Roland DG will tour regional Australia with its new 'Mobile Imagination Centre' (MIC) over the next two years, bringing its technology and applications to locations beyond the big smoke.
The tour will kick off in Albury, NSW, on February 13, before heading to Dubbo and Bathurst. It expands on the concepts of the Roland Creative Centre in Sydney and RolandClinic in Sydney and Melbourne, bringing similar showcases and support services to customers outside major metropolitan areas.
"The main drive was how we get to our customers in remote and regional areas, and offer them some of the services that they might not otherwise be able to access without travelling," said Greg Stone, Products and Marketing Manager Roland DG Australia.
The MIC will include a Virtual Reality headset, which will allow attendees to take a virtual tour of Roland DG Creative Centres from around the world. The headset will also provide a view of the new TrueVIS VG-640 large-format inkjet printer/cutter being manufactured at the Roland factory in Hamatatsu, Japan.
There will also be samples of Roland print technologies that Greg Stone hopes will inspire both new and existing customers. "The samples cover all our print technologies, from traditional ecosolvent to dye sublimation to UV. With the latter two categories, we'll be showing things from textile and apparel to personalisation – the personalisation market’s huge across multiple industries from homewares to giftware to sport. The list goes on and on," he said.
In addition, the 'With Roland' competition will allow Roland DG clients at each location to submit samples, photos or videos of work created with Roland equipment.
Roland DG soft launched the MIC at its Frenchs Forest office in Sydney on December 5, showing off the concept to Roland dealers and print media. Clients can follow its progress and request additional locations on its website.