Features Printing Sheetfed Offset
manroland Wins Red Dot Award for Evolution

manroland Sheetfed’s new Evolution 700 printing press, introduced in November 2014, was named as one of the 2015 winners of the Red Dot Award for Product Design. The German-based product design competition has existed since 1954 and is regarded today as one of the world’s leading competitions.

This year’s Red Dot Awards program attracted nearly 5,000 entries from 56 countries. Founder and President of Singapore-based Red Dot, Professor Peter Zec, said manroland had showed “uncompromising competency and considerable courage.”

The competition’s jury was made up of designers, academics and journalists from 25 countries. manroland’s CEO, Rafael Penuela, said: “We are naturally thrilled to have won this award. Printing presses are not usually recognized for their design. It’s a tribute to our team here in Germany who conceived, developed and launched the Evolution in just two years.”

Evolution press design
Manroland explains the Roland 700 Evolution press is designed from the ground up and incorporates what the company describes as a futuristic look and new technological developments. Its newly designed central console, for example, replaces buttons with touchscreen panels that provide detailed graphical information – with options for left- and right-handed operation, as well as customization for different operator body heights.

The Evolution press’ new feeder pile transport is designed to provide an upward motion of the pile-carrying plate and improved sheet travel from the feeder to delivery. This leads to fewer interruptions, according to Manroland, less start-up waste and reduced walking distances to the feeder. The company also explains solid fixing of the suction head reduces vibration and wear, while ensuring safer sheet separation and higher average printing speeds.

The press also includes completely redesigned cylinder-roller bearings, while separate bearings for radial and axial rotation provide better absorption of vibrations with fewer doubling effects and, Manroland explains, longer bearing life and significant improvements in print quality.

All-new dampening units in the Evolution press bring greater solidity with fewer roller vibrations during passing of the plate cylinder channel and fewer stripes. Manroland also points to new software for practice-oriented roller washing cycles to further reduce downtime with more precise dosage of the dampening solution over the entire width, reducing the possibility of skewing the dampening dosage roller.

In terms of environmentally progressive design, the press includes a new three-phase AC motor designed to provide high power output with lower energy consumption.

The new press also features a new chambered doctor blade system for producing gloss effects. Manroland explains this system, with additional profile, provides higher solidity over the entire width of the doctor blade, and a more even varnish application. The company states it also features better absorption of vibrations of the Anilox roller and doctor blade caused by passing the coating form cylinder, while also resulting in fewer stripes, especially in combination with pigmented varnish.

Newly developed suction belt sheet brake technology offers higher printing speeds combined with improved sheet alignment and tail edge stabilization. Manroland explains this provides a more even pile contour and reduces the risk of misaligned sheets in the delivery pile.

For more on the new Evolution 700, read Victoria Gaitskell’s feature article, Evolution of the 700, from PrintAction December 2014.