Drytac’s Polar Grip polymeric self-adhesive PVC film is the ideal solution for digitally printed signs or graphics. Ricoh Europe recently used the vinyl to transform the look of two of its machines at its European Customer Experience Centre in central England.
Ricoh regularly invites partners and clients to its European Customer Experience Centre. Those who visit the location can view a range of Ricoh machines in action and see the quality of print they can achieve working with this technology up close. Recently, the communications team elected to take this a step further and decorate several machines to not only help catch the eye of visitors but also to showcase what is possible with the printers.
Ricoh’s various printer models have an avatar, with the idea of the wraps to reflect this name. For the recent wraps, Ricoh chose to decorate its RICOH Pro Z75, which is known as the Dragon, and the RICOH Pro VC80000, which carries the avatar of Harpy Eagle.
Ricoh selected Drytac Polar Grip as the material for both printer wraps. The high bond grey adhesive of the film allows users to apply graphics to a wide range of surfaces such as metal, plastic, wood, glass and brick.
For added durability and safety, Ricoh paired Polar Grip with Interlam Emerytex Pro, a pressure-sensitive overlaminating film featuring a matt pebble texture, seven-year indoor and outdoor longevity, and multiple fire, slip, and FDA certifications.
‘We selected Polar Grip because the paint job on both the Ricoh Pro Z75 and Ricoh Pro VC80000 have a textured finish, so wanted to be sure of a good adhesion of the vinyl,’ said Shane Barrett, Pre-Sales Manager, Inkjet Solutions, EMEA High Speed Inkjet and Large Format Print at Ricoh Europe Graphic Communications.
The designs were printed in-house by the Ricoh Europe team on a RICOH Pro L5100e latex large format printer before being applied to the two machines. Both wraps were installed ahead of the manufacturer’s Print Evolution Live 2025 event which took place in mid-November.
‘The print quality on Polar Grip was perfect using a generic PVC profile on our Pro L5100e and fed through the printer without any issues with perfect tiling and panel alignment for the installers,’ Barrett said. ‘The initial reaction internally and from visiting clients was that it looks very impressive. And thanks to the support from Drytac, we were able to find the correct products for this impressive application.’
MIDCOMP
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consumables@midcomp.co.za
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