Ricoh to launch digital B2 sheetfed inkjet

Imaging giant Ricoh will be launching a B2 sheetfed inkjet press next year, with the aqueous inkjet technology delivering instant drying, and printing onto coated and uncoated offset stocks, as well as inkjet stocks.

Details are yet to be released, but Print21 understands the new Ricoh Pro Z75 will be promoted as printing at offset quality, which will be achieved through Ricoh’s own printhead, aqueous ink, and dynamic drop size technology.

The new Ricoh Pro Z75 will be Ricoh’s first sheetfed inkjet press, although it has been manufacturing market-leading high speed inkjet web presses for the past decade, with the latest version the Pro VC70000. Ricoh’s inkjet head technology is used in oem deals by multiple technology developers.

For the new Pro Z75, Ricoh will use its proven paper transport, auto-duplexing, and drying technology, together with a new digital front end, with the press designed to be simple to operate.

The new Pro Z75 will be aimed squarely at the commercial market, with applications including commercial print, direct mail, books, manuals, specialty publishing, and packaging. It will print six-up on the B2 sheet.

The company say today’s commercial print environment is “radically different than it was just a year ago, as companies in this space evolve to be hyper-relevant in today’s constantly changing landscape”. It says while the transition to digital has been progressing for years, printers are now looking to further accelerate that transition while uncovering new opportunities.

The Ricoh Pro Z75 was developed from the ground up by Ricoh to “empower printers to confidently pursue those opportunities”, building on the company’s 40 plus years of inkjet leadership and culture of transformational innovation, known as Henkaku.

Ricoh says in the new business climate, commercial printers are more than ever seeking to expand their application range and profitably meet the increasing demand for short runs, with media flexibility and competitive operational costs are key.

It says, “Those seeking exceptional productivity, ease-of-use, and media versatility, across offset coated, uncoated and inkjet treated stocks, with one of the lowest operational costs in its class will benefit from the strategic design of the Ricoh Pro Z75.”

Ricoh will release more details over the coming months, launch date is yet to be determined.