German printing press manufacturer Manroland Sheetfed has updated its Roland Evolution portfolio with the launch of Roland 900 Evolution and new models of its Roland 700 Evolution.

Following the success of the Roland 700 Evolution press, launched at Drupa 2016, the new Roland 700 Evolution Elite, Speed and Lite models bear all the hallmarks of innovation, productivity and quality that have been associated with the Evolution name, the company said.

The company said it has infused automation technologies to the latest models. Among these features are Autoprint, which provides uninterrupted productivity from pre-press to post-press at the touch of a button. It is also equipped with InLine ColorPilot 3.0 colour measurement technology for measuring densitometrical and colourimetrical values in a single pass.

"New Triple Flow inking technology addresses specific challenges for large format print, providing three separate ink running modes, while the AC Drive promises annual savings of up to 10,000 kWh – or eight years over the lifetime of the press," the company stated.

As of now, the Roland Evolution comprises Roland 700 Evolution Elite, which is the flagship model; Roland 700 Evolution Speed, capable of 20,000 sheets per hour; Roland 700 Evolution Lite, an entry level model; and a large format Roland 900 Evolution.

Commenting on the launch of the new Roland Evolution line-up, Manroland Sheetfed CEO Rafael Penuela said, “The launch of the new Roland 700 Evolution models and the Roland 900 Evolution is such a special moment for our company. The Roland 900 Evolution is a field-leading large format press, and now with the entire Evolution family this enables us to bring the benefits of our innovative technology to printers worldwide.”

Meanwhile, Manroland India’s managing director Neeraj Dargan has confirmed that the newly-launched presses will be made available in India. Vadodara-based Jash Packaging was India’s first customer of the Manroland Evolution 700, an eight-colour straight printing press with inline coating unit.

"Though we have some installation of 3x900 size presses in India, we don’t see a large market for 900 (Evolution) here in the foreseeable future," Dargan told PrintWeek.

However, the large format Roland 900 Evolution press has seen demand in countries outside India. Dr Peter Conrady, head of global sales, Manroland Sheetfed said, “We are strong in this sector of the market and this was a natural next step in the development of the product line using the proven Roland 700 Evolution platform, and going to the larger format. We are delighted to report we have already sold three ROLAND 900 Evolution presses to customers in Poland, Italy and the USA.”