This year sees Ricoh Australia branch out with the launch of two new offerings – the Ricoh Pro C9500 digital colour sheetfed press, which was released locally in August, and the Ricoh Pro C7500 digital colour printer, launched in September.
“The great just got greater,” Ricoh Australia senior product and marketing manager for the Ricoh Graphic Communications business Henryk Kraszewski said of the two next generation machines.
“The Ricoh Pro C9200 and Pro C7200 were the most popular printers in their category around the world last year and now we have next generation models with significant enhancements to replace them,” he remarked.
Succeeding the Ricoh Pro C7200 and Pro C7200 series, the Pro C7500 digital colour printer has been developed to achieve richer, more accurate colours on a higher grammage. The Ricoh Pro C9500 – which succeeds the Ricoh Pro C9200/C9210 – builds upon features of the series such as the superior image quality, high-speed output, quality consistency, and stable operation, which were widely embraced by customers around the world.
“One thing Ricoh is great at, is taking customer feedback on board. We listen to our customers fundamentally and incorporate their requirements into new or existing models. This is exactly what’s happened with these two machines – we’ve listened to what our customers like about these products, such as quality and productivity, and we’ve considered valuable feedback on areas that we need to improve,” Kraszewski said.
“The Ricoh Pro C9500 is designed for high volume production and is capable of producing a million prints a month, starting from a super lightweight bible stock all the way up to thicker packaging substrates.”
“In the case of the new Pro C9500 for example, there was nothing wrong with the productivity of its predecessor, but the feedback we received pointed at a need for better productivity with mixed stocks, with a preference for glossier or flatter output, and the increased range of compatible substrates. Although we already support the broadest range of substrates in the industry, our customers wanted it expanded, so we’ve added even more materials to this range, especially at the lower level,” he added, explaining that the variety of substrates that can be used on the Pro C9500 contribute towards its flexibility.
“This printer is designed for high volume production and is capable of producing a million prints a month, starting from a super lightweight bible stock all the way up to thicker packaging substrates,” he said.
Kraszewski confirmed that the Pro C9500 includes a new fusing unit that enables printing of media as thin as 40 gsm which he explains, has been traditionally challenging for digital presses to print.
“Stock as lightweight as 40 gsm is literally like tissue paper,” he said, adding that this improved capability further promotes the shift to digital printing, supporting the production of books and booklets, which require thin media.
“We’ve provided a broader versatility as well as the ability to handle those stocks better in the new printers,” Kraszewski said.
“The five-colour Pro C7500, in turn, is also ideal for in-house production. It provides a broad variety of options, and can be used to produce personalised packaging, coffee cups, and hamper box gift messaging – utilising silver and gold – and is suitable for value-added type of work.”
In addition, Ricoh has improved its operating system to coincide with the upgraded printers. “Our past products were developed with the operating system essentially locked, which could only be opened for bug fixes. We have designed a new software for the end users that can introduce and grow with their requirements and introduces enhancements and new capabilities based on feedback from customers. This means that we’re not limited by the initial design when a machine is first released – we can evolve that operating system as required,” he said.
The sustainability aspect of the presses is another improvement that Ricoh has focused on.
“The transition to digital solutions is really accelerating and the sustainability aspect is one of its big benefits,” Kraszewski confirmed.
RICOH PRO C9500 DIGITAL COLOUR SHEETFED PRESS
The high-volume Ricoh Pro C9500 digital colour sheetfed press provides enhanced media compatibility, improved automation, increased operational efficiency and more.
It includes new peripherals, which enable continuous paper feeding and output up to 960mm in length, making it easier for commercial printers to capture new business such as A4 size four-panel brochures.
In addition, the Ricoh Pro C9500 comes with the Ricoh GC OS, a new engine controller developed specifically to meet the demands of commercial printing businesses. The new controller simplifies daily tasks such as media setting and adjustment, device usage management and maintenance, enabling easier staff training and device operation.
The Ricoh Pro C9500 supports the new optional Auto Color Diagnosis Unit Type S15, which enhances the automation and operational efficiency of the inspection process in commercial printing. In addition to colour stabilisation and monitoring functions during printing, the new Auto Color Diagnosis Unit automates the three critical inspection stages, namely: quality, registration, and colour fluctuation inspections.
By automating these three types of inspections, Ricoh believes customers can save time and effort in the colour adjustment and inspection tasks, which used to be highly specialised and labour-intensive.
This also provides customers with the flexibility to choose how the printer operates after inspection according to their requirements.
RICOH PRO C7500 DIGITAL COLOUR PRINTER
The next generation Ricoh Pro C7500 has been developed to enable printers to adapt to an ever-changing print production environment. It is designed to empower print service providers to elevate their creative capabilities by achieving richer and more accurate colours.
Succeeding the Ricoh Pro C7200 and Pro C7200x Series, the Pro C7500 is compatible with Ricoh’s original special colour toners, including White, Clear, Invisible Red, Gold and Silver. Its new neon colour profiles can automatically add Neon Yellow and Neon Pink to expand the colour gamut for richer and more vivid colour expression, including blush pink, deep purples and vivid greens.
New on the Pro C7500 is an elastic intermediate transfer belt that enhances support for rough or uneven textured media. It can handle a wide range of materials between 40 and 470 gsm (up to 600 μm) and has been strengthened to support duplex printed banner sheets of up to 1,030 mm.
The Pro C7500 also includes the new Ricoh Graphic Communications Operating System (GC OS), and the newly developed engine controller enables efficiencies in device use and the intuitive and simple operation of machine settings.
Remote access via a web browser from a PC or tablet supports streamlined operation and features new functions via software updates. New Digital Front End (DFE), developed in collaboration with Fiery, drives operational effectiveness.
Additional printing efficiencies and labour-saving functions have also been introduced to reduce time spent on maintenance and support real-time troubleshooting. These include the quick and simple changeover of complete units for special colours and improved operator-replaceable units to support responsive system maintenance.
As with the Pro C9500, the Pro C7500’s capabilities are enhanced by various software options, including Ricoh TotalFlow Supervisor, Ricoh TotalFlow Production Manager and FusionPro. These enable clients to maximise their product’s effectiveness and return on their Ricoh investment.
Availability
The Ricoh Pro C9500 is currently available, while its optional Auto Color Diagnosis Unit Type S15 is expected to be released in late 2023.
The Pro C7500 is due to be launched in November 2023.
Kraszewski confirms that Ricoh Australia is planning to hold events around the country to allow its customers in Australia and New Zealand the opportunity to see the printers firsthand.
The Ricoh Pro C9500 and Pro C7500 printers will also be on display at the Ricoh stand at drupa 2024 in May.
“We’ve worked hard on these improvements in what we consider to be among the best in the field, and the good news is that even though we’re delivering a better solution with these new machines, we haven’t really changed their price points,” Kraszewski concluded.
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