Roland Wins Japan IT Management Award

Hamamatsu, Japan, February 13, 2003 – Roland DG Corporation today announced that its Digital Factory won the prestigious "Japan Information Processing Development Corporation (JIPDEC) President's Prize" at the 2003 Japan IT Management Awards. This award is hosted by the Japan Industrial Journal with sponsorship by the Japan Business Federation and the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The Japan IT Management Awards are presented to leading companies as well as to small and medium-sized enterprises which have realized outstanding success in management efficiency, cost reductions or new business creation through the innovative use of IT. The JIPDEC President's Prize won by Roland honors a company in manufacturing, construction, housing, transport, trade, distribution or services that developed a proactive IT system which successfully improved efficiency in such fields as R&D, production, procurement, logistics, quality control, marketing and maintenance, while also stimulating smaller companies to utilize IT by demonstrating a successful new business model.

"Roland has been utilizing the Digital Factory to facilitate improvements throughout the manufacturing processes, from product design, prototyping, purchasing, part-processing, and inspection to production," said Masahiro Tomioka, President, Roland DG Corporation. "Taking full advantage of Information Technology and 3D/CAD data enables a single worker to consistently build a high-value product from start to finish," continued Tomioka. "Recognizing changes in the business environment, we have developed the Digital Factory to meet multi-product, variable production, to improve quality and to shorten the production process. With this enhancement of IT infrastructure, the true IT revolution is beginning."

"We are thrilled to win this year's DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out," said Rick Scrimger, Roland North and South American Marketing Manager. "This award is a huge testament to the color accuracy and photographic quality of Roland Pro II technology."

Roland Pro II Series printers and printer/cutters combine variable droplet technology with print resolutions up to 1440x1440 dpi for unrivaled color reproduction. The six-color inkjets excel at printing fine art and photography, and matching spot colors. They can also print up to 28m²/hr (300 sqft/hr) at 450 dpi for the production of signs, exhibits and POP displays. Large 1.3 x 5m banners take only 14 minutes. (30-sqft banners take only six minutes.)

FJ and CJ models use Roland pigment ink to print brilliant, archival photographic and fine art reproductions. Ongoing tests at Wilhelm Research indicate over 100 years indoor print permanence with Roland pigment inks (available in CMYK LcLm or OG). They can also use Roland dye-based inks (available in CMYK LcLm) to print lush intense color at a lower price.

SJ and SC models use Roland SOL INK - the unique, low-volatile ink used by SOLJET and SOLJET Pro II printers and printer/cutters. SOL INK (available in CMYK LcLm) provides excellent outdoor and UV durability and is ideal for printing outdoor-durable banners. All Roland inks come in sealed 220ml ink cartridges for easy, no-mess handling.

Roland DG Corporation (TSE symbol 6789) - First Section, Tokyo Stock Exchange
Phone: +81 (0)53-484-1201 / Fax: +81 (0)53-484-1216