Ricoh today announced the global debut of the RICOH Pro Z75 Digital Press, the first B2 perfecting (auto-duplexing) sheetfed inkjet platform using aqueous ink, accelerating the shift from offset to digital with higher print quality, faster turnaround times and fewer demands on staff following successful in-market testing. The press will be officially available for public orders in North America as of November 15, 2023, with orders for immediate placement expected based on strong interest across international markets.
In June 2022, Heeter Printing – a Pittsburgh area full-service secure marketing provider for highly demanding industries like insurance, retail, and gaming – teamed up with Ricoh to serve as the official beta site for the iF DESIGN AWARD winning B2 sheetfed inkjet press platform.
“There’s a significant gap in the industry today when it comes to the size of jobs that are most efficient to run on offset, continuous feed inkjet and cutsheet digital production platforms,” said Kirk Schlecker, President, Heeter Printing. “The RICOH Pro Z75 is like a multitool for our operation. It gives us flexibility in how we produce customer jobs by bridging that gap, with the productivity to take on work from our traditional 40” offset, inkjet web and cutsheet toner devices. It combines the image quality, efficiency, print size, substrate flexibility and economics that allow us to say ‘yes’ to more jobs, and ultimately deliver a better customer experience for our clients. With the support Ricoh provides and their commitment to stand behind their products, the RICOH Pro Z75 makes a compelling case for any print service provider looking to achieve what they once could have only imagined.”
The RICOH Pro Z75 delivers the advantages of a sheetfed platform with the low running costs and high productivity of inkjet. It offers print speeds of up to 4,500 sheets per hour (SPH) in straight printing or 2,250 SPH in duplex / perfecting printing. Stainless steel piezo print heads bring 1,200 dpi native resolution at all speeds with 4 Color (CMYK) pigment-based inks, while the proprietary drying system greatly reduces cockling and waviness ensuring high-quality results ready for immediate finishing. The RICOH Pro Z75 also expands substrate flexibility, handling uncoated, inkjet treated and offset coated media up to 400 gsm (24pt) with a max sheet size of 23 x 29-inches.
“As shorter runs and increasing demand for data-driven communications push print service providers to adapt their production strategies, we are helping them leverage the latest hardware, software and data to become indispensable to their end customers with the RICOH Pro Z75 as a powerful example of that commitment in action," said Gavin Jordan-Smith, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Head of Global Sales Strategy Division & RICOH Graphic Communications North America Sales, RICOH Graphic Communications. “The result is a new level of performance that enables easier, faster and more profitable production of applications like direct mail, postcards, marketing materials and other commercial print work.”
Beyond the high print speeds and automatic duplexing capabilities, the press incorporates significant automation solutions and an intuitive control panel to reduce the need for operator intervention and improve shift efficiency. A heavy-duty, offset-like build quality and advanced, durable printheads are designed to maximize press uptime and availability. Attention to detail from the air-assisted sheet feeding that minimizes feed and paper transport issues, to a configurable high-capacity stacker that delivers accurate, flush paper stacking, streamlines the entire job process.
Designed for print businesses managing high volumes of jobs that require reliable uptime and significant throughput capacity, the new production inkjet platform is backed by Ricoh’s global organization that is committed to customer success. Customers will have access to Ricoh’s best-in-class proprietary workflow automation solutions, such as RICOH TotalFlow™ Producer, RICOH TotalFlow BatchBuilder™ and RICOH Supervisor™, plus consulting services and full-service marketing solutions such as MarcomCentral®, to maximize return-on-investment and business value.
