Production Efficiency Enhanced by New Vendor Agnostic Software Co-Innovated From Client Feedback
Touchless end to end job submission to completion will become a production reality for commercial print operations with Ricoh workflow solutions for Graphic Arts, including RICOH ProcessDirector. The latest addition to Ricoh’s innovative software portfolio will be previewed at drupa 2024, Hall 8a, Messe Düsseldorf, Germany, May 28 to June 7.
Today’s print production environment presents a number of workflow challenges, including numerous input streams, multiple production technologies, disconnected workflows, and lack of job visibility – resulting in time consuming touchpoints, costly bottlenecks, reduced productivity, and unnecessary waste.
Market research from Keypoint Intelligence confirms there is no single dominant print job submission method and job onboarding is the least automated workflow process. In Western Europe, just 13% of web to print jobs onboarded by commercial print providers route into the same production workflow process as jobs received via other submission methods.
Developed in collaboration with clients and analysts, new Ricoh Graphic Arts workflow software harnesses the capabilities of proven technology solutions, including the scalable and vendor neutral RICOH ProcessDirector. These modernised tools empower commercial print operations to streamline their processes and minimise touchpoints – from input to finishing – by automatically preflighting, imposing, and batching jobs. By integrating existing workflows and enabling automatic job routing to production, the software facilitates the transition from traditional analogue to digital printing.
RICOH TotalFlow Producer enables print providers, with one or many locations, to automate job onboarding with a centralised, web based portal for operation-wide visibility and control of their production workload. This transformative software, available in Europe from late April, minimises the need for skilled labour during job submission and processing, reduces bottlenecks and waste, and improves profitability.
In combination with RICOH Predictive Insight , which was first introduced on the RICOH Pro VC80000 high speed inkjet press, Ricoh solutions for Graphic Arts power data driven insights and performance optimisation. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities monitor job profitability, processes, and operations to help optimise hardware uptime and throughput while minimising maintenance cycle interruptions. It automatically gathers data from workflow solutions, printing and finishing devices, to formulate insights to maximise return on investment, aid data driven investment decision making, and improve overall business outcomes.
Ricoh workflow solutions for Graphic Arts also include the award winning RICOH Auto Color Adjuster, which achieves colour profiles easily and quickly, precisely matched to industry standards for both offset and digital, without the need for expert colour operators.
Ricoh advanced automation solutions for Graphic Arts optimise end-to-end production by:
- Increasing productivity to maximise return on investment.
- Reducing errors and reliance on labour to help achieve deadlines.
- Supporting mixed market applications that can print on digital and offset print devices.
- Connecting operation-wide data with vendor agnostic, open architecture.
- Improving internal and client communication by providing real time job visibility.
- Minimising waste, contributing to sustainable practices.
Eef de Ridder, Vice President, Graphic Communications Group, Ricoh Europe, says: “The latest addition to our Ricoh developed vendor agnostic solutions supports our approach to co-innovation by collaboratively solving production print, workflow, and visibility issues. Missed deadlines, the inability to locate a job and inefficient production are among the operational challenges it helps eliminate. It also ensures smoother operation across different technologies and company locations to optimise productivity and expand new business opportunities.”
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