Roland Dimense DA-640: First Impressions
Digital surface printing is nothing new. For a few years, Roland and DIMENSE have been improving the technology behind their textured printing solution, starting with their Dimensor S printer. The improvements in this specialized printing have culminated into their latest product; the Roland Dimense DA-640. A more compact model than the Dimensor S, this new machine produces the same textured effects that have dazzled at trade shows and open house events. Advances in newly developed print heads and specialized media for unique color applications set the DA-640 apart.
At Vibrant Print Solutions, we were understandably very excited to get our hands on this new printer. We’d be in the position not only to demonstrate the printing process, but also to develop a process for creating designs for it. As I write this, we’re now five weeks into printing with the DA-640, and I feel familiar enough with the machine to give my thoughts on printing on it, designing for it, and everything in between.
Printing on the Dimense DA-640
The DA-640’s ability to produce vibrant color with a CMYK ink set is not to be taken lightly. This printer has a surprisingly large gamut, highlighted even more when paired with a complimentary media. When I designed a mural for one of our showroom walls, with a heavy use of fully saturated blues, I was preparing for the printer to show its limits during my test print. But I was pleasantly surprised with the results, pictured below.
More than any other printer, the media makes or breaks the quality of Dimense prints. After running through a couple of rolls of test material during our open house event, I was impressed by the results of the Pearl Type II specialty media. It produced a considerable amount of puffy texture, with an interesting pearlescent effect that added a lot of character to our prints. The library of media, from chameleon to gold and silver metallic, gives designers the freedom to create wall prints that are impossible to replicate on any other printer.
Designing for the Dimense DA-640
If you’ve ever created a spot color layer for clear or white ink, you know basically everything you’ll need to know to start creating files for the DA-640. Keeping in mind that your spot color (“S” for structure) is meant to be applied where you don’t want texture applied, you can see this process as the inverse of a clear UV buildup layer. It’s recommended to use Photoshop, or a comparable raster-based image editing software, to create the structure layer, as you can utilize a spot channel to quickly generate your special layer. I’ve had great success building files in Illustrator as well, but this process requires much more in terms of planning out your design.
I’ve learned a few tips after creating around 30 designs for the printer. Firstly, you want a pretty equal line density for your textured and untextured patterns. If there’s too much discrepancy in line thickness in a densely packed, you’re likely to see your textures become muddy and indistinguishable. I would also recommend playing with curves and threshold in Photoshop, accenting areas in your design to stand out better. There’s also no such thing as too much texture; I’ve had as many as four different texture masks in one design to fill in empty areas and give even more dimension to your prints.
Final Impressions
The team and myself were very impressed with the results from the DA-640. From wrapping our showroom wall with a full texture vector design, to creating art prints with realistic brush textures, this printer was able to exceed our expectations. The part I enjoyed the most was getting to experiment with the process firsthand; designing intricate patterns and seeing how that translated to the final print. For fine art applications and interior decorators, the DA-640 will be particularly innovative as a tool for virtually endless creativity.
Right now, we have a demo model of the Roland Dimense DA-640 in our showroom, ready to produce test prints for our customers. We welcome you to see the printer’s full potential in person, where you can feel the difference that the DA-640’s texture can add to your business.