Starleaton has taken the first Australian order for the new Roland CAMM-1 GR series vinyl cutter, released only in early March. The customer is Signs Unique Installations of Artarmon, Sydney, which has also ordered a new OKI ColorPainter and Rollover flatbed applicator from Starleaton.
“The installation of the new Roland GR cutter so soon after its release is a statement of our intention to be right at the forefront of innovation and progress as we expand sign production capabilities to add to our installation services,” says Signs Unique managing director Andrew Brown.
Having relocated from Mascot to Artarmon, Brown and his growing team of ten have established a separate business named Unico Creative to focus on sign production as an adjunct to the very successful Signs Unique Installation business that works together with other sign producers and major national brands such as David Jones, Star Casino, Hungry Jacks, Witchery, Saba, Cue and others.
The company has established a reputation as the most reliable sign installer for larger contracts that can involve challenging heights, locations, council regulations and OH&S issues. “We project manage all of that,” says Brown.
“The installation side of the business is not competing with our sign production customers,” says Brown. “Our production capacity is a fraction of most of those; but there are some jobs that require an end-to-end approach where we must control the sign manufacture, logistics and all-important installation work. It’s like project management and can become quite complex in a multi-site roll out of a new brand image or start-up.”
The new futuristic-looking Roland cutter at 64” width, is the largest of the new range and was chosen to closely match the size and speed of the new OKI ColorPainter printer. At 1,485mm/s it is claimed to be the fastest vinyl cutter in its class. Both perforation and contour cutting are supported and increased downforce of the blades means that denser materials can be cut. The construction is robust and all operator controls are via the LCD panel, which can also remember jobs from the Roland CutStudio software.
“We chose Starleaton because they could offer a total solution along with great advice and knowledge,” says Brown. “When re-kitting from three different manufacturers, this is very important. Next on our shopping list is a roll-to-roll laminator, also from Starleaton.”
Starleaton will demonstrate Roland, OKI and other equipment on stand E30 at PacPrint, May 23-26, Melbourne Exhibition Centre.