s range of milling machines, impact printers and engravers and showed us an array of beautiful products like jewellery, hipflasks, cutlery, and keyrings which he’d decorated with Rachael’s patterns. 3D pattern design is super cool and it’s yet to be fully explored and embraced by pattern designers.
Many surface pattern designers start manufacturing their own products after designing their own fabrics and thanks to companies like Spoonflower, Fashion Formula and Society6, printing on all sorts of fabric is easier, more accessible and more cost-effective than ever. No wonder then that our group loved getting up close and personal with Roland’s textile printers!
Using Rachael’s patterns, we explored the process of printing on different materials from cotton to canvas and polyester to velvet. We laid the printed materials side by side and it was interesting to compare how the thickness, texture, and finish of each affected the final look.
Over lunch designers had the opportunity to chat to Rachael Taylor and ask Joe further questions about the things they’d seen. I think everyone was blown away by the thought that their designs can literally be applied to anything and everything!
The Make it in Design team continued to work long into the afternoon – conducting interviews, filming the machines in action, and taking loads of photos – in order to deliver even more new and exclusive content in our Module 3: Monetising your designs module about manufacturing your own products.
After the event Rachael Taylor said: “I had such a wonderful time at the Roland DG office learning about fascinating new applications for surface pattern design. I loved being able to share the day with designers from our Make it in Design community and take our new found knowledge back home and share it with those taking The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design e-course. It was wonderful to see how pattern design can be used with other Roland DG technologies, like their engravers and 3D milling machines, as well as their digital and textile printers. Watching a car being wrapped in one of my patterns was a real experience and seeing a number of my designs on ceramic tiles has sparked a new bathroom renovation project!”
We’d like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of the Roland DG team who helped make our Designer Day such a huge success, and especially to Joe Wigzell for hosting such a fabulous creative session. A special thank you too to the amazing designers who joined us for the day too – it was lovely to meet you all. We hope this thought-provoking event will push creative boundaries, spark lots of new ideas and inspire some amazing new design projects.
Connect with Roland DG: Website (UK) | Website (global) | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn
Watch our Designer day VIDEO
(& get exclusive new content in April’s Module 3: Monetising your designs class!)
Our latest Module 3: Monetising your designs class has already started. Join us before registration officially closes on Thursday April 27, 2017. If you miss this class our next one will take place in September 2017. We hope you can join us
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