Established in 2005, D&D Digital Printing in Melbourne is still considered a young business in the print game. However its entrance to the industry after the millennium has allowed it to skip the offset era to focus purely on digital printing.

D&D Digital was founded by general manager Chris Dedman with Brenden Ilsley, John Patton and Sue Carter, with the foresight that digital would soon become the norm in the industry, and just over a decade later this has become a reality.

Dedman explains that quality was the catalyst in starting the business and by 2005, the company’s founders felt the quality of digital printers had caught up to the standard set by offset decades prior.

“In 2005 colour digital printing equipment improved immensely, the quality improved dramatically, the versatility and speed improved and the click costs reduced also,” he says. “This all seemed to happen overnight so high-quality, short run, fast turnaround printing has evolved, and that is exactly what we do.” 

Before installing Ricoh digital machines, D&D Digital was kitted out with machines manufactured by another vendor. Dedman says this year the company realised Ricoh’s digital offerings were ahead in terms of speed, quality of print and versatility. 

So in April this year, D&D Digital underwent a new kit-out, with Ricoh’s Pro C9110 and Pro7100X digital printers and also a Ricoh wide format ProL4160 with a laminator/cutter. Despite the company owning its previous digital machines, Dedman says the outlay for the new Ricoh printers was well worth it. 

He adds, “It was a big decision for us to move to Ricoh because we owned our previous equipment, however it ended up being a no-brainer because the Ricoh equipment is faster, more versatile, and the low running costs meant it could virtually pay for itself.”

According to Ricoh, the Pro C9110 is considered to be the affordable digital solution that has the ability to break down the cost barriers of entry for printers in the high-speed digital market. Ricoh says it is also capable of sitting alongside existing offset technology to provide variable data and greater media handling capacity, making high volume jobs cost effective and highly efficient.

Dedman also praises the Pro7100X which has worked well for the company due to its ability to print white and clear. But Ricoh says when it comes to production printing, you cannot have too many colour capabilities.  

On top of allowing print businesses to compete for jobs that involve clear or white ink, Ricoh says the Pro 7100X also allows printers to expand a print on-demand service, personalise or customise materials, impress customers with 1200 by 4800 image quality, and print oversize pieces for signage, window clings and more.

The wide format print capabilities of the Ricoh ProL4160 was another reason D&D Digital decided to make the switch to Ricoh, according to Dedman.

Before going with Ricoh, the company specialised in general printing of brochures, marketing materials, invitations, flyers, postcards and the like. However, since the installation in April, D&D Digital has diversified into the wide format market.

Dedman says, “The Ricoh installation has helped us enter into a broader market with wide format and the ProL4160 allows us to do poster printing and decals which has given us a broader range of clients.”

Since its inception, D&D Digital has continued to go from strength to strength and is constantly receiving positive feedback from customers regarding its fast-turnaround times and quality print jobs. Being a small business with a staff of seven people, Dedman says there is always a risk with changing equipment, however Ricoh has given him no cause for concern.

He says, “Ricoh has been reliable and the technical service has been backed up really well. It has been a good, positive decision for us. We have had no issues at all with the equipment installed quickly and efficiently.

“The last thing we needed as a business was to be down for a long period of time during installation, but they handled that very well. I know that if any technical issues come up in the future those will be addressed by Ricoh quickly.” 

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