The 3m-plus press is due to go into the companys Walthamstow plant next June and will replace either one or two of its existing MAN Roland 800s.
It will bolster a lot of work that is currently silk screened with more out-of-the-ordinary poster printing on specialist plastics like polypropylene, said Gary Doman, national sales manager for MAN Roland GB.
The machine can produce 12,000sph in sizes up to 1,300x1,850mm, covering an area of 2.41m2. Its rival, the KBA 204, goes up to 2.5m2.
But on extensive trials and with that sort of investment, the Roland performed well within the criteria the firm needed to produce the work, Doman said.
He added: Roland made the terrible mistake of dropping out of the [large-format] market some time ago and we have now clawed back our position.
Recent jobs for Delta Display, part of Delta Group, include 12,000 banners for the film Die Another Day and material for Spider-Man.
The established Roland house also has Lschers JetScreen and Creo Trendsetter VLF Quantum platesetters. It is extending its factory to accommodate the extra equipment.
MAN Roland recently sold a size-eight 900 XXL press to King Printing in Osaka, hailing it as the first modern sheetfed offset press in Japan that can profitably print large-format posters.
Story by Jez Abbott
