THIS IS A PROMOTIONAL ARTICLE PAID FOR BY RICOH

The world’s largest printing trade fair ran from May 31 to June 10 this year – and Ricoh was front and centre as it demonstrated its business-transforming products.

Attracting around 260,000 delegates from 188 countries, the four-yearly event at Dusseldorf is renowned for being the place to spot trends impacting the production print industry.

This year Ricoh’s exhibition was bigger and better than ever, with an on-site studio bringing to life soon-to-be-released production print technologies, including new innovations in finishers and toner applications.

From the launch of its production printing range in 2008 to this year’s 1800 sqm event space with multiple zones, devices, solutions and

Kraszewski says delegates understood that Ricoh was continuing to build its technological innovation while expanding into new sectors.

“This includes our growing high-speed inkjet, cut-sheet and large-format printer families,” he expains.

“All of this is supported by a network of partners and a massive service infrastructure.

“Combined, we offer a much broader proposition than when we first started exhibiting at drupa in 2008.”

This year at drupa, Ricoh showcased its solutions across a number of zones: commercial, direct marketing, corporate, publishing, innovation and industrial print.

An on-site studio showed visitors how to produce applications on all of the different machines at the stand, including inkjets and cut-sheet, demonstrating Ricoh technology from file right through to finishing.

New releases included the announcement of new finishing capabilities, including a large-sheet stacker unit and a high-capacity inserter from Plockmatic.

In the innovation zone, Ricoh’s new neon yellow toner was unveiled for the first time. Australian Pro C7100 series customers will be able to add this colour capability for events and security printing from next month.

The industrial print zone showed Ricoh technology being used in different industrial applications, including inkjet heads for inline printing.

Ricoh Pro VC6000: Now printing leading newspapers

One of the major announcements was a new speed increase to the VC60000, Ricoh’s international flagship product.

The VC60000 is a highly advanced digital press that provides quality. Capable of producing nearly 100,000 A4 images per hour, it reduces make ready time, speeds up turnaround, maximises operational efficiency and allows greater cost-control.

It suits commercial product printers new to digital colour or wanting to streamline their operations for future growth by providing a function-rich total solution. The VC60000 has had strong uptake in the European market, and is used to print the European editions of the Financial Times and the International New York Times.

Kraszewski says Ricoh’s continuous investment in innovation meant its flagship products kept getting better.

“How this helps Australian customers is reassurance: If you invest in one of our leading products like the VC60000, we will continue to protect your investment for years to come,” he says.

“We are committed to seeing our customers succeed.”

Market-leading flatbed printing solutions

At drupa, Ricoh also announced its entry into the signage market by adding EFI Vutek flatbed printers to its range of products.

The addition follows a long-standing relationship with EFI Fiery as a digital front-end for cut-sheet products.

“Through this agreement, we have now broadened what our customers can offer so they can grow their businesses,” Kraszewski says.

“Including a flatbed capability for printing rigid substrates was a logical addition to our successful portfolio of wide format solutions.”

Among the Vutek flatbed printers on show at drupa was the EFI H1625 LED Hybrid roll/flatbed UV printer, featuring four-colour print plus white, and including single pass and multi-layer capabilities.

“LED curing is a tremendous benefit since inks are cured using EFI’s Cool Cure technology,” Kraszewski says.

“This means that thinner substrates can be used, reducing material, shipping and energy.

“It is one of the most environmentally friendly flatbed printers in the market, which we know is important to our clients.”

Ricoh’s EFI Vutek flatbed printers will be available to the Australian market in October this year.

TotalFlow Print Server

This drupa was also a chance to demonstrate how the new Ricoh print server, TotalFlow, integrates into the Heidelberg Prinect, Kodak Prinergy, AgfaApogee, and Screen Equios workflow solutions.

The TotalFlow Print Server helps clients to build a hybrid printing workflow to deliver work to existing offset presses as well as Ricoh’s highly productive Ricoh Pro C7100 and C9100 series of digital colour presses.

“It is one server and one interface, seamlessly working with digital and existing offset operations to give printers better control over devices, workflows and colour management,” Kraszewski says.

“This means improved operational efficiency and flexibility by providing a choice of offset and digital output devices.”

Ricoh also unveiled its TotalFlow Cloud Suite, a range of software-as-a-service solutions, including a new solution for digital book printing.

TotalFlow – the global umbrella brand for Ricoh’s one-stop solution for production print operations – helps print service providers to optimise their processes and gain better productivity.

The latest extension to Ricoh’s market-leading portfolio of production printing solutions, TotalFlow is open architecture under which all of Ricoh end-to-end output management solutions are now positioned. These include software solutions, hardware products, finishing options, training services and customised programs.

TotalFlow works with all Ricoh production printing technologies to manage and simplify workflows, and expands printers’ access to available solutions. The result is a full range of offerings, including web-to-print, personalisation, document and job management, as well as cross-channel marketing capabilities – all supported by Ricoh’s industry-leading platforms.

TotalFlow also supports all of the leading third-party partners, including product ranges from EFI, Avanti, Duplo, Objectif Lune, CGS, PTI and Pantone.

“TotalFlow is yet another element underscoring Ricoh's commitment to the global production printing industry,” Kraszewski says.

“The TotalFlow product umbrella means we now offer a full portfolio of first-class products to address industry needs.”

Customers first

Henryk said a stand-out of the Ricoh presence was its absolute emphasis on putting customers first.

“We are delivering the solutions that customers want and need to help their business.

“Other brands featured entertainers at their stands – but Ricoh, across all of its zones, was focused on real-world applications to help customers grow their businesses and boost revenue from their solutions.”

Ricoh is a global technology company that operates in 200 countries and regions.

For 80 years, it has been transforming the way people work.

Under its corporate tagline – imagine. change. – Ricoh empowers companies and individuals with services and technologies that inspire innovation, enhance sustainability and grow business.

These include document management systems, IT services, visual communications systems, digital cameras and industrial systems, as well as production print solutions.