Over the past half year, the digital printing partnership between
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) and Ricoh has been
launched with great success. While sales units in Germany and the
UK have been actively marketing the Ricoh "C901 Graphic Arts
Edition" digital printing solution since the start of April,
Heidelberg has been expanding the strategic partnership with local
Ricoh teams to implement the global sales agreement in other
countries. Sales have been launched according to plan in Thailand,
Malaysia, and France and the collaboration is also being rolled out
in North and South America this September. The official
announcement about the start of digital printing solutions in the
U.S. was made at the beginning on the occasion of the GraphExpo
show, which took place in Chicago from September 11 to 14. As of
September, Heidelberg is now also offering Ricoh systems in Mexico
and Brazil. Switzerland and Poland will also begin selling combined
solutions that enable offset and digital printing to run side by
side. All other countries are to follow suit by drupa in May 2012.
"The collaboration with Ricoh is running smoothly and
developing very successfully. Customers are showing a great deal of
interest in integrated offset and digital printing solutions," says
Stephan Plenz, Member of the Management Board responsible for
Heidelberg Equipment.
"Recently, there has been a shift from supplying just print
to supplying broader marketing oriented services such as cross
media. The Ricoh and Heidelberg partnership is helping printing
businesses to achieve these goals through its extensive offerings,
range of services and support," says Yasuhiko Hosoe, Associate
Director of Production Printing Business Group, Ricoh Company Ltd.
First sales successes - global demo center up and running
Several customers from the UK, Germany, and Asia have
already purchased Ricoh digital printing systems through. All
countries are also reporting high levels of interest from customers
and anticipate additional orders in the near future.
"Combining the two technologies will enable our customers to
offer variable data printing and very short runs in addition to
tried-and-tested, cost-efficient, and high-quality offset printing.
As a result, we've already been able to conclude a large volume
of sales in countries where we offer the Ricoh systems," says Dr.
Christian Compera, head of digital printing at Heidelberg.
Sales support for the digital sector is also in full swing at
the Print Media Center in Heidelberg. A Ricoh Pro C901 has been
available for product demonstrations since the end of May. These
demonstrations give prospective customers the opportunity to see
HEI Flexibility - the solutions portfolio that Heidelberg offers
for short-run color and variable data printing - live in action for
themselves. Preparations at other demonstration centers are also
well underway - both the Print Media Academy locations in Atlanta
(U.S.), Sao Paulo (Brazil), and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and the
showroom in Brentford (UK) already have the equipment needed to
demonstrate digital printing.
Heidelberg expands the portfolio and launches sales of the new
Ricoh Pro C651ex/C751ex and Pro C751 digital printing systems
The collaboration with Ricoh is intended to offer
customers solutions that provide added value and a long-term boost
in profitability. Heidelberg is expanding its portfolio of Ricoh
digital printing systems and will also distribute the recently
launched Ricoh Pro C751 digital printing line in all the countries
included in the roll-out plan. This system is geared specifically
to the needs of print service providers and digital and commercial
print shops that handle low print volumes and variable data. Thanks
to a series of innovative developments, it provides exceptional
image quality while also offering a cost-effective option for
companies that want to expand their portfolio for short runs and
variable data. It features a new laser beam technology, called
'VCSEL' (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) that delivers
best-in-class output and registration of 4800 dpi for precise
reproduction and production speeds of up to 75 A4 pages per minute.
Heidelberg will be exhibiting its integrated offset and
digital printing portfolio at the following trade shows and events
taking place over the coming months:
| Event |
Venue |
Dates |
| Heidelberg Open House |
Sao Paulo, Brazil |
September 29 - October 1,
2011 |
| Heidelberg Open House |
Brentford, UK |
October 12 - 13, 2011 |
| Druck&Form |
Sinsheim, Germany |
October 12 - 15, 2011 |
| Heidelberg Open House |
Heidelberg, Germany |
October 20 - 22, 2011 |
Figure:
Bernhard Schreier, CEO Heidelberg (2nd from left) and
Shiro Kondo, President & CEO, Ricoh Company, Ltd. (2nd from
right) on the occasion of the Ricoh and Heidelberg digital print
solutions launch at GraphExpo, which took place in Chicago from
September 11 to 14, 2011.
For further information about the company and image material,
please visit the Press Lounge of the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
at
www.heidelberg.com.
For further information, please contact:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Public Relations
Thomas Fichtl
Phone: +49 (0)6221 92 5900
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 5069
E-Mail:
thomas.fichtl@heidelberg.com