The decorative concept dates back to ancient artwork and has, in modern times, evolved into personalisation, made possible thanks to the evolution of technology. Roland, among others, will be discussing this topic at Print4All, where the company will be presenting an extensive range of solutions.
Decoration is an age-old art that meets the needs of mankind to embellish all that surrounds him, in particular the objects. Over time, the relationship between the signifier and meaning of embellishment has changed, in the same way that the techniques and technologies used to embellish have evolved, yet the primordial instinct to pursue beauty - aesthetic, emotional and functional - has remained the same. Today, objects are still being decorated to make them aesthetically more appealing, charge them with emotions, impress with a symbol or code, functionalise the surface or transform - to the eye and to the touch - more humble media into value-added products. Nonetheless, the maximum expression of decoration in the 21st century is known as personalisation, or rather - to be more precise - mass personalisation.
The idea of value is in fact finding a whole new dimension in this century. The consumers can now choose products that have been tailored to their needs and tastes and aspire to be an integral part of the making of this new offer. In a way, they are aspiring to shift the focus from ‘making the product’ to ‘making the product with me’.
In this context, where do technology and printing fit in? The former developed so quickly and so thoroughly, so as to provide us with the means to collect and process an impressive amount of data. This enables us to gain an insight into the consumers - their tastes, expectations and desires - and to understand what they really want, as well as the products or services that will interest them in the future. It therefore becomes possible to specifically anticipate the contemporary consumer’s desire to possess personalised objects that are unique and exclusive in appearance. The printing industry instead represents the means par excellence for the decoration and refining of objects. Its evolution has allowed us to broaden our horizons as regards all that is decorative. Silk-screen and digital printing - separate or assorted - is used to obtain special and meticulously studied effects on various different materials and surfaces of all shapes and sizes, opening the way for a progressively rich form of creativity. With inkjet printing in particular, in addition to providing maximum creative expression, it is possible to manufacture in different versions and in small and extremely small lots, as required by the personalisation phenomenon.
Roland, a company that has already confirmed its presence at Print4All, is one of the key players in the personalisation industry. Roland is proposing a vast range of solutions that enable the personalisation of objects, from cutting plotters to printing and cutting plotters of the TrueVis series to UV-LED flatbed printers of the Versa series, designed to print directly on diverse objects and materials, such as telephony accessories, technological articles, photographic products, trophies, souvenirs, sports clothing, fashion and so much more. And the objective? To enable print service providers to differentiate themselves through personalisation, intended as an added value to offer their customers.
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