When Roland DG unveiled the TrueVIS AG-640, the headline numbers — print speed, media width, head technology — were easy to celebrate. But the most consequential development lives inside the ink pouches: TA2, a newly formulated resin ink that represents a generational leap over the TA ink used in the TrueVIS AP-640, and a substantial step beyond the XP-640's ink system as well.

Ink chemistry is the invisible engine of colour output. It determines how pigment particles suspend in resin, how droplets land and coalesce on a substrate, and ultimately how close your printed output can come to the full spectrum of human vision. With TA2, Roland has expanded that spectrum — adding Orange and Red channels that push the gamut well beyond conventional four-colour printing, reformulating the Optimizer ink for dramatically better surface quality, and introducing a newly developed White ink that opens up entirely new application categories.

In this guide, we break down every component of the TA2 ink system: what each ink does, why the choices Roland made matter, and how they translate into real-world print quality and application versatility.

1The Gamut Advantage: How TA2 CMYK Outperforms Its Predecessors

Colour gamut — the total volume of reproducible colours — is the single most telling metric when comparing ink systems. The TA2 ink's base CMYK formulation already demonstrates a significantly wider gamut than both the XP-640's ink and the AP-640's TA ink in a straight four-colour comparison. This improvement stems from advances in pigment particle size, resin binder chemistry, and the way TA2 droplets spread and cure on the media surface, resulting in denser, more saturated colour patches across the CIE LAB colour space.

The practical implication is meaningful: even if you never use Orange or Red channels, the AG-640 running basic CMYK TA2 will produce more vibrant blues, richer greens, and deeper shadow detail than a comparable print from its predecessors.

The AG-640 is offered in two ink configurations. Configuration 1 fills all eight colour slots with CMYK in duplicate plus two dedicated OP slots — ideal for production environments focused on speed and reliability. Configuration 2 replaces duplicate CMYK channels with Orange, Red, and White, unleashing the full gamut potential of TA2.

2Orange & Red Inks: What They Add to the Colour Spectrum

Traditional wide-format resin printers tackle the challenge of smooth gradients and subtle skin tones by adding Light Cyan (Lc) and Light Magenta (Lm) — diluted versions of their full-strength counterparts. The HP Latex 630W follows this convention. While LcLm does improve smooth transitions, it contributes very little to gamut width; it simply fills in the low-density regions of existing hues.

Roland took a fundamentally different approach with TA2 Configuration 2. Rather than diluting existing primaries, they added two new primaries: Orange (Or) and Red (Re). These are distinctly different pigments that sit in the spectral region between yellow and magenta — a zone that CMYK alone struggles to reach with full saturation.

The colour regions most improved by Or and Re channels include:

• Vivid reds — sports branding, retail POP, fire safety signage, and anywhere a true fire-engine red is essential
• Rich oranges — sunset gradients, automotive livery, food and beverage packaging imagery
• Skin tone accuracy — particularly in the warm-red range where conventional CMYK can introduce a muddy, oversaturated appearance
• Transition gradients — smooth sweeps from yellow through orange through red, critical for photorealistic imagery and brand colour matching

The net result is a gamut that measurably surpasses the HP Latex 630W in the red-orange quadrant of the CIE LAB colour space — and it does so with structural colour rather than ink mixing artefacts.

3The Optimizer Ink: The Secret to Surface Quality

Of all the components in the TA2 system, the Optimizer (OP) ink is perhaps the least visible — literally. It prints clear, leaves no colour of its own, and most operators never see it in action. Yet it is arguably the most important ink in the system for ensuring consistently excellent output across diverse media types.

Resin ink pigment particles, when deposited onto a media surface, do not always spread uniformly. On glossy coated vinyl they may bead slightly; on uncoated papers or textured wallcoverings they can penetrate unevenly. These inconsistencies manifest as graininess, visible dot structure, or banding in solid colour areas. The Optimizer ink is a clear polymer fluid jetted onto the media surface to equalise the surface energy and provide a consistent landing pad for pigment droplets.

The TA2 Optimizer represents a major step forward compared to the TA ink's formulation. Its polymer chemistry has been refined to:

• Spread more evenly across a wider variety of media types, including matte surfaces, uncoated substrates, and textured wallcoverings
• Reduce the total OP volume needed for effective surface conditioning, contributing to lower ink consumption per m²
• Maintain compatibility with Roland's lamination testing programme (ORAGUARD200, tested at 45°C and 60°C for up to 6 months)

The AG-640's two dedicated OP ink slots (separate from the eight colour slots) mean you never have to trade off gamut channels for Optimizer capacity. Both run simultaneously, ensuring consistent surface quality regardless of which colour configuration you choose.

4White Ink: New Applications on Clear & Coloured Media

The inclusion of White (Wh) ink in Configuration 2 is not a minor feature addition — it fundamentally changes the AG-640's application scope. Prior to TA2, printing on transparent or coloured media required either pre-printed white base stock or an entirely separate printing step. TA2 White ink integrates this capability directly into the production workflow.

The White ink is newly developed for the AG-640, formulated for high opacity and compatibility with the TA2 resin system. It enables three broad application families:

Window Display & Clear Media

Printing on clear PET film or clear vinyl for window display applications requires a white base layer to make colour inks visually opaque. Without White ink, colours appear transparent and washed out when backlit or viewed against a bright exterior. With TA2 White, the workflow is:

Coloured & Speciality Substrates

Silver film, holographic film, coloured cutting vinyl, and metallic laminates all present the same challenge: the substrate colour bleeds through transparent ink layers, shifting and corrupting intended colours. A White underprint isolates the colour layer from the substrate, enabling accurate, vibrant results regardless of the material beneath.

This enables applications such as:

• Holographic sticker labels with white-backed colour imagery that maintains fidelity over the prismatic substrate
• Silver metallised labels where the chrome effect is selectively preserved or covered with white-based colour print
• Cutting vinyl in black, red, or other non-white colours used as a base for full-colour overprinting
• Special effect labels combining colour transparency effects with solid white areas for premium sticker production

White ↔ Colour Layering Options

The AG-640 supports both print-order orientations depending on the desired visual effect:

5Media Compatibility: Over 100 Substrates, Ready from Day One

One of the most practical advantages of the AG-640 / TA2 combination is the breadth of generic ICC profiles shipped with the printer. Roland's testing team validated performance across more than 100 distinct media types, spanning every major substrate category used in sign-making, vehicle graphics, and display production.

Lamination compatibility testing adds further confidence for production sign-making environments. Prints output at standard settings, then over-laminated with ORAGUARD200 on popular vinyl substrates including IJ1220, IJ4131, and 3164G, passed durability assessments at both 45°C and 60°C for up to six months — covering the thermal stress conditions expected in vehicle and outdoor display applications in Malaysia's climate.

6Ink Cost & Efficiency: What TA2 Costs to Run

Running cost is a critical factor in evaluating any wide-format printer, and ink is typically the largest variable expense. TA2 ink is supplied in 750 ml pouches and is priced competitively relative to the output quality it delivers.

The modest USD 0.02/cc premium for the expanded-gamut and White channels is well justified by the additional application revenue those channels enable. A single job on holographic film or clear window vinyl — previously impossible without a second machine — quickly offsets the marginal cost difference across a production run.

Combining the per-cc pricing, the improved consumption efficiency, and the 100+ ready-to-use generic media profiles, the AG-640 with TA2 presents a compelling total cost of ownership argument — particularly for shops that want to expand into new application categories without adding a dedicated White or spot-colour printer to their floor.