3M Australia Pty Ltd and Roland DG Australia Pty Ltd today announced the release of the industry’s first alliance warranty program, offered when combining products from these two leading manufacturers.
The 3M Alliance Component System (ACS) Warranty covers the entire finished graphic. The ACS Warranty has been created to provide graphic manufacturers the comfort of knowing their work is backed by a comprehensive warranty, supported by both 3M and Roland DG.
It is an illusion to believe that a graphic, after it has been manufactured and applied, will stay in pristine condition for years. It is only natural that graphics deteriorate and can fail over time. The primary causes of graphic failure include UV radiation, abrasion, environmental pollution, and chemical or structural changes to the material itself; however the failure often does not appear until months or years after application.
The precise cause of the failure may be very difficult to determine, especially when a combination of materials from different manufacturers has been used to produce the graphic. The consequences of this loss in quality can be enormous, such as lost
productivity, costs for down-time and loss of image for the brand.
The durability statements that are usually made in the industry refer only to individual components such as ink, film or the coatings. This means that when materials from different sources have been combined, it is often difficult and time consuming in the event of failure to determine the causes and to settle the damages.
The ACS Warranty covers a broad range of 3M films that have been tested, from short to long term applications, printed using a range of Roland DG qualified print and print/cut solutions using ECO-SOL MAXTM inks. The warranty covers:
- Stability of the film substrate
- Bonding strength of the adhesive
- Consistency of print quality
- Easy film removal (when a removable version has been chosen)
“This is a fantastic quality assurance program for the end user” says Gino Farina, Business Manager -Commercial Graphics Division 3M. “The ACS provides that additional comfort level that so many customers demand today in a competitive world
and allows the printing company to further warrant their work to their customer”.
“Roland DG is proud to be a technical partner in this industry leading initiative”, said Marc Margetts, MD Roland DG. “The 3M ACS further expands upon Roland’s philosophy of delivering warranted and high quality solutions to the market.”
Testing protocol includes a range of both mechanical and physical measures designed to ensure your graphics perform for the warranted durability period. The testing for durability is completed using both indoor accelerated weathering and actual outdoor
weathering for each film and ink, performed in 3M’s state-of-the-art facilities using a variety of temperature and humidity extremes.
This rugged battery of performance testing, plus the support of both 3M and Roland DG, is your guarantee of graphic performance. So if you own a qualified Roland printer and use 3M films, you now have the opportunity to provide your customers
warranted graphics, providing you both real peace of mind.
For further information and to view a list of 3M and Roland DG qualifying platforms please click here.
