The automotive industry is one of the most competitive in the world, with brands in a constant tussle to be innovative and remain relevant. But within this tussle, Royal Enfield stands out as an ever-present name in the space, having the longest-lived motorcycle design in history - and they aren't just stopping there!
As Royal Enfield continues to innovate, they have found the need to develop high quality prototypes that aid them in their testing and trialing phases. And this is where they enlisted the help of Roland DG to facilitate high quality printing output into their trial and development phase.
Opening opportunities
The motorbiking mammoth is now making use of Roland DG’s premier UV-led print and cut machine, the TrueVIS MG-640. With the machine, Royal Enfield has been able to utilise available ink configurations to meet their development needs - producing brand accurate colours and expanding into different gloss and texture effects.
Speaking on the expanded colour gamut that Roland DG has brought to Royal Enfield, Darline Vogel, Creative Lead at Royal Enfield said: “The MG-640 series has opened up a world of opportunities for us. Utilising the UV printer, we have been able to expand our colour remit whilst exploring different textures and increasing our special effects capabilities. What we have been most pleased with is the ability of the printer to replicate pantone colours perfectly.”
Need for speed
The demand for Royal Enfield’s bikes globally is never ending, and with this omnipresent demand comes the need to fulfill it. The business needs to develop models in a timely manner, and this means that any printer they use needs to have a quick turnaround time.
The MG-640 has a high level of output, with a quick turnaround, and a reasonable cost of operation, giving Royal Enfield the option to facilitate high speed printing that can be monitored at will. The staggered formation of the printheads, new UV-LED lamps and the instantly cured UV ink, mean businesses like Royal Enfield can increase their print frequency - saving them time and money.
Darline pinpoints this as the key differentiator in Royal Enfield’s present printing process to their previous one, saying that: “the UV-LED lamps within the machine give it a faster drying capability, which means that we can keep momentum in our development process. This is key for us if we want to keep efficient in getting products to market in a timely manner.”
Keeping an eye on the printing process was essential for Royal Enfield, as they tend to run shorter runs in bursts. This is where they have been able to utilise Roland DG Connect—giving them real time access to important data about print jobs as well as their business. The on-demand data has enabled them to save on print runs and alter the structure of their runs to fit them.
Discussing the printing needs of Royal Enfield, Darline explained that “Roland DG Connect has been a game changer for us. We have been able to monitor efficiency and report on our cycles - understanding where we can make changes to our design process.”
Looking to the future, Darline sees the partnership with Roland DG being a long term one, sharing how “she is looking forward to experimenting further with the MG-640 and seeing just how far it can go.”
