Essex-based visual communications specialist, Group 101, continues to go from strength to strength thanks to its trusty Roland SolJet Pro XC-540. The company was founded in 2006 and has steadily grown into a large visual communications business over the last nine years, providing a vast array of sign and graphic materials to businesses and customers throughout London, Essex and Kent. The company’s founder and director, James Sahota, places the long-running success and growth of his business firmly with the Roland machine and is the latest participant of Roland’s “I’m a Roland User” campaign, which shows the diversity of Roland’s customers and the positive impact purchasing a Roland machine has had on their businesses.

Group 101 has had its XC-540 for over six years and James has nothing but praise for the build and quality of the machine. The XC-540 is the oldest printer in the company’s arsenal, but James comments that it is the most reliable and the company’s strongest performer. “Our XC-540 is now in its sixth year and it’s still a dream to use. The Roland’s ability to print onto just about any substrate has opened so many new markets and allowed us to offer a much broader range of products to our customers. We’ve put many different substrates through the Roland and it’s always coped brilliantly – it just re-calibrates to print at the optimum mode which gives us the confidence to get even more creative!”

Group 101’s services include exhibition and retail signage, banners and logos, stationery printing, personalised clothing, vehicle livery and vehicle wrapping. The company also uses Roland’s Eco-Sol Max inks which boast fast drying times and durability. James praised the quality of Eco-Sol Max inks for helping bring life to the company’s applications: “We’ve always used Roland inks. The colour gamut is excellent and the final product always looks rich and vibrant which is important in such a competitive commercial environment as this helps to set us and our customers apart.”

And, when comparing Roland’s offering to his recent investment in latex wide format technology, James is very clear on his views.  “We invested in a latex machine because we were told there is an increasing demand for prints using latex inks as opposed to eco-solvent – especially in the medical sector. As this is a sector we do a lot of work for, we decided to bring one in, but it’s been one of the worst business decisions we’ve made. We’ve found this ‘industry demand’ for latex printing to be rather overinflated. There is also, in our experience, an increased cost that comes with owning a latex machine. The print heads need to be changed after every 1000 millilitres of ink that passes through the channels – a process that is expensive and time consuming. Our Roland is still on its original print heads and in my view, a far more versatile unit than the latex.”

All Roland printers also come with Roland’s own VersaWorks RIP software which helps to guarantee total synergy between workflow, machine and inks, resulting in an outstanding printed product. The easy-to-use software allows users to input files, edit if necessary and then send to print. The software is compatible with many leading design packages, such as CorelDRAW? and Adobe Illustrator?, and the latest version VersaWorks includes a Pantone colour library and a spot colour replacement feature. 

Rob Goleniowski, business manager for signs and graphics at Roland DG, UK comments, “It’s fantastic to hear James is having such a great experience with his Roland machine. As a company, we invest a lot time and research into ensuring all our products have the reliability and performance our customers need for their business. Receiving positive feedback, such as that from James, is a great endorsement for the brand and we look forward to continuing our work with Group 101 in the future.”

James from Group101 and other Roland users will be joining Roland DG and their stand (G30) at this year’s Sign and Digital exhibition (30 April – 2 May, NEC Birmingham). James will be available to give first hand advice on how his Roland machine truly performs day in day out.