Ricoh Wows With Inspiring Applications, New Wide-Format Devices

By Bob Neubauer

Though its booth may have been off in a far corner of the convention center, Ricoh USA made itself quite visible at the 2018 SGIA Expo.

“We’re here to ‘wow’ you today,” exclaimed Heather Poulin, Manager, Strategic Planning & Business Development, as she kicked off the company’s press conference Thursday afternoon.

Part of that “wow” came from a pair of pop-up shops that dominated Ricoh’s exhibit, each showing off applications printed on Ricoh devices. They included interactive back-lit displays, wall and floor graphics and printing on textiles and aluminum.

The idea, explained Brian Dollard, Director, Strategic Planning & Business Development, is to inspire customers to push the boundaries of print. In his segment of the press conference, Dollard recounted Ricoh’s progress over the past year, and proclaimed the company’s commitment to next year’s PRINTING United event.

“You are going to see a commanding presence,” he predicted. “We look forward to participating.”

Over the past year, Dollard said, Ricoh has doubled down on R&D, which has resulted in numerous product introductions.

“We’ve done nothing this year but launch products,” he said.

At the 2018 SGIA Expo, the company unveiled several new devices. On Oct. 18, Ricoh debuted a pair of roll-to-roll latex printers and a wide-format flatbed printer targeted at the sign, graphics and décor markets. At the same time its AnaJet subsidiary launched the Ricoh Ri 1000 direct-to-garment printer.

At the press conference, Dan Johansen, Marketing Manager, Wide Format Solutions, touted the new Ricoh Pro L5130 and L5160 latex printers, which print up to 473.6 sqft/hr in outdoor standard mode and 270 sqft/hr in indoor standard mode.

“This is a new platform, designed from the ground up,” he said.

The printers use curing technology that leaves output ready for finishing as soon as it comes off the printer. One-touch automated daily maintenance cleans and purges printheads to help keep the Ricoh Pro L5130 and L5160 printers in top working order.

The new Ricoh Pro TF6250 flatbed printer, Johansen said, can print on substrates up to 4.3 inches thick at up to 1,391 sq. ft./hr., using ink sets available specifically for improved high adhesion.

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Bob Neubauer Author's page

Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.