Walking around Roland DGA’s new Creative Center I couldn’t help but be surprised by how many products are created, or at least made more visually appealing, using printers and engravers.
Roland is a worldwide printing company with its North and South American marketing and sales headquarters in Irvine. The company doesn’t quite have the household presence of a Hewlett-Packard or an Epson because their products aren’t for your average household or daily user. Their machines are priced in the thousands to tens of thousands of dollars and geared more toward the creative professional. Roland printers, engravers and scanners might be found in the design studios of companies around the world.
The company recently announced their Irvine Creative Center where they display a variety of products made by Roland customers.
“I don’t know that [the Creative Center] would mean a lot to the general public, but to creative people who are looking for tools to explore their dreams, I’d say this is a neat place to give them a lot of ideas,” said Rick Scrimger, vice president and general manager at Roland DGA.
From etched rings to a giant replica flying machine hanging overhead, the variety of products made using printed and etched graphics is surprising. Roland officials said the company’s machines were used to help create the illusion of certain locations in Hollywood movies like Charlie Wilson’s War, Miami Vice and Public Enemies. Even the floors of the creative center are covered in different types of printed graphics that give the illusion of different surfaces, from wood to asphalt. There’s an Xbox 360 wrapped in a colorful dragon and tiger design and a Sierra Nevada beer tap station with labels made by Roland printers. There are drums, shirts, jerseys, walls, bottles, cereal boxes, rings, plates, purses, blinds, refrigerators, sinks, windows, paintings, puzzles, toys and more all made visually stunning using Roland machines. Even braille door signage can be made using engravers. Check out this slideshow of various things made with the help of Roland machines.
One of the more impressive pieces Roland had on display was this toy in the video below, made with the help of a Roland engraver. If you can’t hear the audio, it was created by an Italian toymaker who designed this on a computer and then he used a Roland machine to help cut the pieces:
http://www.vimeo.com/7468886Visitors to the creative center are welcome. Check out www.rolanddga.com for details.
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