Roland R-World Online | Fall 2007

United Kingdom Hydrographic Office Maps Out The Future With Major Installation of Roland Wide-Format Inkjet Printers

SOMERSET, U.K. – The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) recently upgraded its internal Print-On-Demand (IPOD) operation with six new Roland wide-format inkjet printers. Roland was chosen based on the breadth of its product line including a range of robust, high-quality and flexible wide-format printers. Roland was also selected for its strong commitment to excellence in customer service. The new Rolands have replaced twelve Epson wide format printers at UKHO – and, according to UKHO managers, are outperforming them by every measure.

As the world’s leading supplier of nautical charts, the UKHO Admiralty brand provides specialized products and services to mariners worldwide. In 2003, the organization decided to complement its traditional litho production with wide-format digital printing, initially investing in Epson printers. The UKHO production team continued to keep an eye on developments in the market and following a review of printing technologies in 2006, the decision was made to invest in Roland.

One of the thousands of mariners charts produced by UKHO on Roland inkjet printers.

According to Paul Kelly, UKHO production manager, “The UKHO operation is quite unique in both the nature of its products and the demands these products place on the print production process. The organization has an immensely strong and internationally respected heritage and has been charting the world’s oceans for over 200 years. As such, we needed to find a wide-format printer manufacturer that could work with us to find a solution for our unique set of requirements.”

The organization’s charts are used by commercial sea-going vessels and the Royal Navy and are critical to both. Whenever a change to the chart is required, a new version has to be produced as quickly as possible. When important changes come into the UKHO they are first officially authenticated by a data management team. Immediately, the team issues a “Notice to Mariners” to update that chart. When new charts are required, the UKHO has 24-48 hours to print and finish them so they are ready for purchase and distribution.

“With over 3,500 chart stock lines, we are receiving changes and corrections on an ongoing basis,” Kelly said. “Our Roland POD wide-format printing operation is ideal for charts at both ends of the spectrum – from those detailing the very busy shipping routes that require constant amendments, to charts that may require only a very low volume run at any given time. It is much more economical for us to print both types of jobs on a Roland wide-format inkjet printer than on a litho machine. This is where the Roland technology really shines.”

Paul Brown, UKHO technical manager added, “Roland was very proactive and helpful right through the sales, installation and post-sales process. Thousands of sea-going vessels and companies rely on our operation, so we needed to ensure the transition to the new Roland machines was as seamless and efficient as possible and that the quality and consistency was there from the start.

James Hobday, sales manager for Roland, and Paul Brown, UKHO technical manager.

Having a range of reliable, high-quality, Roland machines with Print-On-Demand capacity has now given us real flexibility in terms of balancing forecast sales against printed product in stock. It is also ensuring that small-volume and high-correction jobs are both provided when required in the most cost-effective way for the customer and ourselves.”

Brown says all the Roland machines underwent an extremely comprehensive test period earlier this year and had a number of challenges to overcome to ensure the UKHO could move its work to the new printers. “Our file formats, for example, are very unique and the Roland team worked very hard with us right through the testing and installation phase to ensure the smoothest possible transition to the new system,” he said. “We had to make sure all our exacting requirements were achieved for color profiling, quality and substrate compatibility.”

In addition to the printing itself, all charts, which come in three sizes, require a very specific sheet cut-off. With the new Roland machines the UKHO is now able to start printing immediately rather than having a bleed both at the beginning and end of the chart.

“The standard software required us to run a 100mm bleed per chart,” Kelly said. “When you consider that the average charts are 1.3 meters you are potentially reducing around ten percent of the paper waste per chart if you can remove the bleed requirement. Over the course of the year the costs involved can be significant. Roland supplied us with improved software to remove the bleed requirement.”

Kelly notes that Roland machines are extremely robust, even under high-demand conditions, and are estimated to give The UKHO up to five years’ service. “This longevity is very impressive and considerably greater than other printers on the market. Our Roland printers run 14 hours a day, five days a week, and the consistent print quality is outstanding. In terms of output, the six Roland machines are achieving the same output levels as the twelve wide-format printers they replaced. So we’re very pleased with our decision.”

Kelly continued, “The new Roland printers have given us complete flexibility in our IPOD print operation and are a crucial support mechanism for our main in-house litho operation. At 54 inches, the width of the machines will provide future opportunity as the demand for the IPOD side of our business increases.” The operation also includes two Luscher fully-automated CTP systems, MAN Roland and Mitsubishi presses and a brand new KBA eight-color perfecting press.

According to James Hobday, head of sales for Roland DG: “The UK Hydrographic Office is a great example of a commercial printing organization that has carefully and successfully looked at its current and future needs and had an open mind about the technologies available on the market to serve these needs. The Roland printers are enabling it to offer the best, most efficient services to its customers without compromising on any of the qualities that have made the brand so strong over all these years. Paul Kelly and his team have embraced wide-format digital inkjet technologies and recognized the complementary role they can play in the production of their Admiralty charts to support their high-volume litho print operation.”