The membership-based, shared-factory Makers’ Base provides a unique service that has become a trending topic on social media in Japan. The service utilizes Roland DG's BT-12 direct-to-garment printer that is designed specifically for printing on cotton-based fabrics to enable customers to print out Japanese bento lunchboxes they designed themselves onto tote bags and other items.

In our previous blog we spoke with a customer using our new TrueVIS VG2-540 wide-format eco-solvent inkjet printer/cutter as part of their business operations. Miyaart Graphic, located in Shinjuku in Tokyo, is involved in the production of signs, panels, wallpapers and many other types of graphic arts projects for cultural facilities like art galleries and museums. For this blog we chatted with Miyaart Graphic president Yoshinari Miyata (pictured above).

Roland DG hosts various events at stores and other facilities to provide as many people as possible a unique creative experience for bringing their ideas to life using our digital tools like UV printers. These events are not only held in Japan, but are also increasingly being organized abroad. This report is about a workshop event recently held at a shopping complex in Taiwan.

Japan’s 11th community-based workshop Fab Lab DAZAIFU is located in Dazaifu, Fukuoka. This fab lab is unique in that it is operated by a private organization – GooDay, a chain of home improvement stores around northern Kyushu. Among the various digital tools available is Roland DG’s LEF-12 UV printer.

Located in Suruga-ku in Shizuoka, Giken Co., Ltd. is a distributor of wide-format inkjet printers and media used for signboards, and is also a professional sign maker with its own printing business. It was one of the first companies to begin using Roland DG’s new TrueVIS VG2-540 wide-format eco-solvent printer/cutter that was released in March 2019. We interviewed Masahiko Matsumoto, the president of Giken, about the printers being used at Giken.

Roland DG’s custom vehicle – first unveiled in February 2019 and equipped with our digital tools to give visitors unique, fun experiences like creating their very own accessories – has been given an official name: COTOVAN! It recently made its first mobile workshop tour to several GooDay home improvement stores located around northern Kyushu in Japan.

The dream trip of a lifetime is now a reality for a former Bosnian war refugee and current Arizona sign shop owner Mladen Mirkovic. Mirkovic was the winner of the Grand Prize in Roland DG’s Discover Roland/Explore Africa Contest – an all-expenses paid, luxury African sightseeing safari for two.

The Honda Welcome Plaza AOYAMA located on the first floor of the Honda AOYAMA Building in Aoyama, Tokyo, recently displayed a customized Honda N-VAN minivan which gave visitors an opportunity to express their own sense of style using Roland DG’s digital tools including a UV printer.

Miyuki Inc., better known as Miyuki Acryl, is a well-established local fabricator with a studio-gallery in Kita-Ayase in Adachi, Tokyo that machines and fabricates various items such as accessories from acrylic. Passionate about expressing the beauty of acrylic, Miyuki Acryl sells its own brand of acrylic materials and uses Roland DG’s LEF series UV printers to decorate them.

FabCafe Tokyo in Shibuya, which was previously featured in this blog, has kicked off a new project aimed at supporting young designers.

andMade.kitasando, a makerspace for handmade, fashion-oriented goods located in Sendagaya, Tokyo that was previously featured in this blog, reopened this fall with a fresh new look combining an event and exhibition space with a fabrication studio. We spoke with store manager Naoto Suzuki (pictured above) to provide details about previous activities and future objectives.

Lion Corporation, a leading Japanese manufacturer of household supplies, recently held a promotional event, giving visitors a personalized fragrance experience from the SOFLAN Aroma Rich range of aromatic fabric softeners. The popup gallery, “Sense Your Aroma Gallery Produced by Aroma Rich,” was open to the public in Omotesando, Tokyo between August 4th and 7th allowing visitors to discover their very own fragrance.