sales for EMEA at Roland, Geert Van den hole, says that tests have been done that produced suitable levels of detail for wine labels, though the machine can’t be used with self-adhesive label stocks because of the heat required. The CMYK inks are water-based and the structural ink, which is jetted first, is a type of eco-solvent. Both come in 500ml cartridges, and the inks are dried as part of the heating process needed to activate the foam expansion, which depending on the media can require temperatures of between up to 380°C. At the time of writing, there are 17 media types available, supporting expansion height of up to 2mm, with plans afoot to further increase this to 3mm. They all come with the necessary certifications for use in domestic environments, including fire retardant characteristics. The newer media types are backwardly compatible with existing DIMENSE printers, and, more usefully for prospective new customers, various standard substrates suitable for use with aqueous can be used for CMYKonly printing in the DA-640, so the machine can still be productive even when not producing jobs which require the raised relief effect. In terms of productivity, the DA-640’s standard mode for ‘dimensional’ jobs runs at about 8m2/hr, dropping to 4 to 5m2/ hr in highest quality, which uses up to 16 passes. There is also a ‘fast’ mode that uses nine passes. The baked or cured material is cool enough and dry enough as it emerges from the printer to go straight into cutting or any other finishing process. The current media range includes nonwoven textiles, PVC-free rolls, and some thicker substrates up to 2mm (before the expansion). There are silver and gold metallics included, and it was interesting to note from samples that the metallic effect stays on the surface of the expanded layer, doing a fair substitute for metallic ink. Van den hole also notes that CMYK colours can be mixed on the silver substrate to achieve gold or other metallic colours. A feature of the new unit is that separate printheads are used for the CMYK and structural inks. This is said to overcome maintenance issues with cross-contamination of inks, in which both were jetted from the same head, and makes printhead cleaning a simple matter of wiping. The heating system, which uses ceramic plates automatically controlled across 14 zones, has also been improved for consistency, simultaneously reducing warm-up time from around 40 minutes to 15 or less – while also reducing power consumption by around 50%. Feel the Workflow A key aspect of using the texture printing capability is preparing the artwork for it. The DIMENSE DA-640 ships with a version of Roland’s VersaWorks RIP software that contains dedicated functionality for this. The raised texture effect is essentially binary – it’s either on or off, no intermediate options – so it can be controlled via a one-bit TIFF file or equivalent contained within an artwork PDF. While creating these might be something that could be done in the prepress studio, many prospective customers for what the printer can produce won’t be skilled in this, so Roland has included a variety of tools that enable multiple textures to be applied within the artwork, based on simple predefined repeating patterns or generated automatically from the underlying image content according to its colours. A 3D previewing capability is also included, which can also represent how the textures would appear using the gold or silver substrates. In terms of applications, Roland is thinking wider than just conventional wallcoverings, extending the texture printing capability to shorter-lived purposes like exhibition and event graphics, or consumer items like canvas prints with texture effects. Van den hole comments: “Everyone who sees the samples wants to touch them”, he suggests that the combination of samples and the RIP’s 3D preview capability could be used to create a walk-in kiosk-type service for consumer sales. The DA-640 sells for €51,000 (£44,763) which includes the VersaWorks RIP and a Bofa air filter. Any fumes released during the media heating and expansion process are not harmful, according to Roland, but the filtration system is built in anyway. Van den hole says the printer was the “eye catcher” at FESPA 2025 and the company hopes to sell 25 units by the end of 2025, and “many more” in 2026. Given the novel creative opportunities that the DIMENSE technology offers and the more robust and easy to operate package that Roland has wrapped it up in, it’s not hard to predict that this will help inventive printers exceed their targets. Print Width: 1615mm on 1625mm rolls Raised Texture Depth: Up to 2mm fixing Ink Set: Aqueous CMYK plus eco-solvent ‘structural’ ink. Suitable for internal décor use Print Resolution: From 600 x 900dpi to 900 x 1200dpi Print Speed: From 4 to 5 m2/hr in high quality mode, including foam expansion and drying Statistics ▼The DIMENSE printers were originally developed by Lithuanian company, Vieka www.signlink.co.uk ▲The press features two Epson printheads UNDER THE HOOD | ROLAND DIMENSE DA-640
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