The Renault Formula 1 team has chosen Roland DG’s new TrueVis VG2 series eco-solvent printer and cutter to produce its prints for the Grand Prix.
Renault has used Roland TrueVis printer/cutters for years at its technical centre in the UK; the machines are employed to produce applications including racing car stickers, support vehicle livery, and hospitality area displays.
The team is currently ranked fifth in F1 standings for the year, behind McLaren and in front of Racing Point BWT Mercedes. Its fifth-place finishes in Azerbaijan and Germany last year lured driver Daniel Ricciardo away from Red Bull to replace Carlos Sainz, joining Nico Hulkenberg.
According to Joe McNamara, head of paint and graphics at the Renault F1 team, the VG2’s extended colour gamut including orange ink has been a big asset to the team.
“One of the first things we noticed was the improvement in the colour matching, because a lot of what we do covers an entire season. It gives us a good opportunity to have a consistent colour.
“It also comes with the new orange swatch which has about a hundred colours in there – yellows and oranges. It really makes our life easy when it comes to matching colours exactly for our corporate sponsors, and also for our own branding on cars, on garages, and on everything we take to races with us,” he said.
McNamara added that the new TR2 inks deliver good bonding and stretching abilities for vehicle wraps, and they dry quickly enough that graphics can be printed, laminated and shipped on the same day. He also praised the VG2’s perf-cut feature and its media clamp.
“What’s really impressive about this machine is what it can do for the price it’s pitched at. To have that colour gamut for that price point is really amazing. I just don’t know how Roland does it.”
McNamara’s full review is in the video below.