The 20" CMYK ecosolvent printer does not have a white configuration, but that doesn't mean you can't print designs that have white in them. So what's the trick? There isn't one, really. That's the whole point. Read on and I'll explain.
The Roland BN2-20A is CMYK only - period
The only Roland BN model that can print white is the BN2-30. But I have a Roland BN2-20A and yet my print and cut machine appears to be printing white on these large banners.
Most people think if you print images with white in them, you need the more expensive and wider five channel CMYKW Roland BN2-30. The reality is 99% of Roland BN2-20A users never need white ink anyway - because their material is almost always white.
The secret is the material, not the ink
When you look at one of my printed graduation banners and see what appears to be white script or white text on a pink or green background - that "white" isn't ink at all. It's the raw printable vinyl material showing through where the printer intentionally did not print any ink.
Think about it this way. If your banner material is white (and most printable material including vinyl is), and you tell the printer "don't print anything in THIS area," what's left? The white material. Which looks like white ink. But it's not ink at all.
That's how every "white" element in my graduation banners was created. The printer laid down pink or green ink everywhere except in the shape of the script letters. The letters look white and the dress looks white because the white material is not printed on.
Do you need to do anything special in your design?
There's absolutely nothing you need to do differently when you're designing. You don't need to prepare your design in any special way.
If your design has white elements in it (white text, white shapes, white details), the Roland BN2-20A will automatically leave those areas unprinted when you send the file through VersaWorks.
So there's no special layers or settings you need to configure. You design like you normally would, you send it to print, and the white areas just don't get ink.
For me, all my graduation banners were designed in Canva. I have a full tutorial on the Canva to Roland VersaWorks workflow if you want to see exactly how I take a Canva file from design to print. The white parts of my designs were just given a white fill color in Canva - and that's exactly how they came out of the Roland.
When you actually DO need real white ink
Let me be honest - there ARE some cases where you genuinely need actual white ink, not just "the material showing through." Specifically:
- Printing on clear vinyl where there's no white background to show through and white creates opacity
- Printing on holographic vinyl where you want the full colors to really pop
- Printing on transparent substrates for window graphics or specific signage applications
If you do any of the above regularly, you need the Roland BN2-30 with white ink, not the BN2-20A. I have a full video on when you actually need white ink if you want to work through whether YOUR projects qualify.
But if you're primarily printing on white printable vinyl, white banner material, white sticker paper, or white adhesive vinyl? You don't need white ink. You never did. The BN2-20A is perfect for you and you're saving thousands of dollars by not buying a machine with features you'd never use.
Roland BN2-20A links and resources
Here are the links to the Roland BN2-20A products I use and recommend:
And if you want one-on-one same-day Roland support, Silhouette U has you covered.
Were you confused about white ink on the Roland BN2-20A? Did this clear it up? Let me know in the comments!
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