Interview
Samuel: And like you said, your stand was busy, by the look of all the things you had on show there, and some of the announcements. So what sort of products was it that you had on show? Stephen: Well, the list is long, which is a good thing, I think. We were obviously showing our core product range and the VG4 being the latest version of the TrueVis eco solvent printed cut machine. But alongside that, we were previewing a bunch of new technologies. The AG640, which is the world’s first latex print and cut machine, was on show. Very excited about that product and its possibilities. It’s actually a cut and print machine because it works the other way around because of the drying process. So, it’s pretty unique in the market.
Lots of interest from dealers and potential customers. I think we had something like 20 orders already at the stand and it’s not really even ready for sale yet. It was more of a preview, but that shows the level of interest. So that was fantastic.
We were previewing a new product for cylindrical printing or bottle printing, the RC300, which is Roland DG technology, a lot of interest in that machine.
And also the IO-300, which is the latest flatbed from Roland DG using the same ink technology, but we’re also previewing some new hard inks that are going to be released in September, with increased durability and scratch resistance.
We had the EU2 1000MF on display, which is our largest flatbed printer for art board and other applications. And we were also showing the L-SINC product range, which is a strategic partnership that we’ve entered with a manufacturer based in the States. And effectively, it’s a large capacity bottle printer that will handle multiple bottles. So with all of that, there was a lot to talk about.
Samuel Tell me about some of your new software updates you had on show too. Stephen: We continue to make life easier, I hope, for our customers and certainly reduce friction points with our VersaWorks software. We’re on version 7 now and the great thing about that is that it connects all machines. So, regardless of which ink technology, it can connect all of those machines together and help to automate workflows.
Alongside that, we have a platform, Roland DG Connect, which is effectively a sort of Internet of Things approach. But we’re
building out further software modules within DG Connect, including Print Automate, but also DG Connect Designer, which is a lighter weight version of a design package. People that are familiar with Adobe will find it, fairly easy to use, but certainly the plan is for Roland DG to increase the number of offerings in the software side to make workflow automation improved and just make life easier for operators worldwide.
Samuel: Brilliant, we’ve covered a lot. You touched on some of the feedback, but I wondered, was there any points of feedback that stand out to you from the show?
Stephen: I think what we saw was a huge amount of energy at FESPA on our stand. Employee engagement was fantastic. We had lots of new products to talk about, which was great, but also the kind of unifying theme was our new brand and everyone was wearing the branded shirts with the tagline on the back of those shirts, alongside obviously what we had on the stand. And so, I think for me it was really a very positive event with a lot of energy and that was great.
The COVID years and those awkward events that we went to were, it was really difficult post-lockdown. I think we’ve, transformed into a world that’s way more exciting. It was great. You know, Barcelona also has a bit of an attraction. Being that part of Spain, easy to get to as well and so, I think the organisers, kudos to them, it was it was well planned and well attended.
I think the main message is, more to come from Roland DG. It’s an exciting time for us, going through a lot of change as a business.
We’re introducing more and more new products and getting into new technologies and new markets. And I think the thing that is interesting about Roland is, we don’t just bring printing to new industries, we bring new industries to printing and we continue to do that with our increased focus on industrial markets and industrial products. So yeah, really exciting time.
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May/June 2026
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