Ink World Interview: Roland DG’s Ryugo Nimura

As one of the leaders in the digital printing and ink segment, Roland DG is well-positioned to determine the latest trends in the field. Recently, the company launched numerous new products and is making headway in the industrial printing field. Ryugo Nimura, Roland DG’s executive officer of global sales & marketing, offers his thoughts on the state of the digital printing market.

Ink World: What led to Roland DG’s plans to expand into the industrial digital printing segment?

Ryugo Nimura: First, it’s important to confirm what we mean by “industrial” printing, which we define as printing that happens within a manufacturing process. It could be for making of a wide variety of goods, but regardless of the end product, there are significant opportunities for print providers and buyers to improve their efficiency, expand capabilities and ultimately grow their businesses.

There is significant demand for printed output across a wide variety of manufacturing workflows that require high-volume or highly specialized direct-to-object printers, such as for electronics, consumer products, medical parts, packaged goods, automotive parts, and many other verticals. Like we’ve shown with our success in sign and display graphics, Roland DG offers full solutions, beyond just the printer itself, which help our customers achieve their goals, and in doing so, we create new growth for our business.

While Roland DG’s existing VersaObject UV flatbed printers, such as the benchtop MO Series and large-format LO Series, are great for short-run customization and personalization, solutions suited for high-volume or high-mix production in manufacturing environments have a different set of requirements to complement current analog processes such as pad printing or screen printing. Our solutions enable users to reduce labor and set up costs, increase flexibility, lower inventory, improve quality, reduce waste, and increase profitability.

These were all factors that led to Roland DG’s decision to expand into industrial printing, and we’ve done so by adding technology such as LSINC high-speed cylindrical printers, the RC-300 Series rotary printers, and the IO-300 flatbed printer, along with the software, supplies, and support such workflows require.

Ink World: Hasn’t Roland DG been involved in this segment prior to this announcement?

Ryugo Nimura: We have offered UV flatbed printers for many years, but those devices were primarily designed for creating one-offs, short-runs, or signage in print shop environments. While we still offer those products, our recently announced industrial devices, including the LSINC Peri Series, RC Series, and IO-300, are designed for object decoration within specialized production workflows, and in some cases capable of handling higher unit volumes as well as short runs.  These solutions, combining the printer, supplies, software and support, are designed to serve manufacturers who need repeatable results, automated workflows, and integrated components for consistent production.

Ink World: What are some of Roland DG’s technologies that are ideal for this space?

Ryugo Nimura: Below are brief descriptions of Roland DG’s new offerings for the industrial printing market:

• LSINC Peri Series High-Speed Direct-to-Object Rotary Printers (available now)

The Peri Series by LSINC includes a family of direct-to-object printers designed for high-quality, seamless 360-degree printing on bottles, cans, jars, and other cylindrical, tapered, or contoured objects. Roland DG’s offerings include the PeriOne Single Helical Printer, the Perivallo360M Contour Printer, and the PeriQ360 Quad-Helical Production Printer. All incorporate advanced digital UV inkjet and helical printing technology that allows for consistent, wraparound graphics on glass, plastics, metals, and more – at speeds that suit everything from short, personalized runs to high-volume production.

• VersaObject RC-300 Series Cylindrical UV Printers (available second half of 2026)

Designed by Roland DG specifically for one-off or short-run personalization and customization of bottles, drinkware, cosmetic containers, and other cylindrical or tapered items, the new RC-300 and RC-300c enable users to produce premium results quickly and efficiently in-house.

Both models allow for 360-degree direct printing onto a wide range of cylindrical and tapered objects. RC-300 is built for printing onto opaque objects such as beverage bottles and cans, tumblers, glassware, and cosmetic containers, while the RC-300 is optimized for transparent and translucent items like glass bottles for spirits and wine.

• VersaObject IO-300 Industrial UV Flatbed Printer (available second half of 2026)

The new IO-300 direct-to-object printer is unbeatable for high-mix, small-lot, product decoration. It’s the perfect choice for manufacturers and decorators adapting to increasing product variation, shorter runs, and faster turnaround demands. It prints directly on a wide variety of substrates and parts, including electronics, toys, industrial parts, and more, and offers a B2-size print area for efficient batch production.

Ink World: Along those lines, what are some of the benefits of the Hard UV ink?

Ryugo Nimura: Roland DG developed EUV-H as a new industrial-grade UV hard ink specially formulated to provide outstanding durability and performance across demanding industrial and commercial applications. It’s designed to produce more robust, premium output and open up opportunities for businesses to expand into high-value markets with confidence and scale.

EUV-H combines flexibility with lasting performance and delivers unsurpassed scratch, chemical, and weather resistance, making it unbeatable for customized, short-run production and allowing for reliable results, even in challenging environments.  It also reduces the characteristic odor associated with UV printing, helping to create a more comfortable working environment. In addition, EUV-H does not contain nickel, SVHC, or CMR substances, supporting compliance with key environmental and safety standards.

Compatible with rigid substrates like plastic, glass, and metal, EUV-H enables high-quality decoration across a broad range of materials.  A newly developed primer ink further enhances adhesion, enabling users to confidently produce durable, high-quality output for applications ranging from parts and electronics to packaging and promotional products.

As part of Roland DG’s broader ecosystem, EUV-H can be used with existing devices within the VersaObject product family, such as the MO Series benchtop UV flatbeds, as well as soon available VersaObject printers like the RC-300 Series cylindrical UV printers and the IO-300 industrial UV flatbed printer.

Ink World: How is Roland DG well suited to make gains and support customers in this field?

Ryugo Nimura: Roland DG has a successful history of making previously complicated processes simple, through digital technology solutions that include the printer hardware along with software, supplies, and support. We have a proven reputation for building devices that professional users can rely on to run their businesses, day-in and day-out. We also have a valuable network of resellers who provide an added level of distribution, service, and support.

Roland DG solutions provide scalable software, hardware, and support that can easily mesh with an existing manufacturing workflow and successfully meet an operation’s future needs as the company grows.

Ink World: What differentiates Roland DG from other companies in the industrial digital printing segment?

Ryugo Nimura: While we’re certainly not the first digital printer provider in this space, Roland DG brings a culture and company structure that allows us to be big enough to develop innovative, high-quality technology solutions, while being small enough to care about each customer and provide the full solution they need to succeed. Given that each manufacturing workflow and end-user application is unique, this segment requires that we and our partners provide solutions that work for each customer. That support sets Roland DG apart, along with the highest quality, reliable products that empower users to make a positive impact in their business.

Ink World: What feedback did Roland DG receive at FESPA 2026?

Ryugo Nimura: Our experience at FESPA, where we publicly showed these devices for the first time, confirmed a few things we already understood. While the many wide format print providers who attended FESPA found our industrial products exciting, and saw opportunities to diversify their own business, the use cases and workflows for these devices are different from those which sign and display providers are most familiar with.

So, while these products certainly offer opportunities for PSPs to grow, they must be prepared to develop the workflows such applications require. Which is why it’s important for our buyers to know they’ll get the support they need from Roland DG and our partners. We also recognize that these products are well suited for a variety of other verticals beyond a printing show, where manufacturers – not just print providers – look for solutions. So, we’re participating in those markets as well.